Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc attends an investment promotion conference in the northern province of Bắc Kạn yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Bắc Kạn’s rich mineral deposits and timber plantation potential were highlighted to prospective investors by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc yesterday.

Addressing an investment promotion conference in the northern province, he said that with large deposits of lead, zinc and iron, Bắc Kạn had a lot of potential to develop mining and minerals processing as well as making construction materials.

The province also has 38,000ha allocated for forestry development were large timber plantations of high economic value can be set up, and wood processing developed, he said.

Phuc requested all ministries and sectors to actively contribute and support Bac Kan in its economic development efforts.

He urged authorities to raise Bac Kan’s provincial competitiveness index, which is currently at a very low level, near the bottom of the list of 63 provinces and cities in the country.

With its determination to manage and take measures to boost economic development, the province has achieved certain initial successes, said Phuc.

He emphasised the importance of Ba Be Lake area as an attractive tourism destination with many spectacular caves, noting that many domestic and foreign visitors were not aware of it.

Pointing out other shortcomings, Phuc said the province needed to improve its investment environment to attract companies with strong financial potential and high determination to boost local production and investment.

He also wanted the province to restructure its demography, reducing population density in certain areas and developing new education models to train its human resources.

At the conference, provincial authorities called for investment in a number of potential fields and sectors, enumerating h 33 key projects, mainly in infrastructure, agriculture, forestry and tourism.

Bắc Kạn Chairman Lý Thái Hải said local authorities were committed to providing “highest-level support” to investors, in keeping with the Government’s investment incentive policies.

It would also accumulate land for agricultural and forestry projects, including the cultivation of medicinal plants, and issue policies easing credit access and supporting brand promotion, he said.

Hải said he expected the Government to support the province in developing infrastructure, especially the building and upgrading of important roads linking the province with other localities in the region.

Currently, the province is seeking investment in building a new National Highway 3 stretch linking Chợ Mới with Bắc Kạn City and a 40km road from Quân Bình Commune in Bạch Thông District to Ba Bể Lake, he said.

Hải asked the Prime Minister to ask relevant ministries and sectors to study investors’ proposals for the construction project on National Highway No.3 under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) investment model.

He also sought approval for raising capital for the road running to Ba Bể Lake.

PM responds

Phúc agreed on the policy to develop the Chợ Mới – Bắc Kạn high-speed road, saying it wound ensure smooth to and from the province. He also assigned the Ministry of Transport to submit a plan for this project, which could be implemented in 2018.

The PM also assigned relevant ministries to consider options for the Quân Bình - Ba Bể road.

Ba Bể Lake is one of 20 largest freshwater lakes in the world, but it does not have easy transport access, he noted. He asked the ministries to actively seek funding sources for the road.

Speaking at the conference, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyễn Xuân Cường, said his ministry would help people in Bac Kan and its neighbouring provinces of Cao Bằng and Lạng Sơn use advanced technology to cultivate fruits under VietGap standards.

Also attending the conference were former Party General Secretary Nông Đức Mạnh, representatives of several ministries and sectors, and hundreds of business representatives. — VNS