Prime Minister urges Hà Nội to mobilise all resources for development

May 07, 2023 - 08:54
Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính urged the capital city to quickly complete its master plan and other relevant planning schemes, and handle shortcomings in the real estate and corporate bond markets.
Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính speaks at the meeting on Saturday. VNA photo

HÀ NỘI — The capital city Hà Nội should maximise all resources for development investment, especially public-private partnerships, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính said at a meeting between permanent Cabinet members and the Standing Board of the municipal Party Committee on Saturday.

The leader urged the capital city to quickly complete its master plan and other relevant planning schemes and handle real estate and corporate bond market shortcomings.

He continued that attention should be paid to the growth engines of investment, export and consumption, asking the city to continue streamlining administrative procedures and improving its business environment.

The Government leader stressed that greater efforts are needed to restructure the industrial sector, targeting the industries with advantages and potential, promoting support industries, and prioritising the services with added values and sectoral linkages such as finance, logistics and e-commerce.

The PM also suggested Hà Nội establish green, smart industrial parks, optimise scientific-technological applications to raise productivity and competitiveness, and promote tourism.

He said that socioeconomic development should go in tandem with cultural conservation and environmental protection, asking the city to roll out better social welfare policies and invest more in education and health care.

As well as ensuring national defence, security, and social order and safety, Hà Nội needs to improve the efficiency of external relations and international integration and give more heed to Party building, Chính said.

For urban metro projects, Chairman of Hà Nội People's Committee Trần Sỹ Thanh has put forward several proposals for the Government and the PM to review – including an early consideration for approving the adjustment of the investment policy for the pilot metro project No.3 Nhổn-Hà Nội Station as soon as May this year and allowing the city to use Official Development Assistance (ODA) to implement the urban metro project No.5 (Văn Cao-Ngọc Khánh-Láng Hoà Lạc) to ensure a balanced allocation of resources for the project.

With regards to housing, particularly in the development of social housing, the Hà Nội leader requested the Government allow the city to decide on the ways/methods to implement the requirement of dedicating 20 per cent of the land fund to projects with a scale of over two hectares – which would allow the investors to pay in cash in some cases instead of allocating floor areas in their projects for affordable apartments. The city will use this money to build concentrated social housing areas.

Thanh also asks the Government to convert some unused resettlement housing areas into affordable social housing.

The Hà Nội Chairman also made requests concerning the implementation of the Ring Road No.4 project that is set to be open for use in 2027.

According to a report presented at the working session, Hà Nội's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) grew 5.8 per cent in the first quarter of this year and 5.86 per cent in 2021 and 2022 – however, these figures are still relatively low compared to the targets of 7.5-8 per cent set for the 2021-25 period.

In 2022, the per capita income of Hà Nội reached an average of VNĐ141.8 million (about $6,000), an increase of VNĐ18.1 million compared to 2020.

In the first four months, its budget collection reached nearly VNĐ178 trillion (US$7.59 billion), completing 50.4 per cent of the yearly estimates, up 21.6 per cent year-on-year.

Hà Nội now ranks second nationwide in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, with over 7,000 projects worth $61.7 billion. Between January and April, the city lured $1.71 billion in FDI, representing a year-on-year rise of up to 260 per cent. — VNS

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