Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (left) conferred the Government's decision approving the master plan for Thừa Thiên-Huế Province towards 2050. — Photo from the Việt Nam Government Portal

THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Saturday asked the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế to optimise its potential and unique strengths to become an urban area with identity, which develops in a smart, adaptive, green, clean, beautiful, safe, and sustainable manner.

Addressing a conference to announce the planning of the province in the 2021-30 period with a vision to 2050 and promote investment in the province in 2024, the Government leader underlined that Thừa Thiên-Huế has an important strategic position as a bridge connecting the North and the South, a gateway to the sea of the East-West trans-Asia corridor through Northern Thailand - Southern Laos - Central Việt Nam, which brings the locality great potential for marine and lagoon economic development.

Thừa Thiên-Huế is also a land of spirituality, outstanding people, and rich culture, enabling it to be an attractive tourist destination with a rich history and unique culture with many cultural heritage sites and historical relics of Việt Nam and the world, he added.

PM Chính underlined the need to internationalise the values of the national cultural identities and nationalise the quintessence of the world culture.

Highly valuing the design of the provincial planning and the Thừa Thiên-Huế urban planning, the Government leader asked the province to focus on effectively mobilising and utilising resources to promote traditional driving forces of investment, export, and consumption, while creating breakthroughs in new motivations such as green economy, digital economy, circular economy, sharing economy, knowledge economy, climate change response, sustainable development, investment in cultural industry, and entertainment industry.

Meanwhile, the locality should concentrate on enhancing human resources quality and strengthen connectivity with domestic and international regions through transportation systems, production systems, supply chains, culture and tourism, he said.

The PM also highlighted the need for Thừa Thiên-Huế to strengthen the development of a concerted comprehensive strategic infrastructure system, while increasing industrial promotion to serve the cultural industry, tourism, processing industry, manufacturing, production, and supply chains for the region and the world, promoting the application of science and technology, innovation in production and business, creating stable jobs and livelihoods for people, and securing fast and sustainable growth.

Under the provincial planning in the 2021-30 period with a vision to 2050, Thừa Thiên-Huế is expected to become a centrally-run city in 2025 and a typical heritage city of Việt Nam in 2030, as well as one of the major and unique centres of Southeast Asia in terms of culture, tourism, and intensive health care.

By 2030, the locality's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) expansion is expected to reach 9-10 per cent per year, with industry-construction contributing 33-35%, and services accounting for 56 per cent. Its urbanisation rate is hoped to reach about 70 per cent. In 2030, the province's population is predicted to hit 1.3 million.

Thừa Thiên-Huế will form and develop a number of economic corridors, including the North-South Economic Corridor, East-West Economic Corridor, Urban Economic Corridor towards the sea, along with driving centres of Huế City, Chân Mây-Lăng Cô economic zone, and Phong Điền Industrial Park.

The Government leader called on businesses and investors to share visions and actions with the locality, pioneering in renovation and contributing ideas to the province in administrative reform and improving the local investment environment.

At the event, Thừa Thiên-Huế authorities granted investment licences and investment policy approval decisions to 11 projects with a total capital of nearly VNĐ9 trillion (US$360.5 million), while presenting research documents for 10 projects with a capital of about VNĐ120 trillion in the fields of infrastructure, tourism, mechanics, energy, logistics, housing, education, health care, and digital data.

The same day, PM Chính attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Hue International Central Hospital No.2.

Construction of the hospital, one of the five special-level to be upgraded to international-level, is expected to be completed in 2026.

With an investment of nearly VNĐ400 billion, the hospital will have a total floor area of 21,000 sq.m. — VNS