Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc meets the Quảng Nam province’s leaders in a meeting yesterday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI – The central province of Quảng Nam should become a model for rapid, sustainable and comprehensive development, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc told the province’s leaders in a meeting yesterday in Hà Nội

The PM asked the province to work with neighbouring Đà Nẵng City and Quảng Ngãi Province to create an economic hub in the central region.

PM Phúc praised the province’s achievements in development, security and defence, and external relations.

Good performance has been seen in several key sectors, including mechanics and infrastructure development, and tourism, he said.

Currently a province with 75 per cent of its budget coming from the national budget, Quảng Nam is expected to contribute to the national budget from 2017.

However, the number of poor households remained high and the number of enterprises was low, the PM said.

Tourism promotion was still weak despite great potential as the province is home to two world cultural heritage sites, beautiful natural landscapes and historic relics, he said.

The PM asked the province to attract more big investment projects, saying that they are the “iron fist” to create breakthroughs in development.

He urged the province to restructure the economy with a focus on marine economy and offshore fishing.

Agreeing with the province’s policy of making tourism the key industry, he said tourism should be developed to raise its contribution to the province’s gross domestic products from the current 7-8 per cent to more than 10 per cent.

“If we want to develop tourism as a key industry, we have to care about environmental protection,” he said.

He asked provincial authorities to reject industrial projects that harm the environment, adding that he welcomed the province’s past decisions to refuse such projects.

He told the province to make more efforts to attract investors to its industrial parks and economic zones and have programmes to support businesses.

“The number of enterprises should be increased twofold or threefold,” he said.

Infrastructure, including sea ports, airports, and roads, should also be completed as it plays a crucial role in development, the PM said.

According to a report by Đinh Văn Thu, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee at the meeting yesterday, Quảng Nam recorded economic growth of 12 per cent in the first nine months of the year. Budget collection was nearly VNĐ12.5 trillion, a 40 per cent year-on-year rise and 90 per cent of the annual budget forecast.

Tourism enjoyed high growth with 3.4 million visitors in this period, increasing nearly 17 per cent compared to the same period last year.

However, the leader said the province is facing threats from severe erosion and salt water intrusion as a consequence of climate change.

Provincial authorities asked for the Government’s support to tackle these problems. – VNS