A baby girl poses at the Love Bridge in Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province. The bridge opened to public earlier this year, with breakthrough architecture and is considered not simply a bridge for traffic but a iconic structure in Quảng Ninh. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI—During a working visit to Quảng Ninh Province last October, Deputy Prime Minister Lê Văn Thành said he was impressed by the achievements made by the province given the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic turmoil.

Thành said Quảng Ninh was one of the few localities that dare to think, dare to do, and dare to innovate to get comprehensive achievements in all fields.

“I am especially impressed by the breakthrough development of Quảng Ninh's transport infrastructure as well as the openness of the business investment environment, which helps improve the province's competitiveness considerably,” he said.

In the last ten years, Quảng Ninh has made great efforts to change. Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, who was appointed Party Secretary of the province in 2011 and stayed in the post for five years, had a great role in transforming the province’s economy, according to economist Trần Đình Thiên.

Institutional changes were made in the locality: creating a friendly and transparent investment environment, supporting enterprises, encouraging breakthroughs, and creating favourable conditions for investors, especially capable investors.

Quảng Ninh Province, after Bình Dương, made strong commitments to supporting investors. In 2011-2015, the province succeeded in fulfilling the commitments it made to people and investors.

The most impressive project is the highway that links Hạ Long and Hải Phòng, thus bringing Hạ Long nearer to Cát Bi Airport and connecting with the 5B Hải Phòng – Hà Nội highway.

The highway also gave a driving force for development and helped improve the traffic flow on Highway 5B.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, when attending the inauguration ceremony of the Tình Yêu (Love) Bridge, the first phase of the coastal ring road of Hạ Long – Cẩm Phả as well as the opening of Vân Đồn – Móng Cái Expressway in the north-eastern province of Quảng Ninh earlier this year, recalled his discussions with architect Salvador Perez Arroyo 10 years ago about the planning for Hạ Long City.

“I told him we have to develop tourism and services to make sustainable income and not just develop the real estate industry,” the Prime Minister said.

Such ideas and vision have been instilled in the mindset of following leaders of the province.

Nguyễn Xuân Ký, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, said Quảng Ninh Province had creatively applied and shaped the province's development thinking under the motto "global vision, local action".

The planning of policies and strategies to create a breakthrough in development began with the consideration of the province's unique and outstanding potentials, strengths, and values. That includes "natural" factors such as Hạ Long Bay, Bái Tử Long Bay, mining area (coal), geology, and geomorphology; "manmade” factors, such as Yên Tử Heritage associated with Trúc Lâm Zen sect, a network of historical-cultural relics, and Vân Đồn Port.

"Another very important factor is the personality of the people of Quảng Ninh Province, which is disciplined and determined," Ký said.

Provincial master plan

In July this year, Quảng Ninh Province’s People’s Council adopted a resolution on the province’s planning for the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050.

Accordingly, Quảng Ninh will strive to become a model locality of the country in all fields, a society that is wealthy, civilised and modern, and a dynamic development hub. It will also become an international tourism, sea-based economic centre and a gateway of the northern key economic region and the whole country.

Quảng Ninh is designed to have 13 administrative units with 13 urban areas in 2025, and 12 administrative units by 2030 after Móng Cai City is merged into Hải Hà District. The province plans to become a centrally-run city with seven inner districts of Hạ Long, Cẩm Phả, Uông Bí, Móng Cái-Hải Hà, Đông Triều, Quảng Yên and Vân Đồn.

The province has defined a number of breakthrough measures for its development. These include the development of a healthy living ecosystem with outstanding support and encouragement policies to attract talent, develop high-quality human resources, and transform the structure of labour and employment. It also includes rapidly increasing the scale and quality of training within the population. At the same time, the locality will build industrial parks and economic zones at suitable locations that are large enough with full infrastructure to attract investment in the processing, manufacturing and electronic manufacturing industries using green and renewable energy.

Meanwhile, the province will conduct comprehensive digital transformation, focusing on promoting the digital economy. It will also continue to develop and complete the strategic infrastructure system in a synchronous, modern and multi-functional manner, including digital infrastructure, and strengthening regional and international connectivity to transform into a logistics centre of the region and the country.

Quảng Ninh will also develop a system of modern and smart cities to improve the living quality of locals.

Hạ Long City will become the province’s political, administrative, economic and cultural centre, while Cửa Lục Bay will be developed into a centre of connectivity for the expansion of urban areas northwards.

The province will focus on developing two economic corridors of Hạ Long-Đông Triều in the west and the Hạ Long-Móng Cái in the north. At the same time, the development of the Vân Đồn Economic Zone and the Móng Cái border economic zone will be defined as two breakthrough economic solutions.

Three development areas will also be built – Hạ Long open mega urban area with a population of about 1.9 million; a sea-based tourism area, which comprises Vân Đồn, Ba Chẽ, Tiên Yên and Cô Tô, with 323,000 people; and a border gate economic urban area, comprising Móng Cái, Hải Hà, Bình Liêu and Đầm Hà, with a population scale of 420,000. This will be the key area for the development of the border gate economy, the gateway of ASEAN to Northeast Asian countries with a system of highway infrastructure and large-scale seaports in Hải Hà and Vạn Ninh.

“The province determines that the development philosophy is to actively transform the mode of development towards sustainability based on three pillars: nature, people, and culture in combination with the trend of peace, cooperation, integration and opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution. On that basis, we will work to renovate the political system and build a modern administrative system; ensure sustainable development based on distinct advantages in services, tourism, culture, entertainment and creative industry,” said Bùi Văn Khắng Vice Chairman of Quảng Ninh Provincial People's Committee.

Khắng said by 2030, the province authorities aimed at developing Quảng Ninh into a typical province of the country in all aspects and Quảng Ninh will strive for a GRDP growth rate in 2021-2030 of 10 per cent; with GRDP per capita from US$19,000 - 20,000.

The province also sets a goal of placing in the leading group in the country in terms of the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), Public Administration Reform Index, Satisfaction Index of Public Administration Services Index (SIPAS); Public Administration and Governance Performance Index (PAPI); and Digital Transformation Index (DTI).

"The province's leadership team's ability to listen with foresight has brought development for Quảng Ninh, arousing the confidence and pride of all people in the province, bringing a breakthrough and sustainable economic development model that many localities are currently trying to keep up with," said Hà Tôn Vinh, Chairman of Stellar Management International Education and Consulting Group.

"Quảng Ninh is gradually realising the aspiration contained in its name: "Quảng" means vast, "Ninh" means peaceful and sustainable. With a long-term development mindset, a sustainable governance model and a team of leaders who have vision and determination, the province will surely achieve the expected results," Vinh said.

Applauding the province's efforts, in his visit to the province in April this year, Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng said Quảng Ninh had become one of the leading provinces and cities in multiple spheres, a bright spot of reform in the north, and a growth engine for the region. Trọng also urged the province to strive and "go further and further".

The province surely keeps up with this expectation, as leaders said they would spare no efforts to work to maintain its leading position.

"Each and every one of us in the provincial units need to be the pillar to maintain the apparatus unity, to foster the innovation will, the spirit of "dare to think and dare to do", so that Quảng Ninh can develop more strongly, more comprehensively," Ký said.

"We are going to develop fast but sustainably, we will not sleep on our success and forget the difficulties and challenges ahead since it's easy to make mistakes when we don't keep the risks under control, especially for a province with a large economic scale and diverse natural resources like Quảng Ninh," he said. VNS