Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm speaks at the working session with the Standing Board of the Đồng Nai Party Committee on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo

ĐỒNG NAI — Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm on Monday called on Đồng Nai City to create a new growth model enabling the southern economic powerhouse to move beyond the limitations of a traditional industrial centre.

The direction was given during a working session between the top leader and the Standing Board of the municipal Party Committee on the implementation of the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and key development tasks for the coming period.

He stressed that Đồng Nai should no longer rely primarily on industrial land, low-cost labour or the sheer number of investment projects, but instead focus on productivity, technological advancement, innovation capacity and knowledge-based growth capable of generating broader spillover effects for domestic enterprises.

Agreeing with the key orientations and priority tasks identified by the Standing Board of the municipal Party Committee, General Secretary and President Lâm stressed that the greater the opportunities Đồng Nai holds, the more candidly it must confront the limitations and bottlenecks hindering its development, in order to adopt stronger, more fundamental and more effective solutions in the coming period.

He urged the city to rapidly translate the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress, as well as the strategic resolutions of the Politburo and that of Đồng Nai's first Party Congress, into concrete actions, measurable projects and tangible outcomes, with clearly defined timelines and responsibilities.

He emphasised that the local Party organisation must be truly clean, strong, united and cohesive, while officials should be evaluated based on efficiency, public satisfaction and their ability to handle difficult tasks. Officials who dare to think big and act bold for the common good should be protected, and those showing complacency or avoidance of responsibility must be replaced.

The Party and State leader highlighted the need to identify Long Thành International Airport as the core driver for restructuring Đồng Nai’s development space. He requested the early formulation of a master plan for the Long Thành Airport and Nhơn Trạch urban areas, and surrounding zones, while ensuring close coordination with ministries and agencies to accelerate key infrastructure projects, including the second phase of Long Thành Airport, the Biên Hoà – Vũng Tàu railway and inter-regional transport facilities.

He also underscored the necessity for long-term, integrated and feasible planning, free from fragmented interests and land speculation. Đồng Nai, he said, should reorganise its urban space toward a multi-centre development model, and tighten management over land conversion, auctions, compensation and site clearance. Issues relating to bauxite, forestry land and Cát Tiên National Park must be handled cautiously to ensure harmony between development, conservation, national defence – security and people’s legitimate interests.

Emphasising that people must remain at the centre of all development policies, the General Secretary and President called on Đồng Nai to build a modern, civilised, compassionate and liveable city where economic growth goes hand in hand with social progress, welfare, environmental protection and cultural preservation.

Given Đồng Nai’s position as one of Việt Nam’s largest industrial centres with a sizeable migrant workforce, the leader highlighted the importance of social housing, worker accommodation, schools, hospitals, cultural institutions, public spaces and workers' well-being as essential foundations for sustainable development.

He further urged the city to accelerate digital transformation and ensure the efficiency of the two-tier local administration model, enabling administrations to have sufficient authority, data and resources to resolve issues effectively right at the grassroots level.

The top leader also agreed in principle with Đồng Nai’s proposals and instructed relevant agencies to coordinate in drafting a Politburo resolution on the city’s development through 2035, with a vision toward 2065.

Vũ Hồng Văn, member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Đồng Nai Party Committee, affirmed that the city will fully absorb and seriously implement the directions given by the Party General Secretary and State President as well as the opinions raised at the working session.

In the immediate future, it will focus on addressing shortcomings and bottlenecks in order to soon realise the goal of developing Đồng Nai into a “civilised – modern – happy” city, with an aim to become a key national growth powerhouse, a major economic connectivity hub and an important gateway for international integration in the new development era.

In 2025, the locality maintained robust growth momentum, with its economic scale reaching nearly VNĐ678 trillion (US$25.7 billion), accounting for more than 5 per cent of the country’s GDP and ranking fourth nationwide. It posted a growth rate of 9.63 per cent in 2025 – its highest in a decade, while its growth in the first quarter of 2026 hit 9.76 per cent – the highest in southern Việt Nam.

Earlier, at President Hồ Chí Minh’s Memorial House located within the Đồng Nai Party Committee headquarters, General Secretary and President Lâm and his accompanying delegation offered incense to express profound gratitude for the immense contributions by the late leader – the brilliant founder and trainer of the Communist Party of Việt Nam – on the occasion of his 136th birth anniversary (May 19, 1890–2026).

The delegation also offered incense in tribute to General Võ Nguyên Giáp, an outstanding disciple of President Hồ Chí Minh, and heroic martyr Võ Thị Sáu. — VNA/VNS