Provincial People's Committee discusses ways to boost economic growth

Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Pham Quang Ngoc chaired the event.

According to the Department of Planning and Investment, Ninh Binh's GRDP was estimated to hit 10.7 trillion VND (466 million USD) in the first quarter of 2022, up 2.62 percent from the same period last year and accounting for 22.21 percent of the yearly plan. The growth was relatively low as compared to the yearly set target of 7 percent.

The main reasons were complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the "zero-COVID" policy of China, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. These have resulted in a disruption in the global production and supply chains, labour and material shortages, and decreased demands on the world market.

The province's industrial production value in the first three months of 2022 was just over 3 trillion VND, a slight increase of 0.39 percent as compared to the same period of 2021, the lowest growth in recent years.

Though administrations at all levels, sectors, and firms have been working hard to remove difficulties, striving to fulfill their highest goals, it is necessary to have more drastic policies to boost economic growth in the remaining quarters.

At the meeting, participants discussed ways to stimulate demands and recover production.

Some delegates suggested the provincial People's Committee adopt a flexible fiscal and monetary policy, with priority given to cutting regular spending and speeding up auctions of land use rights to have more investment for key project, thus attracting more projects funded by non-state budget.

Ninh Binh should accelerate divestment from state-owned enterprises; review and increase lending from non-state funds; issue policies to support employers and employees; improve the local investment environment; and promote digital transformation in all spheres, they proposed.

Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Pham Quang Ngoc underscored that the administrations at all levels and all sectors need to join hands to achieve the economic growth target of 7 percent in 2022.

He asked departments, sectors and agencies to review approved projects and deal with projects with slow progress.

The management board of industrial zones and the Department of Trade and Industry need to review land plots in industrial parks and clusters to call for strategic, potential investors who could put their  projects into operation as soon as possible, Ngoc said, adding that sectors and localities  should build mechanisms to support labourer training for businesses.

The chairman requested the tourism industry to devise a plan to obtain the highest possible growth, while related sectors need to check and control the market, and closely monitor essential commodities to avoid speculation, especially petrol products, construction materials and fertilizers.

Speeding up the disbursement of public capital, accelerating the progress of key projects and supporting non-state projects are also important solutions to spur the province's economic recovery, he stressed.

Ngoc also asked local departments, sectors, and localities to remove difficulties for enterprises, speed up administrative procedure reforms, and issue favourable policies and mechanisms for production and business activities.

Translated by Nguyen Thuy