Politic-Economic-Society-Tech

Vietnam's rice basket to be refurbished

The economy of the Mekong Delta is set for a major restructuring over the next five years in a bid to speed up development and raise prosperity in the country's largest rice basket. 

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai said the region's industrial and service sectors would be strongly supported, with a particular focus on energy and heavy industry. The premier told a three-day conference, held last week and involving ministries and authorities from the 12 Mekong provinces, that the government would continue to invest in infrastructure development in the region. 

Key projects would include building irrigation networks, upgrading roads and waterways, and providing housing for the delta residents, particularly the Khmer ethnic group. 

"Development must pave the way to the industrialization of rural areas in the Mekong Delta, thus narrowing the gap between the region and other parts of the country," Khai told the meeting. The five-year economic growth target in the Mekong Delta region is 9.8 percent a year, compared with 7.5 percent for the nation at large. 

This growth will build on a program of heavy capital investment into the region in the 1996-2000 period, when VND16 trillion (US$1.07 billion), or 17.5 percent of total investment in Vietnam, went towards the region's infrastructure development. In that period, nearly 300,000 households in 10 Mekong provinces received loans totalling VND1.3 trillion to elevate their homes above floodlines. Another VND296 billion went towards constructing 65,000 supply stations to provide clean water. 

In the past five years, the Ministry of Construction has worked with provincial authorities to zone 105 urban areas. About 30,000 new classrooms were built in the region during that time. 

These investments are already paying off: economic growth, at 7.48 percent, is already outstripping the 7 percent rate in the country at large. Farm produce has increased 6.2 percent a year, and the region now accounts for 42 percent of the entire nation's agricultural output. Food production in the Mekong Delta rose from 2.7 million tons in 1996 to 17.1 million tons in 2000, generating export turnover of $700 million and ensuring the nation's food security. 

The region's seafood products reached 1.1 million tons in output last year, and now account for 52 percent of nation-wide production. 

The average annual income in the delta is $412 per capita, compared to the national average of $431, according to Ministry of Planning and Investment figures. 

Agricultural, forestry and fishery production declined as a percentage of overall output in the region. These industries commanded 60.8 percent of the region's gross domestic product in 1995, but fell to 52 percent last year, and will fall to 46 percent by 2005. Industrial output, however, increased from 14.5 percent in 1996 to 19 percent last year, and will climb to 23 percent by 2005. The services sector rose from 25 percent to 29 percent between 1996 and 2000, and is expected to hit 31.4 percent in 2005. 

Khai highlighted the still low living standards, poor road networks, insufficient water supplies, and inadequate health care and education services. To improve people's living standards, he said, the authorities must carefully consider which sectors to develop, which crops to grow and which animals to breed. 

"Raising yields from the current $1,000 per hectare to $2,000 per hectare means raising per capita income from $250 to $500," Khai said. 

Reports say past zoning activities did not keep pace with development, and that closer coordination is needed to expand transport and irrigation in harmony with new residential and commercial construction. 

The conference also emphasized that investment in improving technology, human resources and agriculture was still far from sufficient. 

(Asia Pulse) 

source: atimes.com, 19 July 2001