Decision No. 1959/QD-TTg of October 29,2013, approving the master plan on socio-economic development of Son La province through 2020

THE PRIME MINISTER

Decision No. 1959/QD-TTg of October 29,2013, approving the master plan on socio-economic development of Son La province through 2020

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001  Law on Organization of the Government; Pursuant to the Governments Decree No. 92/2006/ND-CP of September 7, 2006, formulation, approval and management of socio-economic development master plans; and Decree No. 04/2008/ND-CP of January 11, 2008, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 92/2006/ ND-CP;

At the proposal of the Chairperson of the Son La Provincial People’s Committee,

DECIDES:

Article 1:To approve the master plan on socio-economic development of Son La province through 2020 (below referred to as the master plan), with the following principal contents:

I.      DEVELOPMENT VIEWPOINTS

1                   The master plan on socio-economic development of Son La province through 2020 meet be in line with the national socio- economic development strategy and the master plan on socio-economic development in the northern midland and mountainous region; ensure synchronicity and consistency with sectoral raster plan of the whole country.

2                  To exploit, make use of all resources, potential and strengths regarding human resources, land, water and other natural resources with suitable mechanisms and policies to restructure investment and renovate growth models to create breakthroughs in socio-economic development.

3                   To develop and create brand names for major high-quality, competitive products in domestic and foreign market economies; to promote the research, construction and development of combined farm products, tourism and electricity clusters to effectively exploit and use land in Moc Chau, Muong La...., water resources of the Da River system and hydropower reservoirs.

4                   To combine economic development with social progress and equality for fast and sustainable poverty reduction; to gradually improve residents’ living conditions, narrow the gap in living standards among stratas of people and areas in the province, better implement ethnic policies and policies on natural resource tax, develop difficult border areas.

5                   To closely combine socio-economic development with ensuring defense, security and maintaining social order and safety, protecting the ecological environment and food safety and hygiene, and strengthening the Vietnam-Laos special friendship.

II. DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

1.    Overall objectives

To bring into play democracy and the strength of unity of ethnic groups to build Son La into a relatively developed province in the northern midland and mountainous region, strive to become a center of the northwestern sub-region by 2020 based on economic restructuring and renovation of growth models to tap the northwestern region’s potential and advantages.

To attract investment with quality and focuses, build a synchronous transport and urban infrastructure system associated with comprehensive socio-cultural development; to focus on the development of high-quality human resources, create brand names for major products to participate in the commodity value chain; to actively reduce poverty along with ensuring defense, security, social order and safety and environmental sanitation.

2.    Specific objectives:

a/ Economic targets:

- To attain an annual average growth rate of 11.5% to 2015, and 8.5% in the 2016-2020 period;

- By 2015, the average per-capita annual income will reach USD 1,000; the proportions of agriculture, industry-construction and services will be 37%, 25%, and 38%, respectively, of the economic structure; the grain output will reach 595,000 tons; the total development investment capital in the locality will be VND 65 trillion; the budget collection will reach VND 11 trillion; labor productivity will be VND 41.6 million/person/year.

- By 2020, the average per-capita annual income will reach USD 1,800; the proportions of agriculture, industry-construction and services will be 32.5%, 28.5%, and 39%, respectively, of the economic structure; the grain output will reach 579,000 tons; the total development investment capital in the locality will be VND 90 trillion; the budget collection will reach around VND 22 trillion; labor productivity will be VND 62.9 million/person/year.

b/ Social targets:

- By 2015, the annual population growth will be 1.72%, the rate of trained laborers will be more than 30%, the malnutrition rate of under-five children will be 18.5%, the ratio of hospital beds will be 23/10,000 people, the rate of poor households will be cut 2%-3%; 95% of households will have access to electricity for daily-life activities and production; to become an education-training center in the northwestern region; 17 communes will achieve 14-18 new rural standards.

- By 2020, the annual population growth will be 1.59%, the rate of trained laborers will be more than 52%, the malnutrition rate of under-five children will be 10%, the ratio of hospital beds will be 26/10,000 people, the rate of poor households will be cut 2%-3%; 98% of households will have access to electricity for daily-life activities and production; to remain an education-training center in the northwestern region; to preserve and bring into play the cultural heritages of the Thai ethnic people and other ethnic groups.

c/ Infrastructure system:

- To synchronously develop the transport system to reach 0.91 km/km2 by 20207 the percentage of communes having roads leading to their centers all the year around will be 75% by 2015 and 100 percent by 2020; to focus on building the urban system, especially key urban centers in Son La city, Moc Chau and Hat Lot town.

- To increase investment in essential infrastructure construction in rural areas, with special priority given to poor communes in deep-lying, remote, border and resettlement areas of hydropower plants.

c/ Environmental targets:

- By 2015, the forest coverage will be 45.7%; the rate of households have access to hygienic water will be 85%; 100% of urban daily waste will be collected; food hygiene and safety will be ensured.

- By 2020, the forest coverage will be 55%; 100% of seriously polluting establishments will be handled; the rate of households having

access to hygienic water will be 90%.

III. BREAKTHROUGHS

1.    Mechanisms, policies: To studying detail Son La’s conditions to turn into reality policies on hydropower tax, forest environment charges, and policies to exchange land and old working offices for infrastructure, actively implement policies on PPP investment and supporting mountainous enterprises in manufacturing and trading in major products.

2.    Human resources development and attraction: To prioritize investment in building the northwestern training center comprising the northwestern university, the vocational college and vocational training centers, and strongly develop high-quality human resources through training, combine attraction with effective agricultural promotion.

3.    Infrastructure development: To develop key urban centers and the lifeline transport system to effectively regulate and connect with localities in the region and develop the life major product production and business areas (combined clusters, industrial parks, tourist areas).

IV. ORIENTATIONS FOR SECTORAL DEVELOPMENT

1. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries development

- To strive to attain an annual growth rate of 4.2% by 20l5 and 3.3% from 2016 to 2020. To develop in a diversified and sustainable manner toward commodity production associated with consumption market; to reorganize production space and renovate growth models to raise the competitiveness of major products in the value chain and concurrently ensure food security.

-Agriculture: To combine the development of belts of vegetables, plants and flowers after the centralized model in potential areas to produce major products serving people’s demand and exports; to promote the development of industrial tree zones under tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane and cotton to create new posture and strengths. To focus on developing the combined high-quality farm product cluster (Milk and dairy products, tea and tea products, quality fish and various flower and fruit products) in Moc Chau, turning Son La into a supplier of materials and commodities in Vietnam’s agricultural commodity value chain.

To develop high-economic value husbandry of buffaloes, cows, lean pigs, tortoise, sturgeons, blue-legged shrimps, chickens, ducks, etc, for the market based on taking advantage of the advantages of a mountainous province favorable for pasture and material sources for food processing.

- Forestry: To sustainably manage forest resources, focus on developing the protection forest system in the upper reaches of the Hoa Binh and Son La hydropower plants and the Ma river and concurrently preserve and sustainably develop the Xuan Nha, Sop Cop, Co Pia and Ta Xua special-use forests. To promote the zoning off and regeneration of natural forests, combine regeneration with supplementary planting; to encourage the development of the production forest system with a focus on material forests, and concurrently build forest product processing establishments. To focus on completing and implementing the policy to collect forest environment charges so as to contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable hydropower development.

- Fisheries: To effectively exploit, use and protect fisheries areas in major rivers, hydropower irrigation and reservoirs, and locals’ ponds to develop quality fisheries commodities. To develop cold-water fish farming such as high-quality salmons and sturgeons in a number of areas with suitable natural conditions like the Son La hydropower reservoir and coldwater streams in Moc Chau.

2. Industrial and handicraft development

To strive to attain an annual growth rate of 12.5% from now to 2015, and 12.3% from 2016 to 2020. To focus investment on the development of potential and advantageous major products associated with technology renovation and improvement of managerial knowledge so as to raise their value.

Major industries will include power and hydropower, high-class farm produce and animal feed processing, cement and construction material production, mining and intensive mineral processing, and garment.

Industrial development will be based on synchronous development of human resources and infrastructure with priority given to the development of the Mai Son industrial park, industrial clusters and combined farm product clusters (processing high-quality farm and forestry products), services associated with the completion of wastewater and solid waste treatment works. To upgrade the Mai Son and Chieng Sinh cement plants by using environment friendly technologies, manufacture construction materials such as roofing panels, non-baked bricks, steel house frames, construction stones; to step by step establish the Muong La iron and steel complex.

3.Trade and service development

To strive to attain an annual growth rate of 14.3% from now to 2015, and 9.2% from 2016 to 2020.

-        Trade and services: To invest in turning Son La and Moc Chau into trade and service centers of the northwestern region providing training, health care, telecommunications and trade services.

To synchronously develop the market system primarily to meet basic needs of ethnic groups in border and highland areas and concurrently implement drastic solutions to combat illegal trading, especially drug trafficking.

To develop international trade and services through upgrading the Long Sap, internal border gate Moc Chau and the Chieng Khuong border gate, Ma river, to tap the potential of, and strengthen the Vietnam-Laos special friendship.

-        Tourism: To renew tourism management and investment policies to attract large enterprises’ investment and cooperation to create brand names for tourist products in Moc Chau;

To establish and develop the Hanoi- I Northwest-Laos-Thailand tourist route, encouraging the development of tourist products such as cultural, historical, ecological, recreational and sports tourism.

4.    Social fields

a/ Education-training

To improve education quality, increase schools and classes, improve their physical facilities and teachers’ knowledge to meet national standards, diversify training forms, create conditions for all people to have access to learning opportunities associated with promoting the campaign to build beaming society.

To turn Son La into one of the northwestern region’s multi-disciplinary human resources education and training centers having the Northwestern University as the core, create a system of high-quality human resource  training schools to support the local labor restructuring in the region. To universalize primary school education among children of eligible age at grade 2, and strive to meet the national standard on pre-school education universalization for five-year-old children by 2015.

b/ Public health, health care and protection:

To develop a modern and synchronous medical system; to strive to turn Son La into one of the northwestern health centers, meeting the people’s increasing and diverse healthcare demands in the region;

To continue investing in upgrading hospitals, particularly the northwestern region’s 500-bed general hospital, health centers, and clinics from provincial, district to communal levels together with the preventive health system, improving health workers’ professional qualifications and ethics.

To promote the socialization of medical work, encouraging and creating conditions for medical sectors to join in investing in developing medical services to serve the people and socioeconomic development.

c/ Culture and sports and physical training

To build a healthy culture imbued with national-identity, preserve and bring into play the Thai ethnic group’s cultural heritages, contributing to developing tourism and improving the spiritual life of ethnic groups in the province; to focus investment on building the system of synchronous cultural institutions at all levels.

To accelerate the socialization of sports physical training, focusing investment on developing technical infrastructure and training high-achievement athletes. To launch a campaign Everyone does exercise and develop ethnic groups’ entertaining games as well as modem sports, contributing to improving people’s stature and health.

d/ Poverty reduction and human resource development

- To implement poverty reduction and hunger eradication programs in a synchronous, comprehensive and efficient manner; to adopt sustainable poverty reduction solutions and models, create conditions for poor people to develop production; to adopt policies to encourage businesses’ vocational training and job placement for the poor.

- To focus on the development of human resources, particularly high-quality human resources; to study the renewal of training work, closely combine vocational training programs with enterprises in vocational training for laborers, particularly rural workers and laborers engaged in manufacturing and trading in major products.

To continue with agricultural promotion through vocational training for farmer households, build demonstration models; to adopt necessary support and training policies for those who want to shift from agricultural production to other trades during the economic restructuring process.

5. Infrastructure development

a/ Transport

- To develop a modern transport infrastructure, increase the linkage among regions, major urban centers and important areas in the province to ensure safe goods and passenger transport and defense and security in highland and border areas. In particular:

- Roads: To coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in studying the upgrade of the lifeline highways such as national highways 6, 37, 43, 279 and 4G to Sop Cop and a number of provincial routes to create a continuous transport system for effective connection in the province.

To develop the system of rural roads and border patrol roads to ensure access to highland, deep-lying and border communes in four seasons. To renovate policies for effective transport management and transport service development;

- Waterways: To gradually improve the waterway transport network, efficiently exploit waterway tourism and transport routes on the Da river.

- Airways: To invest in changing the purpose of Na San airport to serve defense, security and assure social order and safety.

b/ Power supply

To invest in building power plants and the electricity distribution network and renew the effective exploitation and management of this system so as to supply sufficient power for daily-life, production and business activities.

To focus on the development of the rural power network; to quickly complete and put into use the 500 KV Pi Tong station and 220 kV Muong Bang station to meet electricity demands.

c/ Information and communications

To build a synchronous post and telecommunications infrastructure, focusing on the development along National Highway 6; to improve the quality and diversify the forms of services.

To modernize and expand the network in couple with the application of cutting-edge technologies, ensure information security and meet socio-economic development requirements.

d/ Water supply and drainage and environmental sanitation

To invest in building the water supply and drainage system, first of all in major urban areas and commodity production and business areas.

To invest in building and putting in centers to treat industrial wastewater and urban centers’ solid waste up to national standards.

dd/ Irrigation

To invest in upgrading and consolidating a complete canal and ditch system to basically supply sufficient water to the Da and Ma river basin areas by 2015.

To effectively tap semi-submerged areas of hydropower reservoirs; to focus on building small- and medium-sized irrigation works for border, remote and deep-lying areas.

6.      Natural resource and environment protection

To effectively and sustainably exploit and use land, water and forest resources, especially biodiversity and minerals, to serve effective and sustainable socio-economic development by 2020.

To focus on the settlement of key environmental issues such as water balance, degradation, land waste, biodiversity solid and air in industrial production, agriculture, service and urban development.

7. Defense, security

- To further strengthen defense and security and ensure social order and safety, especially in border areas; to continue bringing into play the combined strength of the whole political system so as to build all-people defense associated with people’s security posture.

- To formulate and well implement defensive schemes, strictly manage reserve troops with assured quality and quantity; to closely combine defense and security with socio- economic development in each locality, in planning work and plans, ensuring the border of peace and friendship.

V. ORIENTATIONS FOR ORGANIZATION OF SPACE DEVELOPMENT

1. Socio-economic development

a/ The area along National Highway 6 embraces Moc Chau, Yen Chau and Mai Son districts, Son La city and parts of Thuan Chau and Van Ho districts.

Its major development orientations are to become a dynamic area on the northwestern economic corridor and a quality service and farm and industrial center in the northwestern region and Son La province. In particular, to focus on building three urban centers, namely Son La city with major centers; Moc Chau town and a tourist zone and the combined farm product cluster; and Hat Lot town to create momentums for provincial economic development. To soon form a northwestern service center in order to provide tourism, education and training services (the Northwestern university campus), public health (regional general hospital); to develop high-quality farm commodities through the combined farm product cluster; to produce industrial and handicraft products; to divide Moc Chau district into Moc Chau and Van Ho districts associated with building a new administrative area in Van Ho commune, expand Son La city to the south.

b/ Da River area embraces Muong La, Bac Yen, Phu Yen, and Quynh Nhai districts and parts of Mai Son, Moc Chau, Thuan Chau and Van Ho districts.

Its overall orientations aim to tap and bring into play the strengths of water, land, climate and mineral resources to develop hydropower and steel and iron industries and high-quality farm products. To build It Ong, Phu Yen and Bac Yen urban centers; the hydropower cluster and Muong La steel and iron zone to create an attractive urban point and ensure coordination in regional development and economic growth. To sustainably develop hydropower, steel and iron, cotton and garment products associated with material zones; to invest in infrastructure facilities such as roads, schools, power stations and markets to improve residents’ living conditions in new resettlement areas.

c/ The Vietnam-Laos border highland area embraces mainly Ma river and Sop Cop districts and parts of Moc Chau, Yen Chau, Phu Yen, Bac Yen, Mai Son, Muong La, Quynh Nhai, Thuan Chau and Van Ho districts.

Its overall orientations aim to develop farm economy and trade associated with ensuring defense, security and social order and safety; to invest in building Sop Cop and Ma river urban centers, the Long Sap international border gate, the Chieng Khuong border gate trade zone to develop trade in border areas; to focus investment on border infrastructure (border patrol roads, schools, etc) to facilitate socio-economic development and ensure defense and security.

1.      Completion of resettlement areas and building of new rural areas.

a/ Completion of resettlement areas: To definitely settle shortcomings to stabilize and improve residents’ living conditions in relocation and resettlement areas for Son La and Hoa Binh hydropower plants to ensure fast and sustainable socio-economic development.

b / Building of new rural areas: To create a new rural facelift by increasing residents’ income and intellectual standards, generating jobs, training grassroots cadres and building infrastructure, and shifting to commodity production.

VI. LIST OF PROJECTS PRIORITIZED FOR INVESTMENT

(enclosed Appendix)

VII. SOLUTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE MASTER PLAN

1. Investment capital mobilization solutions

- Investment capital demand for the period to 2020 will be around VND 155 trillion, including around VND 65 trillion for the period to 2015 and around VND 90 trillion for the period to 2020. Based on the annual budget balance, the province shall formulate plans and divide appropriate investment stages to ensure capital for major works and projects; have specific solutions for effectively mobilizing domestic and foreign resources to ensure the implementation of set targets.

- To study, formulate or submit to competent state agencies for promulgation specific mechanisms and policies suitable to the locals’ practical conditions and development requirements in each period to attract investment and create breakthroughs in infrastructure development of urban centers, combined clusters, service areas and major tourist sites.

- To expand the BOT, BT, PPP investment forms to facilitate capital market development; to facilitate the development of capital markets and forms of investment venture and contribution of assets as capital; to lure investment through socialization, particularly in education, training, public health.

2. Mechanism and policy and administration reform solutions

- To attract businesses with natural resource tax, income tax, mining enterprise incentives, bring into play the potential and advantages of the production and business of major products, effectively participate in the global value and a production network to create momentums for socio-economic development in the initial period of the master plan.

- To improve the investment and production and business environment, continue simplifying and making transparent investment procedures; to issue investment support mechanisms and policies based on the advantages of local economic development and in line with regulations.

- To adopt preferential policies for ethnic minority children to learn crafts and tertiary training and encourage large enterprises to provide training and employ laborers, together with support the training of communal and district cadres and technical workers.

- To encourage the development of various trade forms; to speed up the construction of wholesale markets, the Moc Chau tourism center, the complex service zone, the international border gate zone, the system of district and communal markets, and improve the market accessibility of economic units.

3. Human resources development solutions

- To formulate human resource training plans to meet labor market demands; to encourage the development of direct training; forms in businesses and training on investors’ demand.

- To promote cooperation between training institutions and vocational training centers in big cities; to focus on the development and adopt policies to attract high-quality human resources to work in the locality, especially in key product manufacturing and trading sectors.

4. Science and technology and agricultural promotion solutions

- To speed up the renovation of mechanisms and the state management system of science and technology; to work out training plans for science workers and properly implement policies for scientists and policies to encourage the socialization of scientific research; to expand technology research and transfer cooperation with institutes and universities, encourage businesses to renovate production technology.

- To continue with agricultural promotion work through vocational training for fanners the province, especially poor areas.

5. Solutions on cooperation and coordination of north western sub-regional development

The Northwestern Steering Committee and Hoa Binh, Son La and Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces shall instruct, supervise and assess the cooperation for northwestern sub-regional development with focuses on electric minerals, high-quality farm and forestry products and ensure defense, security and the Vietnam-Laos special relations.

VIII. ORGANIZATION AND SUPERVISION OF THE MASTER PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

1. After the provincial master plan through 2020 is approved by the Prime Minister, the province shall disseminate it to all-level Party committees, authorities, sectors, mass organizations, businesses and people in the province; and devise specific action programs to implement the master plan.

2. To concretize the objectives and tasks of the master plan into five-year and annual plans for effective implementation. To make annual assessments of the implementation of the r plan to review and propose according to competence adjustments and supplements to the master plan in conformity with the provincial socio-economic development in each period.

3. All levels, branches, socio-political organizations and people shall examine and supervise the implementation of the master plan.

Article 2.The master plan on socio-economic development of Son La province through 2020 is the foundation for formulating, submitting for approval, and implementing sectoral plans (construction master plan, land use master plan and plans and other sectoral plans) and investment projects in the province.

Article 3. To assign the People’s Committee of Son La province, based on contents of the approved master plan, in guiding under regulations the formulation, approval and implementation of:

1. The master plan on development of sectors and products; master plan on the urban center and residential area system; land use master plan and plans; district, township and city level socio-economic development master plans under regulations.

2. Formulating annual and five-year plans; key social, cultural and economic development programs; and specific projects to implement the master plan.

3. Studying, formulating and promulgating or submitting to competent authorities for promulgation mechanisms and policies suitable to the province’s development requirements and the State’s laws in each period in order to attract and mobilize resources to implement the master plan.

Article 4.Related ministries and sectors within their functions, tasks and powers shall:

- Guide and assist the People’s Committee of Son La province in implementing the master plan; in necessary cases coordinate with the province in studying, formulating and submitting to competent authorities for promulgation appropriate mechanisms and policies in order to effectively tap resources; and encourage and attract investment according to the socio-economic development targets and tasks set out in the master plan.

- Study, review, adjust and supplement sectoral development master plans and plans to invest in related works and projects mentioned in the approved master plan. Support the province to arrange and mobilize domestic and foreign investment capital sour implement the master plan.

Article 5.This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing and replaces the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 384/2006/QD-TTg of March 9, 2006, approving the master plan on socio-economic development of Son La province for the 2006-2020 period.

Article 6.The Chairperson of the People’s Committees of Son La province, ministers, and Heads of ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies shall implement this Decision.

Prime Minister

NGUYEN TAN DUNG

Appendix

LIST OF PROJECTS PRIORITIZED FOR INVESTMENT STUDY IN SON LA PROVINCE THROUGH 2020

(To the Prime Minister s Decision No. 1959/QD-TTg of October 29, 2013)

Note:The locations, sizes, land areas and total investment amounts for the above works and projects will be calculated, selected and specified in the stages of formulation and submission of investment projects, depending on the capacity of balancing and raising investment capital in each period.-