Decision 1059/QD-TTg 2023 approve Master Plan of Nghe An for 2021-2030

DECISION

Approving the Master Plan of Nghe An province for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050^[1]

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government; and the November 22, 2019 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration;

Pursuant to the November 24, 2017 Planning Law;

Pursuant to the June 15, 2018 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of Eleven Laws concerning Planning;

Pursuant to the November 20, 2018 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of Thirty-Seven Laws concerning Planning;

Pursuant to the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 61/2022/QH15 of June 16, 2022, on further improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of planning policies and laws and a number of solutions to tackle difficulties and obstacles, accelerate the formulation and improve the quality of master plans for the 2021-2030 period;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 37/2019/ND-CP of May 7, 2019, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Planning Law;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 58/2023/ND-CP of August 12, 2023, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 37/2019/ND-CP of May 7, 2019, detailing a number of articles of the Planning Law;

Pursuant to the Government’s Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP of February 5, 2018, on organization of the implementation of the Planning Law;

Pursuant to the Government’s Resolution No. 119/NQ-CP of September 27, 2021, on tasks and solutions to improve the quality and accelerate the formulation of master plans for the 2021-2030 period;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1179/QD-TTg of August 4, 2020, approving the task of formulating the Master Plan of Nghe An province for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050;

At the proposal of the People’s Committee of Nghe An province in Report No. 7853/TTr-UBND of September 11, 2023, on approval of the Master Plan of Nghe An province for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050; Appraisal Report No. 8505/BC-HDTD of November 21, 2022, and results of the review of the dossier of the Master Plan of Nghe An province in Document No. 3985/CV-HDTD of May 29, 2023, of the Appraisal Council for Provincial Master Plans for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050; and opinions of the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Document No. 6078/BKHDT-QLQH of July 31, 2023, on the overall review of the dossier of the Master Plan of Nghe An province for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the Master Plan of Nghe An province for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050 (below referred to as the Master Plan), with the following principal contents:

I. SCOPE AND BOUNDARIES OF THE MASTER PLAN

The scope of boundaries of the Master Plan of Nghe An province covers the entire land territory of Nghe An province and the marine space determined in accordance with the 2012 Law of the Sea of Vietnam; and the Government’s Decree No. 40/2016/ND-CP of May 15, 2016, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Sea and Island Resources and Environment.

II. DEVELOPMENT VIEWS, OBJECTIVES AND BREAKTHROUGHS

1. Development views

a/ The Master Plan must ensure conformity and successful implementation of the Party’s guidelines and lines and the State’s policies and laws; its  democracy, compliance, continuity, succession, stability and development; its conformity with national overall master plans and plans, national sectoral master plans and plans and regional master plans and plans; and exploitation and promotion of the province’s distinctive potential, prominent opportunities and competitive advantages, thereby turning its difficulties and challenges into opportunities and advantages for its development in proportion to its strategic location and important role for the North Central region, the Central Coast, and the whole country.

b/ To ensure rapid and sustainable economic development based on the application of science and technology, innovation and digital transformation with 3 pillars (digital economy, digital society and digital administration), administrative reform, and improvement of the investment and business environment; to mobilize, allocate and efficiently use resources in appropriate investment forms in order to build a complete and gradually modern infrastructure system to meet development requirements of the province’s economy; to restructure the province’s economy in association with renovating its growth model and developing green economy, circular economy and digital economy.

c/ To organize development spaces, ensuring their unity and efficiency, and promote inter-regional and inter-district relations and inter-sectoral links; to ensure comprehensive, focal and selective development, focusing on a number of delta and coastal areas with favorable conditions in order to create new driving forces for growth and spillover effects for promoting economic development of the whole province; to adopt appropriate mechanisms and policies for socio-economic development in disadvantaged areas in the province’s Western region so as to gradually narrow the development gap.

d/ To regard the people as the center, subjects, resources and objectives of development; to ensure harmonious development, ensuring close connection between economy and culture, and realization of social progress and justice, in which culture will be considered the spiritual foundation and an internal resource; between the economic development and protection of the environment, particularly the forest, sea and island environment and ecosystems; to carry out disaster prevention and control and ensure effective adaptation to climate change; and between the economic development and consolidation and enhancement of the province’s potential, thereby firmly maintaining national defense and security and assuring the national sovereignty over seas and islands; to ensure political security and social order and safety.

dd/ To arouse and bring into full play the will, resilience, revolutionary spirit and cultural traditions, particularly the culture of Nghe An province and the aspiration of local people; to build a strong political system; to strengthen the great unity bloc of ethnic groups in the province, and the strength of the entire political system and society for development; to improve efficiency of the management and governance by administrations at all levels, enhance external affairs and inter-regional cooperation, take the initiative in international integration, and promote convergence, spillover effects and development.

2. Development objectives and targets through 2030

a/ General objectives

To build Nghe An into a rather developed province of the whole country, with rapid and sustainable economic development, imbued with cultural identities of Vietnam and the province; a center of the North Central region in terms of trade, health, education and training, science and technology, industry, and hi-tech agriculture; the province will have a complete and gradually modern infrastructure system adaptable to climate change; the people’s material and spiritual lives will be improved; cultural and historical values will be conserved and promoted; the ecological environment will be protected while the nature and biodiversity will be conserved; national defense and security will be maintained.

b/ Specific targets

- Economically:

+ The average growth rate of gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in the 2021-2030 period will reach 10.5-11% per year. In the GRDP structure, industry-construction will account for 42-42.5%; services, 39-39.5%; agro-forestry-fishery, 13.5-14%, and taxes less subsidies on products, 4.5-5%.

+ Per-capita GRDP in 2030 will be USD 7,500-8,000.

+ The proportion of processing and manufacturing industry will surpass 24% of GRDP.

+ Labor productivity will increase by 10-11% per year on average.

+ State budget revenues of the province will increase by around 12% per year on average.

+ Development investment capital mobilized from the whole society for the 2021-2030 period will reach around VND 1,650 trillion.

- Socially:

+ The proportion of cultured villages, hamlets and residential quarters will reach 78%.

+ The natural population growth rate in the 2021-2030 period will be 0.98% per year.

+ The average life expectancy of local people will reach 75 years.

+ The rate of trained laborers will reach 77%, of whom those possessing diplomas or certificates will account for 37.8%. Every year, jobs will be created for over 45,000 people.

+ The rate of schools attaining national standards will surpass 80%.

+ The number of medical doctors per 10,000 people will surpass 15; the number of hospital beds per 10,000 people will surpass 50.

+ The rate of poor households classified according to multidimensional poverty criteria will fall by 0.5-1.5% per year on average, or 1.5-2% per year for mountainous areas.

+ The malnutrition rate of under-5 children will be reduced to 12%; the rate of people covered by health insurance will be at least 95% of the local population; around 39% of local people will be covered by social insurance.

+ At least 70% of district-level administrative units will complete the task of building new-style countryside districts up to new-style countryside district standards. The rate of communes meeting new-style countryside standards will reach 90%, of which 50% will meet advanced new-style countryside standards and 15% will attain model new-style countryside standards.

- Regarding urban areas and infrastructure facilities:

+ The urbanization rate will reach 40-45%; the per-capita urban housing area will reach 32-35 m² on average; infrastructure facilities of urban areas will be built to be complete and modern.

+ Transport infrastructure facilities will become uninterrupted and safe; hydraulic structures, dikes, reservoirs and dams will ensure supply of sufficient water sources for production and domestic use purposes and facilitate proactive water drainage; to meet the demand for electric power for production and domestic use purposes; modern communications, Internet and terminal device systems will be built; social infrastructure facilities will meet development needs.

- Environmentally:

+ The forest coverage rate will be kept stable at 58%.

+ All urban residents will be supplied with clean water through the centralized water supply system.

+ The rate of rural residents getting access to clean water meeting technical regulations will reach 60%.

+ Ninety-nine percent of domestic solid wastes generated in urban areas and over 80% of domestic solid wastes generated in rural areas will be collected. The rate of collected domestic solid wastes that are treated to meet environmental protection requirements will reach 95%.

+ The rate of urban domestic wastewater volumes collected and treated up to relevant standards will reach 100% for grade-I urban centers; 70% for grade-IV or higher-grade urban centers; or 50% for grade-V urban centers.

+ All industrial parks will have their own centralized wastewater treatment facilities meeting environmental technical regulations and 99% of hazardous wastes will be collected and treated.

- Regarding national defense and security: To build solid defense areas and comprehensively strong armed forces capable of all meeting task requirements.

3. Vision toward 2050:

Nghe An will become a comprehensively developed, civilized and modern province of the whole country and deeply imbued with cultural identities of Vietnam and the locality; serve an important driving force for the development of the North Central region; the people’s material and spiritual lives will reach a high level; cultural, historical and traditional values and natural ecosystems will be conserved and promoted; national defense and security will be firmly maintained.

4. Development breakthroughs

a/ To develop 2 growth driving-force areas, including expanded Vinh city and the expanded southeastern Nghe An economic zone.

b/ To realize three strategic breakthroughs, specifically as follows:

- To improve institutions and policies in a synchronous manner; to robustly improve the investment and business environment with outstanding competitiveness in association with the administrative reform; to intensify the decentralization and delegation of powers and promote the proactivity, creativity and responsibility of all levels and sectors.

- To focus on investing and creating a breakthrough in building complete and modern infrastructure facilities to meet development requirements; particularly, to strongly develop strategic transport infrastructure facilities in order to create connectivity and spillover effects for development.

- To comprehensively develop human resources, science, technology and innovation in association with the promotion of cultural and human values of the province; to focus on promoting education and training and attracting human resources for education and training, particularly high-quality human resources.

c/ To establish and develop 4 economic corridors, including: (i) the coastal economic corridor associated with national highway 1, the eastern North-South expressway, coastal roads, national railways and seaways; (ii) the Ho Chi Minh Road economic corridor; (iii) the national highway 7A economic corridor; and (iv) the national highway 48A economic corridor, attaching the importance to the development of coastal economic corridors.

d/ To develop 5 pillar sectors and fields, including: (i) development of industries, mainly the processing and manufacturing industry; and supporting industries; (ii) development of trade and services, particularly high-quality education and training and health services; (iii) development of tourism based on 3 main types, i.e., cultural-historical tourism, wellness, recreation and sea-based sports tourism, and community-based adventure eco-tourism; (iv) development of hi-tech agriculture; and (v) development of the marine economy in association with national defense and security assurance.

dd/ To make intensive investment in 6 urban centers, including: the expanded Vinh urban area, Hoang Mai urban area (in association with Quynh Luu district), Thai Hoa urban area (in association with Nghia Dan district), and Dien Chau, Do Luong and Con Cuong urban areas.

III. DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIES AND SECTORS

1. Development orientations for important sectors of the province

a/ The industrial sector

- Development orientations:

To restructure the industrial sector toward modernity rapid and sustainable development, and application of advanced and energy-efficient technologies; to develop a number of hi-tech industries to serve as the driving force for the province’s economic growth, including: electronics and information technology industry; manufacturing and assembling mechanical engineering; digital industry; renewable energy; and supporting industries; to develop industries with potential and advantages such as: processing of agro-forestry-fishery products, foods and pharmaceuticals, and production of construction materials; to rationally distribute labor-intensive industries in order to create jobs and stable incomes for local people (garment and leather footwear); to promote the development of cottage industries and rural trades; to develop circular economy models in the industrial sector; to limit and gradually reduce the sectors of processing and mining with intensive consumption of energy and natural resources.

- Development spaces:

+ In the area of Vinh city and coastal districts along national highway 1 associated with the southeastern economic zone and the southern Thanh Hoa-northern Nghe An and southern Nghe An-northern Ha Tinh regions: To accelerate the completion of infrastructure facilities of the existing economic zone and industrial parks, adding new industrial parks to create ground areas for attracting investment in the development of hi-tech industries such as electronics and information technology industry, manufacturing mechanical engineering, automobile manufacturing and assembly, production of new materials, and supporting industries.

+ In the delta and low hilly areas: To develop industrial parks and cottage industry zones associated with industries manufacturing electronic components and spare parts; garment, leather footwear and household products and supporting industries in the textile-garment and leather footwear industries; chemicals and supporting industries for the chemical industry, and biologicals; foods and beverages; construction materials using new technologies; household goods, office equipment, and mechanical and electrical engineering products, etc.

+ In the western area along Ho Chi Minh Road and surrounding areas: To develop cottage industry zones and a number of industrial parks with an appropriate area to attract the following industries: agricultural product, forest product and food processing; production of agricultural input products; production of machinery and equipment for agricultural production; garment, leather footwear and textile/garment and leather footwear materials; and production of common construction materials.

+ In high mountainous areas: To promote the development of agricultural and forest product processing industries; production of pharmaceutical materials; production of animal feed; and cottage industry so as to increase the added value and ensure stable sale of agricultural and forest products for the people.

b/ The service industry

- Development orientations:

To rapidly develop diverse types of services to be modern and sustainable, ensuring the provision of basic services with increasingly high quality; to restructure the service sector toward rapidly increasing key services in terms of trade, tourism, healthcare, education and training, finance and banking, transportation, warehousing, logistics, and information and communication; to attach importance to building brands for Nghe An commodities, particularly products with advantages and high competitiveness; to form new sub-sectors, products and services and high-end services with high added value on the basis of effective application of scientific and technological advances.

To develop sustainable tourism toward higher professionalism, quality and efficiency; to attach importance to the development of various types of tourism: sea wellness tourism, cultural, ecological and community-based tourism; to associate tourism development with the conservation and promotion of heritage values and national cultural identity, protection of the environment and biodiversity, assurance of national defense and security, and foreign relations; to maintain a stable growth of the domestic tourism market as a key factor, while focusing on rapidly increasing the attraction of international tourists; to strive to develop Nghe An tourism into a spearhead economic sector, one of the important tourism centers of the North Central region, and an attractive destination of the whole country.

- Development spaces:

+ In the urban area (the expanded Vinh city and towns): To focus on strongly developing modern types of services and trade, education and training, high-quality healthcare, finance, and banking, centering on the expanded Vinh city. The traditional form of commerce is fresh food markets that meet the essential consumption needs of the people.

+ In delta and coastal districts (including Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Do Luong, Nam Dan, Nghi Loc and Hung Nguyen): Modern forms of commerce will be developed in these districts’ centers; the traditional form of commerce will still be kept and developed mainly in communes. To establish and develop a class-II logistics center in the Southeastern economic zone (Nghi Loc district); to build 1 wholesale market for agricultural products in Hung Loi commune (Hung Nguyen district) and another one in Dien Ngoc commune (Dien Chau district).

+ In mountainous districts: To continue focusing on developing the traditional form of commerce; to build new market places in areas where the people need them; to upgrade and renovate degraded markets to ensure that by 2030 there will be basically sufficient market places to meet local people’s needs. The modern form of commerce (e-commerce) will be developed mainly in the 2026-2030 period and the period after 2030.

+ Tourism development spaces:

In the expanded Vinh city and adjacent areas (Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc and Thanh Chuong districts): To develop expanded Vinh city into a tourism center of the northern Central Vietnam with different types of high-quality tourism services and products; to develop tours where tourists can experience the cultural space of Lam river and Vi and Giam folk signing; to develop thematic tours to President Ho Chi Minh’s native place; sea- and island-based wellness tourism; and urban tourism.

In Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Do Luong and Quynh Luu districts and Hoang Mai town: To focus on investing in the development of sea-based leisure, sea-based sports and recreation, and cultural-historical tourism.

In Nghia Dan, Thai Hoa, Tan Ky, Anh Son, Con Cuong, Tuong Duong and Ky Son districts: To develop community-based tourism; ecotourism and adventure sports; and agricultural and rural tourism along national highway 7 and Ho Chi Minh Road.

In Quy Chau, Quy Hop and Que Phong districts: To develop ecotourism; community-based and adventure tourism to help tourists experience the lives of ethnic minority people and mountainous landscapes of the northwestern region of the province along national highway 48.

c/ The agro-forestry-fishery sector

- Development orientations:

To promote efficient and sustainable development of a modern, green, clean and ecological agriculture, gradually adapting to climate change through the application of new and smart processes and technologies and efficient use of natural resources, focusing on the development of hi-tech agriculture; to restructure agriculture based on key product groups and ecological areas of the province in order to form large commodity production areas where high technologies are applied to production and processing; to promote value chain-based linkages and cooperation in order to improve productivity, quality, efficiency, added value and market competitiveness of products; to reorganize production, strongly develop farm economy, provide support for the development of households’ large-scale commodity production, and improve the efficiency of cooperative economy; to intensify the attraction of enterprises’ investment in agriculture and rural areas.

- Development spaces:

+ In the coastal delta areas: To develop production and processing of clean vegetables, eggs and foods for local markets and export; to effectively protect coastal mangrove forests and protection forests; to focus on developing offshore fishing, cage farming at sea, intensive, super-intensive and coastal aquaculture according to VietGAP standards.

+ In the low mountainous areas: To concentrate on producing such commodity products as orange, tea, milch cows, beef cattle, pigs and chickens; to develop concentrated material areas in planted forests, expand the area of large-timber forests and areas with sustainable forest management certification associated with the wood processing industry; to develop forms of fish-rice farming and intensive aquaculture in small ponds and lakes, and tank fish rearing for specialty aquatic species of high economic value.

+ In the high mountainous areas: To prioritize the development of specialty agricultural products of high economic value, such as black pigs, black chickens, cows of Hmong ethnic people, garlic, ginger and precious medicinal herbs; to properly protect natural forests, particularly protection forests and special-use forests; to develop planted forests, particularly large-timber forests, and intensify the planting of new species of bamboo trees and other valuable forest products; to develop cage aquaculture on water surface areas of large lakes and hydropower reservoirs.

d/ Development of the marine economy

To develop the marine economy toward green growth and conservation of biodiversity and marine ecosystem; to associate the marine economic development with the preservation of values, promotion of historical traditions and marine cultural identity and assurance of national defense and security; to increase linkages between marine economic sectors; to fully tap potential and strengths of coastal areas; to concentrate resources on building Nghe An into a province with strong marine economy of the northern Central Vietnam, high resilience to disasters and epidemics and effective adaptability to climate change; to develop such key sectors and fields as coastal industry; diverse and modern transportation, warehousing and logistics services; marine tourism and coastal urban centers; fishing and aquaculture associated with processing industry, logistics services and fisheries infrastructure facilities; search, exploration and evaluation of marine mineral reserves; coastal wind and solar power generation; and a number of new marine economic sectors suitable to the province’s sea areas.

To ensure rational distribution of spaces and land areas for sustainable development, thus avoiding conflicts of interest while clearly determining the order of priority for development of marine economic sectors and zoning of development spaces with different ecosystems and utilities; to strengthen regional linkages with coastal localities and international cooperation in order to promote marine economic development.

2. Development orientations for other sectors and fields

a/ Education and training

To comprehensively and sustainably develop general education and vocational education in the direction of standardization and mobilization of all social resources; to strive for the target that the province’s education and training quality is the highest in the northern Central Vietnam and in the top localities nationwide; to build a contingent of qualified teachers and physical foundations up to standards; to ensure that the quality and capacity of learners meet national development and international integration requirements; to reorganize the network of education institutions; to prioritize investment in the development of high-quality schools and the training of workers for key occupations; to build a number of training institutions up to international standards; to reorganize universities and colleges in the province to be streamlined, multi-disciplinary, multi-occupational and modern meeting international integration requirements.

b/ Health and people’s health care

To develop a health system that is gradually modern, complete and comprehensive from the provincial to grassroots level in order to ensure balanced, harmonious and rational development between universal health and intensive health in order to ensure access to healthcare services of higher and higher quality for all people, particularly those in mountainous and border areas and disadvantaged people; to attach importance to training human resources, particularly high-quality human resources, for improvement of their professional qualifications; to develop Vinh city into an intensive technical medical center of the northern Central Vietnam, with the province’s Friendship General Hospital, Obstetrics-Pediatrics Hospital and Oncology Hospital being the core; to diversify forms of investment and mobilize all social resources for investment in the health sector, especially high-quality health development.

c/ Science, technology and innovation

To strengthen the coordination between the State, enterprises and scientists, and associate scientific research with production development; to ensure synchronous and focused science and technology development; to regard science, technology and innovation as the main driving force to strongly renew growth models; to carry out a comprehensive digital transformation in all industries and sectors; to build the province into a science and technology center of the northern Central Vietnam with modern and complete technical infrastructure facilities and equipment, and a contingent of scientific and technological workers capable of acquiring, mastering, developing and transferring advanced technologies.

d/ Culture and sports

To develop the province’s culture and people in a comprehensive manner, meeting integration and development requirements; to conserve, promote and spread traditional cultural values and cultural identity of the locality so that culture truly becomes a solid spiritual foundation of the society, an internal strength and an important driving force for development; to invest in the preservation, renovation and restoration of special national relics, historical-cultural relics of typical value and ranked relics in the province; to focus on building and gradually improving the system of cultural and sports institutions; to build Vinh city into the northern cultural center of the northern Central Vietnam and Central Coast, a center for training and selection of talents in key sports of the northern Central Vietnam, and also an auxiliary national  center for training high-achievement athletes.

dd/ Labor, employment and social security

To comprehensively develop human resources, particularly high-quality human resources, to meet development requirements; to carry out labor restructuring in line with the economic restructuring; to allocate and efficiently use human resources; to synchronously implement solutions to facilitate rapid and sustainable poverty reduction, especially for poor districts and extreme difficulty-hit communes and villages; to ensure social security, progress and justice, especially for the poor, people with meritorious service to the nation, ethnic minority people in mountainous, deep-lying and remote areas, and disadvantaged people.

e/ National defense and security

To build and consolidate national defense potential and build solid defensive areas; to build the all-people national defense posture in association with the people’s security posture and the all-people border defense posture; to closely combine national defense and security assurance with economic, cultural, social and external relation development; to maintain the border sovereignty in land and sea areas and on islands; to build an orderly, disciplined and safe society for development.

3. Plans on development of the transport network

a/ Plan on development of national transport infrastructure

- To develop the network of expressways, national highways, coastal roads, railways, inland waterway infrastructure, seaports, airports and aerodromes under relevant national master plans.

- To develop inland container depots in economic zones, industrial parks, transport corridors of national highways 1A, 7C and 48D, and logistics centers; to give priority to places that can be integrated with logistics centers and conveniently connected to seaports, roads, railways, inland waterways and river-sea transport routes (VR-SB).

- Logistics centers: To build 1 class-II logistics center in the southeastern economic zone (Nghi Loc district) and a number of small- and medium-sized logistics centers in districts, cities and towns; to prioritize the development of warehouse systems around expanded Vinh city and industrial parks; to develop the province into one of the logistics centers of the northern Central Vietnam.

b/ Plan on provincial-level transport infrastructure development

- Roads: To include 36 provincial roads in master plans. Urban roads, district roads and commune roads must comply with master plans on urban areas, rural areas, and construction of district and inter-district areas.

- Railways: To comply with the master plan on the railway network. The master plan of the Vinh-Cua Lo railway must conform to the Vinh-Cua Lo connection route.

- Inland waterways: To include 6 locally-managed inland waterway routes in master plans, including: the Lam river route, the section from Cay Chanh T-junction to Con Cuong township; the Le dynasty canal section from Khe Nuoc Lanh to the Nghi Quang Bara sluice system; the Coc and Nam Dan-Vinh canals; the Con riverway section from Roi bridge to Cay Chanh; and the Hieu riverway section from Nghia Dan to Anh Son.

- To develop seaports, inland waterway ports and inland waterway wharves under the master plan on inland waterway infrastructure, technical and specialized master plans and other relevant master plans, and other relevant regulations.

- Bus stations: To formulate a master plan on the system of bus stations in districts, towns and cities in conformity with socio-economic development conditions and relevant regulations.

(Details are provided in Appendices I and II to this Decision).

4. Plan on energy and electricity supply network development

To develop power sources in association with the province’s socio-economic development orientations under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 500/QD-TTg of May 15, 2023, approving the National Power Development Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050; to invest in the development of an LNG-fueled power project in Quynh Lap commune; to  prioritize the development of renewable energy sources and other power sources suitable to local conditions, such as: wind power in Nam Dan district and Hoang Mai town; offshore wind power in Quynh Luu, Dien Chau and Nghi Loc districts and Hoang Mai town; solar power (particularly self-consumption solar power); biomass power; co-generation, and other power sources; hydropower generation on existing hydraulic reservoirs.

To continue to build, upgrade or renovate 500 kV, 220 kV and 110 kV transformer stations and power lines, medium- and low-voltage power lines hooked to new power sources in order to meet the increasing load demand, especially in economic zones, industrial parks and cottage industry zones; to focus on renovating 10 kV power grids into 22 kV or 35 kV ones; to gradually eliminate intermediary transformer stations, replacing them with 110 kV stations or new medium-voltage feeder lines; to gradually lay underground the existing medium- and low-voltage power networks; to ensure safe and stable power supply for deep-lying and remote areas.

(Details are provided in Appendix III to this Decision).

5. Plan on telecommunications network development

National and regional telecommunications infrastructure projects must comply with the relevant approved master plans.

Fundamental telecommunications infrastructure will be converted into digital infrastructure with high output and speed and reliability, thus ensuring cyber security, facilitating the digital transformation (digital government, digital economy and digital society), and building smart cities; to establish digital infrastructure facilities to serve the Party’s and State’s agencies, ensuring that all the Party’s and the State’s agencies from provincial to commune level are connected to digital infrastructure facilities (the special-use data transmission network).

To consolidate and develop manned public telecommunications service points across the province; to build commune post-cultural points into multi-service ones in the 2021-2025 period and into multi-functional public information stations with free-wifi services and automatic transaction counters in the 2026-2030 period.

To develop 4G and 5G and next-generation mobile communication infrastructure facilities so as to ensure full coverage of the entire local population with high-quality service. The percentage of households having access to fixed broadband Internet services will be 95% by 2030. To lay underground telecommunications cable networks and gradually renovate at least half of peripheral network infrastructure facilities in urban areas and commune centers.

To expand the postal infrastructure on digital platforms and data, thereby assisting new business models in fully joining in e-commerce and logistics value chains.

6. Plan on development of hydraulic and water supply and drainage networks

a/ Zoning of water supply areas

- The southern Hung Nghi area (embracing Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen and Nghi Loc district and expanded Vinh city): To use water sources from Lam river (building Lam river dam and dam to prevent saline intrusion into Lam river), Hong Long pumping station (Nam Dan district), Hung Linh pumping station (Hung Nguyen district), Son Thanh pumping station (Yen Thanh district), Le dynasty canal, and regulating sluice gates on Cam river, Thap, Lam Tra, Hoang Can, Le Xuan Dao and Gai canals, and other existing hydraulic structures.

- The Dien Yen Quynh area (embracing Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu and Do Luong districts and Hoang Mai town): To use water sources from northern Nghe An hydraulic system and other existing hydraulic structures; to build 2 pumping stations to additionally supply water to Ba Tuy and Vuc Mau lakes; anti-saline intrusion Quynh Tho sluice gate; and Khe Lai lake; to additionally supply water sources to Bung river from the N2 canal of the northern hydraulic system; to build aqueducts spanning Mo river and irrigation canals conducting water from the N26 and N28 canals of the northern hydraulic system.

- The southwestern area (embracing Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong and Thanh Chuong districts and 18 communes of Anh Son district): To use water sources from the Giang river (building Thac Muoi reservoir on the Giang river’s tributary) and existing reservoirs and dams.

- The northwestern area (embracing Que Phong, Quy Chau and Quy Hop, Nghia Dan and Tan Ky districts, Thai Hoa town, and 3 communes of Anh Son district): To use water sources from Ban Mong lake, the Nam Viec hydraulic system and existing reservoirs and dams.

To continue to build or upgrade spillway, reservoirs, pumping stations and canals to ensure water supply for irrigation for agricultural production and residential purposes and for other socio-economic activities.

(Details are provided in Appendix IV to this Decision).

b/ Zoning of water drainage areas:

- The area with water drained into the natural river and stream system, embracing: (i) the upper reach of Ca and Hieu rivers (in Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, Anh Son, Que Phong, Quy Chau, Quy Hop, Nghia Dan and Tan Ky districts, and Thai Hoa town); (ii) hilly and mountains areas of Thanh Chuong and Do Luong districts; and (iii) Cam river’s left bank (embracing 12 communes of Nghi Loc district, including Nghi Van, Nghi Kieu, Nghi Cong Bac, Nghi Cong Nam, Nghi Lam, Nghi My, Nghi Phuong, Nghi Dong, Nghi Hung, Nghi Yen, Nghi Tien, and Nghi Thiet).

- For the other areas:

+ The Huu Thanh Chuong area, which has water drained through 9 main water drainage systems of Hoi Ma Ca, Hoi Mang, Hoi Am, Hoi Tep, Cau Nay canal, Hoi Dong, Hoi Gat, Hoi Dap Dai, Hoi Ren, and Hoi Trieu; at the same time, to build a river dike section (with the starting point connected to Thanh Chi dike crossing Ro stream, and the ending point at My Hoa mount of Thanh Lam commune). On this section, to build sluice gates to drain flood water from fields and prevent flood from Lam river.

+ The area of Dien Chau, Yen Thanh and Quynh Luu districts and Hoang Mai town in which water is drained through 4 main systems of Vach Bac, Dien Hoa, Bung river, and the water drainage system for the northern Dien Chau, Quynh Luu and Hoang Mai area.

+ The area of Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc and expanded Vinh city in which water is drained through 5 main systems of Thap and Gai canals; Thuong Xa sluice gate in Nghi Khanh commune, Nghi Loc district; Rao Dung river; the inner area of Vinh city; and the right river bank in Nam Dan.

c/ Water supply plan for areas

- Water supply sources: To prioritize the use of surface water sources of Lam, Hieu, Nam Mo, Giang and Dinh rivers, and Vuc Mau lake, and other water sources. Regarding reserve water sources in case of incidents caused by climate change: To use groundwater in Ca river basins from Nam Dan upstream, and Hieu river basin, which is shorter than 1,000 meters from the river bank.

- Water supply plan:

+ For urban water supply: To renovate, and increase the water supply capacity of, existing urban water plants and existing inter-regional water plants, ensuring water supply for urban areas and rural areas adjacent to urban areas; to build new inter-regional water plants, and water plants in newly established urban areas.

+ For rural water supply: To supply water from inter-regional water plants, urban water plants, inter-commune water plants or small-sized rural water supply facilities; to develop non-centralized water supply models using drilling wells installed with hand pumps or shallow-aquifer groundwater wells for areas where it is difficult to build centralized water supply plants.

+ For water supply for industrial parks and cottage industry zones: except industrial parks where their own water plants are built, the main water supply source for industrial parks and cottage industry zones is from inter-regional water plants or urban water plants.

(Details are provided in Appendix V to this Decision).

d/ Water drainage plan for areas

To build wastewater treatment plants in urban centers of grade IV or higher grade. Industrial wastewater, wastewater from craft villages and hospitals shall be treated up to standards before being discharged into water drainage systems or natural ponds, rivers and streams. In scattered residential areas, to use available canals, ditches, ponds and lakes for biological treatment under natural conditions or treatment in plants; to reuse treated wastewater to serve agriculture.

To build urban surface water drainage systems and prevent urban flood for old inner-city residential areas; to apply sustainable water drainage models, build regulating reservoirs, limit concreting surface areas, build ecological cities, and reuse rainwater.

7. Waste collection and treatment development plan

To intensify the sorting of solid wastes at source; to apply the model of centralized solid waste collection for cities and towns (for large urban centers), or the model of inter-commune and inter-township waste collection for small urban areas and rural areas; to gradually replace landfill technology with incineration technology and incineration for energy recovery.

To include 18 plants (zones) for treatment of domestic solid wastes, hazardous wastes and industrial solid wastes in master plans. In each district, at least 1 solid waste collection zone will be built.

(Details are provided in Appendix VI to this Decision).

8. Social infrastructure development plans

a/ Plan on development of the education and training infrastructure network

To build, renovate and upgrade educational and training institutions from early childhood institutions to colleges and universities toward synchronization, standardization and modernization. By 2030, the province will have 560 early childhood institutions, 472 primary schools, 393 lower secondary schools, and 96 upper secondary schools. To promote the mobilization of social resources for the development of non-public educational institutions as suitable to the development status of localities and areas, particularly industrial parks, cottage industry zones and new urban areas; to develop Vinh University into a multi-disciplinary educational institution with a number of disciplines reaching regional or international standards; to rearrange a number of education institutions to establish Nghe An University and attract resources for the establishment of 1 non-public international university.

To reorganize and merge vocational education units and institutions according to a roadmap, ensuring their operational efficiency, reducing the number of vocational training institutions from 62 to 41, and there will be 4 colleges and 7 public intermediate schools managed by the province; to establish 1-2 college(s) and intermediate school(s) with investment from foreign partners or large domestic enterprises to train and supply skilled human resources for industrial parks and key economic zones inside and outside the province.

(Details are provided in Appendix VII to this Decision).

b/ Health infrastructure development plan

By 2030, the network of public health establishments will have 19 provincial-level public hospitals, 21 district-level health centers (including 12 two-function district-level health centers), 7 district-level general hospitals, 460 commune-level health stations, and health units with preventive functions. To establish an at-sea emergency center which will be located at Military Zone 4 Hospital; to develop the provincial Disease Control Center into a regional center for the northern Central Vietnam; to develop the Center for Tropical Diseases into the provincial Hospital for Tropical Diseases; to maintain and expand the existing non-public hospitals, and call for investment in building new hospitals to meet practical needs.

(Details are provided in Appendices VIII and IX to this Decision).

To expand the plant manufacturing western medicines of Nghe An Pharmaceutical and Medical Supplies Joint-Stock Company. By 2030, to build 1 facility manufacturing western medicines up to EU-GMP standards or equivalent in Vinh city, 2 facilities manufacturing traditional medicines up to GMP-WHO standards in Hung Nguyen and Nghia Dan districts; and 1 plant manufacturing medical supplies in Hung Nguyen district; to build pharmaceutical manufacturing and processing plants in Nghi Loc, Ky Son, Que Phong, Quy Chau and Con Cuong districts.

c/ Cultural and sports infrastructure development plan

By 2030, to restore and embellish 90-100 relics and make dossiers for submission to competent authorities for decision on ranking of 4 more special national relics, 11 national-level relics, and 90-100 provincial-level relics; to carry out archaeological research at 7 relic sites; to build 43 new works and upgrade or change building materials of 5 monument and monumental painting works; to develop golf courses local sports activities and tourism development.

(Details are provided in Appendix X to this Decision).

To completely develop the system of grassroots cultural-sports institutions with complete physical foundations and equipment. By 2030, each district, city or town will have 3 basic sports facilities including stadium, gymnasium and swimming pool. To encourage the private sector to invest in cultural-sports infrastructure facilities.

d/ Commercial infrastructure development plan

- Markets, trade centers, fairs and exhibitions: By 2030, the province will have 14 class-I markets, 403 supermarkets and 114 trade centers. To promote the development of supermarkets and trade centers built by the private sector; to develop trade centers combined with fair-exhibition centers in expanded Vinh city as well as major urban areas and border gate areas.

(Details are provided in Appendix XI to this Decision).

- Petroleum and gas storage facilities:

To invest in and upgrade key storage facilities, including DKC, Nghi Huong and Ben Thuy petroleum storage facilities; to build 1 jet fuel depot in expanded Vinh city, and 3 subsidiary depots in Con Cuong, Quynh Hop and Quynh Luu districts; to renovate and upgrade 2 subsidiary depots in expanded Vinh city.

The building of petroleum and gas storage facilities in the province shall be based on master plans on petroleum and gas storage and supply infrastructure and relevant master plans approved by competent authorities.

dd/ Plan on development of infrastructure of social assistance establishments

To build or scale up infrastructure facilities for areas where conditions permit; to renovate physical facilities and invest in equipment to facilitate the management, care and nurturing of policy beneficiaries under regulations; to develop care services for people who voluntarily contribute money to meet the needs of the society; to upgrade and renovate a center for caring people with meritorious contributions to the revolution in the province; to merge the provincial Invalids Care Center into the provincial Neuropsychiatric Invalids Sanatorium in order to perform the care task; to upgrade and build 5 social assistance facilities, 21 early intervention facilities for children with disabilities, and 4 public rehabilitation facilities.

9. Fire prevention and fighting infrastructure development plan

To build fire prevention and fighting infrastructure facilities to meet requirements of the socio-economic development of the province. Facilities for firefighting and salvage and rescue teams shall be built in locations with convenient traffic, water sources and communications; to formulate master plans on water supply, traffic and communication systems serving fire prevention and fighting up to construction standards and technical regulations. By 2030, to build 6 offices, barracks and facilities for fire prevention and fighting. 

IV. PLANS ON ORGANIZATION OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

1. Plan on development of difficulty-hit areas, extreme difficulty-hit areas and areas with the driving-force role

a/ For difficulty-hit areas and extreme difficulty-hit areas

To develop agriculture and forestry toward concentrated and efficient commodity production with the application of high technologies in a number of important stages of the production process associated with the eco-environmental protection; to promote the development of industrial-cottage industry production, attaching importance to the development of the agricultural and forest product processing industry based on products with advantages such as tea, livestock production products, wood and medicinal materials; to promote the development of eco-tourism, experience tourism, tourism for learning the history and cultural life of the ethnic minority communities and craft villages; to strive for the target that by 2030, there will be basically no extreme difficulty-hit communes and villages anymore.

To conserve and bring into play traditional cultural identities of ethnic minority groups in association with tourism development; to improve the teaching and learning quality in ethnic minority areas; to develop diverse forms of vocational training appropriate to conditions and customs of ethnic minority and mountainous areas; to facilitate the people’s access to quality health and population services.

To prioritize investment in building and improving the system of essential infrastructure facilities (traffic, hydraulic and electric power infrastructure, schools, health stations, markets and telecommunications works) in mountainous and ethnic minority areas; to invest in, and provide support for, projects on population resettlement for households living scatteredly in protection and special-use forests and areas prone to flashfloods and landslides.

b/ For areas with the driving-force role

To develop 2 areas serving as the growth driving force, including the expanded Vinh city and the expanded Southeastern Nghe An economic zone.

To concentrate investment resources on forming and developing 4 economic corridors: (i) The coastal economic corridor which focuses on developing urban centers, hi-tech industry, general services and marine economic sectors; (ii) the economic corridor along Ho Chi Minh road which focuses on developing hi-tech agriculture; agricultural and forest product processing and construction material production industries; and eco-tourism; (iii) the economic corridor along national highway 7A which focuses on developing large-scale commodity agriculture and forestry associated with the processing industry; and developing ecological, adventure and community-based tourism; and (iv) the economic corridor along national highway 48A which focuses on developing hi-tech agriculture associated with the processing industry, forest economy, silvopasture and medicinal material production.

2. Plan on development of functional areas

a/ The Southeastern Nghe An economic zone

To expand the boundaries of the Southeastern Nghe An economic zone to the total area of 105,535.2 hectares upon the addition or adjustment of targets for land use master plans and plans and the satisfaction of law-specified conditions and criteria, including the following 2 areas:

- Area 1: To be expanded and developed along national highways 7A, 7C,  46 and 1 (the section bypassing Vinh city) in association with Cua Lo seaport. After being expanded, this area’s total acreage will be 70,419.08 hectares (including 63,919.08 hectares of land and 6,500 hectares of sea surface);

- Area 2: To be developed from Hoang Mai and Dong Hoi industrial parks along national highway 48D and coastal roads associated with Dong Hoi seaport. This area’s total acreage will be around 35,116.12 hectares (including 30,666.12 hectares of land and 4,450 hectares of sea surface).

b/ Thanh Thuy border-gate economic zone

To establish Thanh Thuy border-gate economic zone on a projected land area of around 25,831 hectares in Thanh Chuong district in order to tap and bring into full play the potential of cooperation with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic upon the addition or adjustment of targets for land use master plans and plans and satisfaction of law-specified conditions and criteria.

c/ The hi-tech park

To establish a hi-tech park in the expanded Southeastern Nghe An economic zone on a land area of around 2,000 hectares with such functional sub-zones as hi-tech industry, software, and education and training sub-zones after 2025 upon the addition or adjustment of targets for land use master plans and plans and satisfaction of law-specified conditions and criteria.

d/ Hi-tech agriculture and forestry zones

To build and develop a hi-tech agriculture zone in Nghia Dan district on a land area of around 200 hectares and a hi-tech forestry zone of the North Central region in Nghi Loc and Do Luong districts on a total land area of around 618 hectares, thereby turning Nghe An into a large wood processing and export center of the North Central and Central Coast region.

dd/ Tourism sites

- National tourism sites: To form 2 tourism sites including (i) Kim Lien national tourism site in Nam Dan district, and (ii) Vinh-Dien Chau national tourism site.

- Provincial-level tourism sites, including Dien Lam eco-tourism site (Dien Chau district), Nghi Loc tourism site, Hoang Mai tourism site, and Quy Chau-and-vicinity tourism site. Other provincial-level tourism sites will be formed when conditions permit.

e/ Industrial parks

To continue building 12 industrial parks under the approved master plan on a total land area of 4,373 hectares. By 2030, the province will have 23 industrial parks on a total land area of 8,056 hectares, including 15 industrial parks in the expanded Southeastern economic zone on a total land area of 6,547 hectares and 8 industrial parks located outside the Southeastern economic zone with a total area of 1,509 hectares.

(Details are provided in Appendix XII to this Decision).

g/ Cottage industry zones 

To strive for the target that by 2030, the province will have 56 cottage industry zones on a total land area of 1,888.18 hectares, including 37 cottage industry zones already included in the master plan on a total land area of 1,068.93 hectares and 19 added cottage industry zones on a total land area of 819.25 hectares.

(Details are provided in Appendix XIII to this Decision).

The expansion and development of functional sub-zones (economic zones, industrial parks, and cottage industry zones, etc.) must comply with the province’s development requirements and conform to targets for land use master plans and plans approved or adjusted by competent authorities.

3. Plan on organization of the urban system

To regard the expanded Vinh city as the central urban area for the development of a sustainable urban system in the direction of: (1) accelerated urbanization through the establishment or adjustment of administrative boundaries of the province’s urban administrative units; (2) development and expansion of the urbanization in association with industrial production and service provision; (3) development of the urbanization based on the hub-and-spoke model; and (4) harmonious urban development and building of urban identity on the basis of conservation and promotion of cultural and historical values.

Once the law-specified conditions and criteria are fully satisfied, by 2030, the province will have 40-45 urban centers, including 1 grade-I urban center (expanded Vinh city), 2 grade-III urban centers (Hoang Mai and Thai Hoa cities), 2 grade-IV or grade-III urban centers (Dien Chau and Dong Luong towns), 15 district capitals and 20-25 district townships.

4. Plan on organization of rural areas

To develop rural areas in association with the province’s urbanization process and in conformity with natural and socio-economic conditions of different localities, thereby creating modern rural types that perpetuate and promote traditional cultural values and identities; to modernize the countryside in association with the modernization of production activities and technical and social infrastructure facilities; to arrange rural development spaces in a manner that helps save land areas, reduce infrastructure investment costs and improve material conditions for local people, in association with concentrated agricultural production areas; to upgrade village and commune models so as to facilitate sustainable production, avoiding areas prone to landslide and flashflood.

5. Plans on building of inter-district areas and district areas

a/ Plan on building of inter-district areas:

To divide the province’s inter-district spaces into 7 areas, including:

+ Area 1 (consisting of the expanded Vinh city and Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen and Nam Dan districts): This area will serve as the province’s key socio-economic development and urbanization driving force, in which Vinh city is the core urban area with the key role of exerting spillover effects to promote the whole province’s development and serving as the central urban area of the North Central region. In this area, focus will be placed on developing modern industrial production and service sectors, such as electronics, information technology, digital industry, manufacturing mechanical engineering, production of new materials; and support industries, commercial services, logistics, finance, banking, tourism, telecommunications, science, technology, high-quality training, and specialized health care. The surrounding districts will perform the specialized functions, including Nghi Loc (industrial production and logistic services), Hung Nguyen (hi-tech agriculture), and Nam Dan (ecological and cultural-historical tourism).

+ Area 2 (consisting of Hoang Mai town and Quynh Luu district): This area will serve the province’s northern growth pole and be located in the Southern Thanh Hoa - Northern Nghe An area, in association with the development of Nghi Son economic zone (Thanh Hoa province) and Dong Hoi seaport, with Hoang Mai town being the center and urbanization core of the area. In this area, focus will be placed on developing electronics, support industries, mechanical engineering, cement production, gas-fired thermal power and renewable energy, and various forms of sea and cultural-historical services and tourism; and importance will be attached to developing marine economy, particularly fishing and aquaculture associated with the processing industry, and developing areas exclusively for safe and organic vegetable and cash crop production.

+ Area 3 (consisting of Thai Hoa town and Nghia Dan district): Thai Hoa town will be the center of this area, with a focus on developing commerce and tourism, thereby forming tourism hubs and corridors along Ho Chi Minh road and national highway 48A; services in support of the mineral exploitation and processing industry; developing industrial parks and large-sized production establishments to employ local workers and facilitate the change of agricultural occupations; and developing hi-tech agriculture associated with the agricultural and forest product processing.

+ Area 4 (consisting of Dien Chau and Yen Thanh districts): Dien Chau district will be developed into a service urban area in the center of the province’s eastern region, with functions of providing commercial services, sea tourism and high-quality health and financial services. Yen Thanh and Dien Chau will be simultaneously developed into a key urbanization axis of Nghe An province in the subsequent period. This area’s economic structure will be transformed toward higher proportions of services, industry and hi-tech agriculture, while concentrating on development of agricultural product and food processing, mechanical engineering, renewable energy generation, garment, and leather footwear industries.

+ Area 5 (consisting of Do Luong, Thanh Chuong, Anh Son and Tan Ky districts): Do Luong urban area will be the center of this area. This area will serve as the focal point to provide support for the midland areas with the advantages of agricultural and forestry development in combination with tourism. To develop areas for growing material plants (tea, sugarcane, timber trees, etc.) serving the processing industry, fruit trees, medicinal herbs, livestock production and producing specialties of the area; to develop industries, particularly agricultural and forest product processing industries, support industries, cement and construction material production, and garment.

+ Area 6 (consisting of Con Cuong, Tuong Duong and Ky Son districts): Con Cuong urban area will be the center of this area. Efforts will be concentrated on bringing into full play the advantages of forest ecological resources and local cultural values; to plant and process medicinal plants and specialty agricultural products; to develop livestock production, cottage industries, eco-tourism, wellness tourism and community-based tourism in association with the conservation and promotion of cultural values and identities of ethnic groups; to invest in developing infrastructure facilities for quick connection along national highway 7A in order to raise the regional circulation and connection capacity.

+ Area 7 (consisting of Quy Hop, Quy Chau and Que Phong districts): Quy Hop urban area will be the center of this area. To develop urban and service centers along national highway 48A, using the regional commercial, training, health and cultural service centers in Thai Hoa town. In each district, 2-3 more townships will be developed on the basis of upgrading communes with favorable locations. To promote socio-economic development on the basis of the conservation of the local ecosystem and cultural values; to plant material forests; to develop livestock production and cattle and poultry meat processing; to develop cottage industries; to exploit and process minerals in a sustainable manner.

b/ Plan on building of district areas:

To plan 20 district areas, including 3 cities (the expanded Vinh city, and Hoang Mai and Thai Hoa cities); 2 towns (Do Luong and Dien Chau); and 15 districts (Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc, Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu, Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Tan Ky, Nghia Dan, Quy Hop, Quy Chau, Que Phong, Con Cuong, Tuong Duong, and Ky Son).

(Details are provided in Appendix XIX to this Decision).

c/ Rearrangement of district- and commune-level administrative units, specifically as follows:       

- In the 2023-2025 period: To rearrange district- and commune-level administrative units that satisfy both criteria of land area and population at under 70% of the law-specified levels; district-level administrative units that satisfy the criterion of land area at under 20% and the criterion of population at under 200% of the law-specified level, respectively; and commune-level administrative units that satisfy the criterion of land area at under 20% and the criterion of population at under 300% of the law-specified level, respectively; to merge Cua Lo town as a district-level administrative unit into Vinh city, and rearrange 89 commune-level administrative units.

(Details are provided in Appendix XV to this Decision);

- In the 2026-2030 period: To rearrange the remaining district- and commune-level administrative units that satisfy both criteria of land area and population at under 100% of the law-specified levels; district-level administrative units that satisfy the criterion of land area at under 30% and the criterion of population at under 200% of the law-specified level, respectively; and commune-level administrative units that satisfy the criterion of land area at under 30% and the criterion of population at under 300% of the law-specified level, respectively; to rearrange 98 other commune-level administrative units.

The criteria of land area and population of administrative units are specified in the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Resolution on criteria and classification of administrative units. The formulation and implementation of master plans on rearrangement of district- and commune-level administrative units in the 2023-2030 period must, in addition to the criteria of land area and population, take into account the previous period’s rearrangement results and the fact that to-be-rearranged administrative units remain stable for a long time and have isolated locations and special features, and rural administrative units have been planned into urban ones.

The specific scope and boundaries of each district- or commune-level administrative unit subject to rearrangement must comply with the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Resolution.

V. PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY; EXPLOITATION, USE AND PROTECTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES; PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF DISASTERS AND RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE LOCALITY

1. Plans on protection of the environment and biodiversity

a/ Plan on zoning for environmental protection

- Strictly protected areas, including (1) inner quarters of grade-I city (Vinh city), grade-II and grade-III urban centers; (2) areas with surface water sources used for domestic water supply in accordance with the law on water sources; (3) Pu Huong and Pu Hoat nature reserves, Pu Mat national park, the core zone of the Western Nghe An biosphere reserve, Tuong Duong Sang Le (Lagerstroemia Tomentosa) forest landscape protection area, Nam Dan and Yen Thanh landscape protection areas, and conservation areas that are included in master plans at the time of their establishment; and (4) class-1 protection zones of recognized historical and cultural relics and scenic places.

- Low-emission areas, including (1) buffer zones of Pu Huong and Pu Hoat nature reserves, Pu Mat national park, the Western Nghe An biosphere reserve, Tuong Duong Sang Le forest landscape protection area, Nam Dan and Yen Thanh landscape protection areas, and conservation areas that are included in master plans at the time of their establishment; (2) important wetlands; (3) corridors for protection of surface water sources used for domestic water supply; (4) inner quarters of grade-IV and grade-V urban centers; and (5) areas with sensitive environmental elements highly vulnerable to impacts of environmental pollution which need protection.

- Other areas, which are those not listed above.

(Details are provided in Appendix XVI to this Decision).

b/ Plan on environmental monitoring

By 2030, there will be around 58 surface-water environment monitoring spots, 13 coastal-seawater environment monitoring spots, 2 offshore-seawater environment monitoring spots, 10 groundwater environment monitoring spots, 24 surrounding-air environment and noise monitoring spots, 8 sedimentary environment monitoring spots, and 5 soil environment monitoring spots.

(Details are provided in Appendix XVII to this Decision).

c/ Nature and biodiversity conservation

- To conserve and sustainably develop the Western Nghe An biosphere reserve area, strictly protecting core zones and nature reserves (Pu Huong, Pu Hoat, etc.), Pu Mat national park, Tuong Duong Sang Le forest landscape protection area, and Nam Dan and Yen Thanh landscape protection areas.

- To establish Pu Xai Lai Leng nature reserve and Hon Ngu-Dao Mat species and habitat conservation zone.

- To establish high biodiversity areas with tropical evergreen forests in Nghe An province (Tuong Duong district) and in both Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces (Quy Chau and Nghia Dan districts), important biological landscape areas in Western Nghe An’s high mountainous areas, and Vu Quang-Pu Mat biodiversity corridor.

- To protect and develop Hung Hoa mangrove forest area (Vinh city) and mangrove forests and wild fauna conservation facilities of Pu Mat national park, and the botanical garden in the vicinity of Pu Mat national park; to upgrade the provincial-level open museum of nature and culture of Pu Mat national park.

d/ Forest protection and development

- Protection forests: To focus on protecting and sustainably developing watershed protection forests in the big rivers’ basins, large-sized reservoirs, dams and hydraulic structures, and coastal protection forests’ belts; to zone off for tendering and improvement of quality of forests, particularly natural forest areas in border-belt forests.

- Special-use forests: To strictly manage and protect existing special-use forest areas in the direction of conserving the intactness of the ecosystem of primitive and rich forests, particularly forest areas in Pu Mat national park and Pu Huong and Pu Hoat nature reserves, and special-use forests of conservation zones that are included in master plans upon their establishment; to conserve and efficiently use special-use forests having cultural values or historical relics.

- Production forests: To attach importance to the formation and development of concentrated material forest areas and planted large-timber forests with high productivity to serve processing and export; to exploit and effectively manage benefits from forests; to develop endemic, precious and rare medicinal plants and non-timber forest products of high value under the forest canopy.

dd/ Location of cemeteries, crematoria and funeral homes

To set planning orientations for building of cemeteries and crematoria in urban centers under urban master plans, and commune cemeteries under rural planning orientations; to locate cemeteries in urban centers up to urban classification standards; to relocate cemeteries from urban development areas or those no longer satisfying environmental standards; to build 2 cemetery parks in Hung Nguyen district (on a projected total area of 80-100 hectares) and Nghia Dan district (on a projected total area of 50 hectares).

2. Plan on exploitation, use and protection of natural resources

a/ To determine mines and places where exist unexploited minerals or minerals that are banned from exploitation and need protection

Areas where mineral activities are prohibited, including land areas where exist historical-cultural relics and scenic spots that have been ranked or zoned off for protection in accordance with the Law on Cultural Heritages; special-use forest and protection forest land areas and geological conservation zones; land areas planned for national defense and security purposes or likely to affect the performance of national defense and security tasks; land areas used by religious establishments; land areas belonging to corridors or within boundaries of protected traffic works, hydraulic structures or dikes; water supply and drainage, waste treatment, power transmission, petrol, oil and gas pipeline, and communication systems.

Areas where mineral activities are temporarily prohibited, including areas subject to national defense and security requirements; nature reserves, historical and cultural relics, and scenic spots currently considered by the State for recognition or discovered in the process of mineral exploration or exploitation; areas for disaster prevention, control and consequence remediation.

b/ To specifically zone off mine areas and mineral resources that need investment in exploration and exploitation

To zone off areas for mineral exploration, exploitation and processing for 31 metal mines (including 9 iron ore mines, 8 gold ore mines and 14 zinc ore mines); 1 mineral material spot; 2 coal mines; 1 thermal water mine; 4 gemstone mines; 190 construction stone mines; 64 brick and tile-making clay mines; 282 mines of leveling and filling earth; 214 sand and gravel mines; 87 white limestone and ashlar stone mines; 6 cement-making clay mines; and 2 asbestos mines.

(Details are provided in Appendix XVIII to this Decision).

3. Plan on exploitation, use and protection of water resources and prevention, control and remediation of consequences of water-caused harms

a/ Zoning of water-source functional areas, including 7 areas: the upper section of Ca river, the basin of Nam Mo river, the middle section of Ca river, the basin of Giang river, areas along Hieu river, the lower section of Ca river, and coastal isolated areas.

b/ Distribution of water sources: To distribute water sources to different subjects for exploitation and use in an order of priority, ensuring (1) satisfaction of the demand for domestic water both qualitatively and quantitatively; (2) the minimum flow for the environment in order to maintain the aquatic ecosystem in main rivers; (3) satisfaction of the demand for water for industrial production, with priority given to industrial parks and cottage industry zones with great contributions to the province; (4) satisfaction of the demand for water for agricultural production; and (5) satisfaction of the demand for water for other fields.

c/ Protection of water resources

To rationally exploit surface water and groundwater resources; to improve the water quality, remedy water pollution, and build a network for monitoring, supervision, exploitation and use of water resources; to implement measures to mitigate pollution caused by waste sources; to build drought, saline intrusion and inundation prevention and control works; to complete before 2025 the establishment and management of water source protection corridors for all priority river sections and reservoirs on the list of water sources that need protection corridors; to improve the water quality and mitigate the pollution severity, thereby ensuring that all river sections will attain the water quality standards under master plans.

d/ Prevention, control and remediation of consequences of water-caused harms

To formulate a flood and inundation forecasting program and make flood and inundation maps for different alert levels; to work out disaster prevention, control and mitigation plans at the provincial, district and commune levels; to plant and protect watershed and coastal protection forests; to closely monitor water sources and regulate reservoir water.

To build the dike system of Ca river and other rivers; to upgrade and complete anti-flood river dike sections according to design water levels; to combine the building of the dike system with the building of headwater reservoir (Thac Muoi reservoir) for flood mitigation; to upgrade, renovate and repair existing irrigation canals, drainage pumping stations, and anti-saline intrusion and freshwater retention sluice gates.

4. Plan on disaster prevention and control and response to climate change

a/ Zoning of disaster-prone areas

There are 3 disaster-prone areas, including (i) the delta-coastal area (consisting of Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, Yen Thanh and Quynh Luu districts, the expanded Vinh city, and Hoang Mai town) which is identified as the high-risk area directly affected by storms, tropical low pressure, storm surge, and water shortage by the end of the rainy season; (ii) the midland and mountainous area (consisting of the districts and towns of Do Luong, Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Thai Hoa, Nghia Dan, Tan Ky and Quy Hop) which is prone to drought, riverbank landslide and riparian flood; and (iii) the high mountainous area (consisting of Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, Que Phong and Quy Chau districts) which is highly prone to thunderstorm and tornado, flashflood and landslide.

b/ Plan on management of disaster risks and adaptation to climate change

- Plan on region-based management of disaster risks:

+ For the delta-coastal area: To regulate water and efficiently exploit headwater reservoirs; to manage and properly operate the North-South hydraulic system and flow regulation works for the purpose of fighting drought and inundation for the area; to build Lam river’s dam (in the lower section of Nam Dan 2 sluice gate) to solve the problem of low water levels;

+ For the midland and mountainous area: To build general utilization works in the tributaries of Hieu river, Giang river, etc., in order to add up to the downstream river flow in the dry season, power generation, flood mitigation and eco-environmental improvement; to evacuate population from areas highly prone to river dike landslide.

+ For the high mountainous area: To build new hydraulic structures and domestic water supply works and renovate and upgrade existing ones to serve production and daily-life activities of local people; to plant and protect watershed forests, and practice community-based risk management; to relocate and resettle population from areas highly prone to frequent flashflood and landslide.

- Plan on adaptation to climate change: To take the initiative in adapting to climate change through maintaining the forest coverage, limiting the natural resource depletion and pollution, upgrading infrastructure facilities and works for disaster prevention and control, particularly dikes, reservoirs, dams and anchoring and storm-sheltering zones for fishing vessels, in order to enhance their resilience capacity; to gradually make production and daily-life activities more environmentally friendly, thereby reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

(Details are provided in Appendix XIX to this Decision).

c/ Plan on flood prevention and control for diked river sections and plan on development of the dike system and infrastructure facilities for disaster prevention and control

To renovate and upgrade important dike positions and build new dike sections and connect them to complete dike systems for flood prevention and control; to build Thac Muoi reservoir, and upgrade Song Sau reservoir for flood mitigation; to consolidate and repair degraded hydraulic reservoirs and dams; to check, maintain and repair on an annual basis relatively large reservoirs; to build a viaduct on the right bank of Yen Xuan bridge so as to widen the flood drainage flow; to build the province’s special-use hydro-meteorological monitoring system compatible with the national monitoring network; to protect and develop protection forest and mangrove forest areas; to build salvage and rescue stations and reserve warehouses for flood and storm prevention and combat in centers of the mountainous districts; to relocate and resettle households that violate the law on dikes and are residing within the scope of dike protection and in areas prone to landslides and other dangers.

The flood protection area consisting of 12 zones protected by the dike system on a total area of 92,241 hectares, including the protection area for Lam river’s left bank, the protection area for Lam river’s right bank and 10 other rivers (Hoang Mai, Mo, Hau, Thai, Bung, Cam, Giang, Hoa Quan and Gang rivers, and Le dynasty canal).

(Details are provided in Appendix XX to this Decision).

VI. PLANS ON LAND ALLOCATION AND ZONING

1. Plan on allocation of land use norms

By 2030, the province’s total land area will be 1,648,650 hectares, including 1,469,444 hectares of agricultural land, 168,854 hectares of non-agricultural land, and 10,352 hectares of unused land.

2. Plan on land recovery and repurposing and putting of unused land areas into use in the 2021-2030 period:

- The total land area subject to recovery will be 34,998 hectares, including 25,413 hectares of agricultural land and 9,585 hectares of non-agricultural land.

- The total land area eligible for repurposing will be 31,627 hectares, including 28,539 hectares of agricultural land repurposed to non-agricultural land and 3,088 hectares of non-agricultural land repurposed to agricultural land.

- The total unused land area to be used for socio-economic development purposes will be 13,637 hectares, including 10,216 hectares to be used for agricultural purposes and 3,421 hectares for non-agricultural purposes.

(Details are provided in Appendix XXI to this Decision).

VII. LIST OF PROJECTS AND ORDER OF PRIORITY OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION IN THE PROVINCE

(Details are provided in Appendix XXII to this Decision).

VIII. SOLUTIONS AND RESOURCES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MASTER PLAN

1. Capital investment mobilization solutions

To enhance the management, exploitation and efficient use of financial resources and public assets at all levels and in all sectors; to restructure state budget revenues toward sustainability; to tap and efficiently use land-based resources; to improve the efficiency of the use of public investment funds in the direction of making focused and selective investment; to promote the leading role of public investment in order to attract all social resources, particularly private resources, for investment in the form of public-private partnership (PPP); to improve the business investment environment and the province’s competitiveness; to prepare policy, infrastructure, ground and human resource conditions for attracting investment, especially in large-scale projects with spillover effects, thereby creating a development driving force, restructuring the economy and greatly contributing to state budget revenues.

2. Human resource development solutions

To develop human resources in a sustainable manner, ensuring their balance and conformity with set orientations and meeting development requirements of sectors, fields and areas serving as growth driving forces; to improve the quality of forecasts about the human resource demand in terms of quantity and training qualification structure of different economic sectors to serve as a basis for vocational training and education institutions to formulate their training strategies and plans to meet employers’ needs; to build universities, colleges and vocational education institutions toward multi-sector training and international integration; to study amending and supplementing policies on training and attraction of high-quality human resources to serve socio-economic development; to create dynamic and creative working conditions and environment for intellectual workers to bring into full play their capabilities and strengths, thus effectively contributing to the province’s development.

3. Environmental protection solutions

To intensify the public communication about and dissemination of regulations on, and education to raise the entire population’s sense of responsibility for, environmental protection and nature and biodiversity conservation in the province; to build capacity for state management agencies in charge of environmental protection and nature and biodiversity conservation; to intensify the implementation of measures to manage, improve and restore natural ecosystems, improve the quality of the air, water and soil environments in urban areas, river basins, coastal and sea areas, and mining areas; to strictly control wastewater sources and solid wastes, particularly household solid wastes; to protect and efficiently use water and forest resources; to conserve nature and biodiversity; to take the initiative in implementing measures to prevent and supervise subjects and projects that are likely to cause environmental pollution and incidents; to intensify the mobilization of all social resources for, and attraction of investment in, environmental protection industries and service sectors in the province; to develop and apply models of circular economy, cleaner production, and economical and efficient use of energies and natural resources.

4. Science and technology development and innovation solutions

To focus on properly carrying out the breakthrough stage of application of scientific and technological advances; to intensify the transfer of modern and high technologies between domestic and overseas experienced organizations for the province’s products and services with advantages in order to increase their added value and market competitiveness; to develop smart production and management models; to mobilize investment resources, particularly mobilized social resources, for science and technology development and innovation; to promote domestic and international linkages and cooperation on science and technology, thereby attracting the participation and contribution of the community of scientists in/to high-quality human resource training for the province’s key sectors and fields.

5. Development linkage mechanism and policy solutions

To review and improve mechanisms and policies applicable to priority sectors, fields and geographical areas toward higher consistency and appropriateness; to continue studying and proposing the central government to additionally issue special mechanisms and policies to fully mobilize every resource; to maintain and improve the efficiency of the in-depth cooperation with traditional partners at home and abroad and localities that have concluded cooperation agreements with the province, particularly the North Central provinces; to expand cooperation relations with new partners on the basis of bringing into the fullest play their potential and advantages, particularly those in fields in which the province has advantages; to create favorable conditions for increasing development linkages between enterprises inside and outside the province, especially for forming industrial clusters and value chain-based linkages and participating in supply chains.

6. Urban and rural development management and control solutions    

To enhance the management of urban development under master plans; to develop and rationally locate urban centers in the province, thereby promoting a balanced development among regions; to continue effectively implementing national schemes and programs on development of Vietnamese urban centers in response to climate change and disaster and epidemic prevention and control; to renovate, embellish and upgrade urban centers according to an appropriate schedule; to build and develop smart cities; to build a new countryside in conformity with urbanization orientations and special conditions of each region or locality; to attach importance to the urban-rural relationship, improve the urban quality, and conserve and promote traditional cultural values; to develop the countryside on the basis of preserving agricultural and forestry production areas and valuable landscapes.

7. State management effect and effectiveness improvement solutions

To uphold and promote the dynamic, creative, pioneering, dare-to-think and dare-to-act and accountable spirit of heads in their leading and directing activities; to enhance the administrative order and discipline; to intensify inspection and supervision of the duty performance by cadres and civil servants; to study and formulate regulations on delegation of powers and authorization associated with division of responsibilities among administration levels for task performance in the province in accordance with law, and improve the proactivity of all levels and sectors; to focus on building and developing e-administration and digital administration in order to renovate and improve the state management effect and effectiveness of administration apparatuses at all levels.

8. Solutions regarding the organization and supervision of the implementation of the Master Plan

To publicize the Master Plan in various forms, thereby creating a high unanimity in the organization of its implementation; to review, modify and supplement existing general master plans and master plans on building of district areas, district-level land use master plans and relevant master plans and formulate new ones in accordance with the planning law, ensuring their consistency and uniformity.

To organize the formulation of implementation plans, and regularly update and concretize contents of the Master Plan into 5-year and annual plans. All administration levels and sectors shall review, modify and supplement their development programs and plans in conformity with approved master plans. In the course of implementation organization, to regularly evaluate and supervise the implementation of the Master Plan under regulations.

IX. MAPS OF THE MASTER PLAN

(The detailed list of maps of the Master Plan is provided in Appendix XXIII to this Decision).

Article 2. Organization of the implementation of the Master Plan        

1. The Master Plan serves as a basis for the formulation of urban and rural master plans and technical and specialized master plans in the province in accordance with relevant regulations.

2. To assign the People’s Committee of Nghe An province:

a/ To announce and publicize the Master Plan after it is approved by the Prime Minister in accordance with the planning law.

b/ To be totally responsible for managing the Master Plan in the province; to guide, control, assign tasks and delegate powers to, and coordinate, local administrations and agencies in order to ensure their full adherence to principles in the course of implementation of the Master Plan; to apply information technology and the geographic information system (GIS) in the implementation and management of the Master Plan.

c/ To comprehensively review and improve the system of diagrams, maps, databases and dossiers of the Master Plan in accordance with law and contents of the Decision approving the Master Plan.

d/ To formulate and promulgate a plan for implementation of the Master Plan; to organize the implementation of the Master Plan in association with directing the performance of socio-economic development tasks in the province; to evaluate the implementation of the Master Plan in accordance with the planning law.

dd/ To formulate and promulgate according to its competence or submit to competent authorities for promulgation mechanisms, policies and solutions to attract investment and ensure sufficient financial resources, social security, national defense, security, human resource development, science and technology, and environmental protection for the realization of the objectives, tasks and orientations set in the Master Plan.

e/ To review and report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision the modification of the Master Plan in conformity with national and regional master plans decided or approved by competent authorities under Point c, Clause 1, Article 2 of the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 61/2022/QH15 of June 16, 2022.

g/ For projects planned for investment after 2030, in case there arises a demand for investment to promote socio-economic development and resources can be mobilized, to report thereon to competent authorities for earlier investment approval.  

3. The Chairperson of the People’s Committee of Nghe An province shall take full responsibility before law for the accuracy of contents, information, figures, documents, databases, and received, explained and reserved opinions of related ministries, sectors, localities, organizations and individuals, and maps in the Master Plan’s dossier.

4. The approval of, or decision on, investment policy and implementation of investment projects in the province, including also projects not yet included in development plans of sectors, fields, functional sub-zones/quarters, technical and social infrastructure facilities, and the list of projects prioritized for investment promulgated together with this Decision must meet the practical development requirements of the province and comply with the provisions of Article 1 of this Decision and other relevant master plans.

The agency competent to approve or decide on investment policy shall take full responsibility before law for determining names, locations, areas, scale, capacity and investment phases of specific projects; and fully and properly carry out procedures and exercise its competence in accordance with current regulations.

Article 3. Related ministries and sectors shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, guide the People’s Committee of Nghe An province in the course of implementation of the Master Plan. In case of necessity, they shall coordinate with the province in studying and formulating, or propose competent authorities to promulgate, a number of appropriate mechanisms and policies to mobilize and efficiently use resources for the implementation of the Master Plan.

Article 4. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 5. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and the Chairperson of the People’s Committee of Nghe An province shall implement this Decision.-

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
TRAN HONG HA 

* The Appendices to this Decision are not translated.