HCM City sets socio-economic progress targets
The HCM City administration
targets limiting the poverty rate below 5.4 percent and unemployment to
less than 5 percent this year.
During a meeting on Jan. 6, city leaders also set the targets of per capita GDP of 3,000 USD for this year.
According to the city government, last year poverty reduction policies
were highly successful, supporting many people who lived under the
poverty line.
The deputy head of the city People's
Committee, Nguyen Thanh Tai, said the city reached its goals by
fulfilling its policies on human resources, the environment and other
areas.
For the economy, the city plans to have a GDP growth rate of 12 percent this year, to 24 billion USD.
Export turnover, excluding crude oil exports, will increase 9 percent.
The growth of the consumer price index will be kept under 7 percent.
On social issues, the population growth rate will be kept under 1
percent and the rate of malnutrition in children under five years of age
will be below 5 percent.
Besides several important
socio-economic targets, projects for children will also be realised this
year, as the city has chosen 2011 as the year for children.
The city will conduct a survey on possible entertainment places for
children and 10 playgrounds in the city's major parks. They are expected
to be built this year.
At the meeting, six groups of
solutions on the economy, urban development, education, culture,
administration reform and national defence were discussed in detail.
According to the chairman of the municipal People's Committee, Le Hoang
Quan, in 2011 the city will continue to implement measures to speed up
its economic restructuring in the direction of services, industry and
agriculture.
The city will also focus on measures to
stabilise and develop production and business, expand markets, and boost
exports and activities of financial services, real estate, securities
and gold markets.
One of the city's most important tasks
this year will be to reduce the consumer price index, especially for the
upcoming Lunar New Year.
At the 9th HCM City Party
Committee meeting also held the same day, city leaders approved the
target of growing at 50 percent above the national average over the next
decade and agreed on the things needed to be done to achieve the goal.
The meeting also discussed the shortcomings in the city's development process and measures to address them.
Growth quality and efficiency remained low while restructuring of the
economy and reform of the labour sector were proceeding at a snail's
pace, delegates admitted.
They agreed to prioritise nine areas, including international trade, finance, tourism, real estate, and technology.
Priority will also be given to four key industries - machinery,
electronics and IT, chemistry, and food production - which will provide
value addition, they said.
They agreed sustainable development of agriculture was necessary to secure the city's socio-economic growth.
They also agreed to make reform of State-owned enterprises more
effective and create favourable conditions for private businesses to
thrive./.