Long An makes strong recovery following COVID-19 pandemic

The Mekong Delta province of Long An posted 0.95% and 8.32% growth in the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) in 2021 and 2022, respectively.(Photo: VNA)

Long An (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Long An has recovered from damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Nguyen Van Ut, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

After two years and a half of implementing the Resolution of the 11th provincial Party Congress for the 2020-2025 tenure, the province obtained positive results in 16 out of its 19 socio-economic development targets, he said.

The province posted 0.95% and 8.32% growth in the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Its economy expanded by 3.43% in the first six months of this year. The province currently has 121 out of 161 communes meeting new-style rural standards and many of them satisfy advanced new-style rural standards.

The official held that industrial production has basically recovered, achieving an average growth rate of about 4% a year and so did commercial activities with average growth of 10% a year.

The processing industry accounts for over 90% of the province's industrial proportion, he said.

In 2022, Long An's Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) moved six places from the previous year to the 10th position out of the country's 63 cities and provinces.

Investment promotion is being innovated and becoming more effective. Thirteen projects valued at over 40 trillion VND (1.6 billion USD) were granted investment certificates at a promotion conference held in July this year, along with the commitment of nearly 100 trillion VND in a number of projects that are calling for investment in the locality.

Currently, there are 16,100 enterprises operating in Long An province, an increase of 29.3% compared to the end of 2020.

The number of foreign-invested projects in the locality reached 1,191 with combined registered capital of 10.4 billion USD, an increase of 165 projects and 4.1 billion USD compared to the end of 2020.

The province's budget revenue in 2022 stood at 21.84 trillion VND, up 18% from 2020’s figure.

To overcome shortcomings and fufill all targets set in the 11th provincial Party Congress’s resolution, it is necessary to diversify investment sources and focus on carrying out key tasks, Ut said, adding that economic development must go together with social stability and environmental protection.

According to the Long An province’s approved development master plan, the province aims to become a dynamic, efficient, and sustainable economic centre in the southern region by 2030. It would serve as a gateway on the urban-industrial economic corridor of the Mekong Delta, closely connecting with Ho Chi Minh City and the southeast region, and becoming an important cooperation and trading hub with Cambodia.

By 2050, Long An envisioned itself as the leading industrial province in Vietnam and one of the important economic growth poles in the Mekong Delta./.