The Mekong delta province of Soc Trang recorded an impressive social welfare performance in 2013 as the province kept maintaining sustainable development strategy.

The province is expected to achieve impressive socio-economic development growth in 2013, at around 9.78 percent, well above the 8.14 percent recorded in 2012.

The province had enhanced the social welfare of its local people, said Chairman’s Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Trung Hieu.

The province cut down the poor household rate from 20.1 percent in 2012 to 17.93 percent in 2013. Free health insurance cards were granted to nearly 260,000 people. As a result of it, 74% of its population had health insurance cards.

The rural infrastructure was upgraded. Electricity was available to 97.74 percent of province’s households while 89.93 percent of Khmer ethnic households got access to the electricity this year.

The province also built 250 new houses for the poor funding from Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade and donors in the province.

Over 8,000 poor households received loans to develop their productions. The province created 23,100 new jobs for local people in 2013 while providing vocational training for 23,500 other labourers.-VNA