Bac Lieu’s district focuses on marine economic development

Bac Lieu (VNA) - Dong Hai district in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu is focusing on developing its coastal and sea areas, considering them to be important zones that help the district become a locality with strong marine economic development.

To effectively realize this target, Dong Hai district is concentrating on reviewing, adjusting and supplementing its socio-economic development master plan for the 2010-2020 period with a vision to 2030.

The district is carrying out socio-economic development planning, sectoral development planning alongside adjusting land use planning in accordance with sea-based economic development orientation and the locality’s advantages.

Dong Hai is further diversifying its policies to attract resources for sea-based development, effectively exploiting and using the province and the government’s support to sea-based infrastructure development, further controlling and preventing sea environment pollution, building an observing system and early warning of sea environment incidents and activities to destroy the sea environment for timely prevention and settlement.

Phan Hung Viet, Secretary of the district’s Party Committee, said the locality has directed relevant agencies to review, build plans and put forth measures to protect marine resources and coastal areas.

Dong Hai district has strengthened the inspection and control of fishing and exploration activities. It has enhanced cooperation with other localities in sea transport, tourism, sea environment protection, cooperation in search and rescue at sea, scientific research and technology transfer.

Besides, the district has also promoted activities to raise awareness of protecting marine and coastal resources and planting mangrove forests among local people, especially those living in coastal communes.

Dong Hai district has implemented solutions to cope with the consequences of climate change and sea rising along with popularising the Party and State’s policies on the East Sea, islands, developing the economy in parallel with sea and coastal environment protection. The locality has paid attention to directing local fishermen to abide by legal regulations relating to fishing activities and protecting aquatic resources.

The district has effectively organised the “Sea and Island Week”, launched every year with different themes by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in coastal areas to raise public awareness of sea resources conservation, exploitation and use.

It has made public urgent issues and policies on aquaculture at coastal and sea areas so that organisations and individuals can implement them timely.

It has also worked with competent provincial agencies to accelerate the adjustment of a plan to develop Ganh Hoa town in accordance with a plan to develop the Ganh Hao sea-based economic area and Ganh Hao seaport and complete important projects such as the viaducts and service areas at sea.

Regarding aquatic product processing and sale, the district is focusing on restructuring aquatic processing plants, encouraging enterprises to upgrade technology, raise their production scales and build more warehouses.

It is also paying heed to purchasing and processing goods serving export in the fields of aquatic product processing and salt production. The district is paying attention to improving the output and quality of products to sharpen their competitive edge in the market.

Regarding fishing and exploitation activities, the district is creating favourable conditions for investors to build new shipyards at the Ganh Hao Sea Economic Area, encouraging them to expand production and build new ships using new materials, such as iron, composite, call for investment in ship repair services, developing mechanical engineering, transport, manufacturing and fixing means of transport, developing maintenance and logistic services to meet the demand for sea-based economic development, especially offshore fishing activities.

With the above-mentioned solutions, Dong Hai district determines to fulfill its target of developing the sea-based economy comprehensively in the near future, to create an impetus for structure shifting and economic development to become a key sea economic locality of Bac Lieu province./.