Vietnam has set targets of growing the economy by 6.5 percent and reducing its poverty rate to less than 10 percent next year.

These were among targets set in a resolution on the socio-economic development plan for 2010 which was adopted by the National Assembly (NA) in Hanoi on Nov. 6 with 85.4 percent in favour.

The resolution also sets out to raise export turnover to over 6 percent, create 1.6 million jobs, including sending 85,000 workers aboard, and achieve a patient/bed ratio for hospitals of 27.5 per 10,000 people. It plans to boost the rates of access to clean and hygienic water for the rural and urban populations to 83 percent and 84 percent, respectively, as well as increase forest coverage to 40 percent.

The resolution clearly aims at achieving the overall goal of obtaining greater economic growth than in 2009 along with increasing macro-economic stability, improving the quality of growth, preventing the recurrence of high inflation, and ensuring social security.

Integration and improving the effectiveness of international economic cooperation, political stability and social order, and ensuring national defence, security are also among the resolution’s overall goals.

Additionally, the same day, NA deputies were presented with reports on the implementation of the Dung Quat oil refinery project and plans to invest into two projects; the Lai Chau hydro-electric power plant and the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant.

Construction of the Dung Quat oil refinery is now fundamentally complete, Industry and Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang said, adding that the plant produced 39,000 tonnes of LPG, more than 198,000 tonnes of unleaded petrol, 142,000 tonnes of diesel, and 30,000 tonnes of kerosene as of Aug. 15.

Also, the Son La hydro-power plant project is on track to put one generator on line to produce electricity in December of next year and the project will be completed two years later./.