Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the central province of Ninh Thuan to join others nationwide in implementing nuclear power projects, creating a consensus among residents and supporting people forced to relocate by these developments.

At a meeting with the province’s leaders in Hanoi on November 27, PM Dung spoke highly of socio-economic achievements gained by the province over the past time.

However, he noted that the province still faces many difficulties, including poor infrastructure, lack of fresh water for agriculture, low-quality human resources and a high poverty rate.

The Prime Minister asked Ninh Thuan to tap its potential to serve its development, especially in maritime economy, agriculture, salt production, tourism and services.

Attention must be paid to upgrading socio-economic infrastructure, particularly transport and irrigational works, protecting the environment and attracting investment in such potential fields as fruit tree planting, aquatic product farming and processing, he added.

The Government leader also asked the province to strictly implement the new-style rural area building programme, strive to finish set socio-economic development targets for 2013 and pay attention to raising the quality of education and caring for the health of people, especially those in remote and difficult areas.

In 2013, the province’s GDP growth rate is estimated at 10.5 percent, while average income per capita is at 22 million VND.

The province is expected to create new jobs for 15,500 labourers and reduce the poverty rate by 2 percent this year.-VNA