Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has worked with the central province of Quang Nam administration on an auto-making project capable of making over 300,000 units annually.

Dung emphasised at the working session with provincial authorities during his visit on July 9 that the potential car centre, to be located within the Chu Lai open economic zone, should follow a committed roadmap towards 40 percent of parts produced domestically.

He also called on the province to earmark a considerable investment worth at least 6 trillion VND (roughly 312 million USD) for relocating over 40,000 tenants from natural calamities-prone coasts into safer sites.

The Government and local leaders also looked deep into other major projects such as the construction of 36 village roads for the 2011-15 period at a cost of over 4.3 trillion VND and upgrading National Highway 1A.

Poverty reduction was of the Prime Minister’s concerns as the provincial poverty rate remained higher than the national average.

A considerable sum of money should be geared to poverty reduction in eight mountainous districts in an effort to drastically improve living conditions in this disadvantaged region, he said.

To make its next five-year plan work, the province should prioritise investment in hi-tech industry and supportive industry in relation with car making, Dung emphasised.

He also urged the province to tap its tourist potential to develop the hospitality industry as a key economic sector.

Quang Nam boasts a long, superb coastal line and is home to the My Son sanctuary and Hoi An ancient town, which have been recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as the world’s cultural heritage sites.

Dung, however, reminded the province of protecting forests and the environment during economic development.

“Environment polluters should be dully punished,” the Government leader emphasised.

Quang Nam was reported to record an average GDP growth of 12.8 percent in the last five years up to 2010.

The Chu Lai open economic zone has attracted 61 projects capitalised at some 1.6 billion USD, of which 36 are operational, providing permanent jobs for around 8,500 local work-hands./.