The President of the Hanoi People’s Council, Ngo Thi Doan Thanh, said that although most of second half years targets were lower than the previous ones, they underline the Capital’s determination to achieve its socio-economic development goals.

However the four-day meeting which finished on July 17, did acknowledge the year-on-year growth of 7.5-8 percent in gross domestic product, which is expected to average 5.5-6 percent for the whole of 2009.

The council, which brings Hanoians from all walks of life together, also called on the service sector to grow between 8.5 and 9 percent to meet the city’s yearly target of 6.5-7 percent.

The target for the industrial and construction sectors is set at 6-7 percent, but is only expected to reach 5-6 percent by the end of the year, while agriculture is set to grow by 6-7 percent.

Hanoi also plans to increase its second half yearly export revenues by 10 percent in an effort to reach its yearly target, the same figure as last year.

The meeting also approved solutions for environmentally polluted hotspots by 2010, measures to strengthen the family planning work until 2015 and a project to improve the quality of pre-school education by 2015./.