The northern province of Bac Ninh is targeted to turn into a modern industrial province by 2015 with the city of Bac Ninh to become a major city by 2020, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said.

PM Dung, who is also a Politburo member, made the request at the 18th Congress of the Bac Ninh Provincial Party Committee on September 23.

Addressing the congress, PM Dung pointed out shortcomings and weaknesses, including an economy with weak competitiveness and sustainability, unsustainable poverty reduction levels in some places and environmental pollution.

He recognised Bac Ninh’s potential and advantages of geographic location for development. The province lies on the major traffic artery linking Vietnam and China – which is a strongly growing market and expected to be larger as the China-ASEAN free trade area is formed. It also lies on the Nanning-Lang Son-Hanoi-Hai Phong and Nanning-Singapore economic corridors, the Hanoi capital city planning area and the busy Hanoi-Hai Phong-Quang Ninh economic development triangle.

According to the PM, Bac Ninh province should focus on development of industry with priority given to competitive, sustainable and highly productive economic sectors and products such as high-tech, energy saving products, supporting industry and rural industry.

He suggested the province mobilise resources from all economic sectors, and fully tap its potential and advantages for its ongoing industrialisation and modernisation process.

The provincial party committee needs to create breakthroughs in rural agricultural development, improving the local people’s living conditions with priority given to investment in essential infrastructure, production and economic restructuring, Dung added.

Apart from economic development, the PM said Bac Ninh needed to pay attention to social and cultural development, helping to improve the material and spiritual life of local people.

He urged the province to focus on education, training and human resource development, describing it as a strategic breakthrough, and pursue knowledge-based economic development, as well as promoting and preserving traditional cultural heritages, including those recognised by UNESCO.

The Prime Minister also asked the provincial party committee to build a strong and pure Party organisation that could bring its core role into play in the grassroots political system and continue implementing democracy at this level.

During the past five years, the Party, authorities, army and people of Bac Ninh province gained many significant achievements and fulfilled 22 out of 23 targets set in the previous congress resolution (2006-2010).

The province registered a high economic growth rate with per-capita income of 1,800 USD compared with the country’s average income of 1,160 USD. In 2010, the agriculture proportion accounts for 11 percent in the province’s economic structure; industry-construction, 64.8 percent and services, 24.2 percent.

The province registered socio-cultural achievements with improvements in the quality of education, workforce development and a higher proportion of skilled workers./.