On July 26, the steering committee on reviewing the implementation of Resolution 54 on socio-economic development and national defense and security assurance of the Red River Delta, and Nam Dinh Provincial Party Committee organized a workshop on developing infrastructure and the sea-borne economy in the delta by 2030 with a vision towards 2045.

Nam Dinh Provincial Party Committee’s Secretary Pham Gia Tuc stressed that the Red River Delta is an extremely important political, socio-economic, national defence and security center of the whole country. 

The Politburo’s Resolution 54 and Conclusion 13 shows special attention to the region. It is a policy with strategic significance made to maximize the mobilization of resources and effectively exploit advantages for the strong development of the delta.

To date, the development of 11 cities and provinces in the Red River Delta has made an important contribution to the development of the entire country. The delta ranks second among six economic zones in terms of economic scale.

“This is the region with dynamic development and a high GRDP growth rate. Many localities have built modern socio-economic infrastructure, and have effectively exploited the potential and advantages to develop a sea-borne economy, becoming a bright spot in the country’s socio-economic development,” Tuc said.

Deputy head of the Central Economic Commission Nguyen Duy Hung believes that infrastructure and sea-borne economy development is very important for the Red River Delta. 

The GRDP of the delta is VND1.5 quadrillion, which makes up 29 percent of GDP of the country, while income per capita is VND103 million, the second highest level after the southeastern region. 

Total budget collection accounts for 30 percent of the country and is now 10 times higher than when Resolution 54 was issued.

Regarding transport infrastructure and sea-borne economic development, the achievements have by far exceeded the targets shown in Resolution 54. 

There are eight expressways with a total length of 500 kilometers and 25 highways with a total length of over 2,000 kilometers, four large seaports in Hai Phong and Quang Ninh, and three airports – Noi Bai in Hanoi, Cat Bi in Hai Phong and Van Don in Quang Ninh.

However, Red River Delta development has not been commensurate with the great potential of the region. While roads and airways have developed well, railways and waterways have not. 

He believes that it is necessary to improve transport connections in the region for investment attraction.       

Director of the Planning and Investment Department Nguyen Danh Huy said it is now difficult to attract investment into transport infrastructure for many reasons, including the institutional regime.

One of the bottlenecks is decentralization. Hai Phong City asked for permission to develop Highway No10 using the local budget. However, the Law on Budget doesn’t allow that.

“This is a big obstacle. Localities want to develop infrastructure and have the resources to do this, but the current laws don’t allow them to do this,” Huy said.

“Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) cannot take on this task. Its functions are building institutions, giving technical support, carrying out state management and setting standards, and it must not become an investor,” he added.

Experts have repeatedly asked to use private resources for the development of transport infrastructure. However, this is not simple as the government remains reluctant in sharing risks with investors.

The question is whether the state will share risks with investors if  development planning changes. And the answer is ‘no’ for now. The problem has existed since 2007.

Nguyen Quang Hong from the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics said the logistics development plan of the Red River Delta is not associated with the socio-economic development plan, so there should be a new national logistics steering committee.

Also, there should be a regional council to give advice to the Prime Minister and Government, to be located at the Government Office. The council would be headed by a Deputy Prime Minister, with provincial chairs as  members. If the head of the council is a provincial chair, the mechanism will not work because chairs of these provinces don’t abide by the chairs of other provinces.

According to Thien, an economist, the regional institutional regime of the Red River Delta is the weakest among the regions. The regional institutional mechanism is not strong enough to have the power and conditions to implement development plans.

Thu Hang