An urban area in Bac Ninh Province (Photo: bacninh.gov.vn)

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked Bac Ninh to try to transform the province into an industrial locality by 2015.

Speaking at the 18th Congress of the provincial Party Committee yesterday, Dung, who is a Political Bureau member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, said to achieve the target, delegates should focus their discussion on the next five-year socio-economic and cultural plan, and on measures to translate the tasks into a reality. Bac Ninh is about 30km north of Ha Noi.

"First of all, the province should optimize available resources from all economic sectors and its comparative advantages to accelerate the process of industrialisation," said Dung.

"The province should focus on industrial development with priority given to sectors with more advantages and high competitiveness, particularly environmentally friendly, low energy consumption hi-tech industries."

Bac Ninh was a province rich in historical and revolutionary traditions, he said. It is located in a main transport artery between Vietnam, China and ASEAN countries and the economic corridor between China's Nanning Province and Vietnam's Lang Son, Ha Noi and Hai Phong.

In addition, the province is located within the Ha Noi Capital Region and the dynamic economic triangle between Ha Noi-Hai Phong and Quang Ninh.

The Prime Minister was full of praise for the achievements gained by the province in the last 25 years of renewal, particularly in the five years from 2006-10.

In the last five years, the province recorded an average economic growth rate of 15.1 per cent per annum. In 2010, the percentage in the province's GDP accounted for by agriculture was about 11 per cent, while industry and construction accounted for 64.8 per cent and the service sector, 24.2 per cent.

In 2010, provincial per capita income stood at US$1,800 – 1.5 times higher than the national average ($1,160).

In terms of culture, Bac Ninh is among the top ten leading provinces in the country in educational achievements. The province's quan ho folk song tradition was recognized by UNESCO as a world intangible heritage.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also pinpointed the province's weaknesses, and hoped that the delegates would discuss and draw the lessons learned.

"The province has achieved a high economic growth rate, yet its quality, effectiveness and competitiveness remains limited and unsustainable, particularly in tourism and services. Economic restructuring in agriculture and rural areas have been too slow. The quality of human resources lags behind economic necessity and unemployment remains a problem. Pollution in craft villages and industrial parks remains a concern," said Dung.

Dung asked the Bac Ninh Party Committee to pay more attention to the Party building work and clarity in the fields of politics, ideology and organisation.

"Party cells and committees must hold high principles in their meetings, particularly those on democracy, criticism and self criticism," said Dung.

He urged the Bac Ninh Party Committee to consider the campaign to follow President Ho Chi Minh's moral example as a routine activity for all party members and government officials as well as public employees.

He asked the delegates to prove their commitment by electing the best people to the provincial party leadership in the next tenure.

He expressed his hope that through the congress, the delegates would give many more constructive and practical opinions to the Party Central Committee to help it further complete documents before presenting them to the 11th National Party Congress which is slated for early 2011.