Foreign tourists get off a cruiser arriving in Ha Long Bay in northern Quang Ninh Province. Ha Long will be among development poles in the Bac Bo Key Economic Region, following a Government decision issued last Saturday. -- Photo baoquangninh.com.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) – The northern Bac Bo (Tonkin) Key Economic Region will be developed into a system with core and satellite urban areas to motivate the development of neighbouring regions.

This follows the signing of Decision 198/QD-TTg by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last Saturday regarding the master plan of the economic and social development of the Bac Bo Key Economic Region by 2020 with orientation until 2030. The plan aims to increase the role of the region as a political, economic, cultural, scientific and technology centre of the country.

Accordingly, the urban areas of Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Ha Long and Hai Duong will be the development poles in the system, while Son Tay, Tu Son, Xuan Mai, Chi Linh, Cam Pha, Uong Bi and Mong Cai will become satellite urban areas.

The economic region will have two sub-regions, namely Hanoi Capital Sub-region and the Coastal Sub-region. The Hanoi Capital Sub-region includes Ha Noi and the neighbouring provinces of Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen and Hai Duong. The Coastal Sub-region has Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh Province, including the sea, coasts and islands.

The Prime Minister's decision also sets a target that by 2020, the per capita income in the economic region will be US$5,500. The industrial construction sector is expected to take the lead by accounting for 49.1 per cent of the region's growth, followed by the services sector at 45.4 per cent and the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors at 5.5 per cent. Exports will account for 32 per cent of the Vietnamese exports. .

The region will focus on developing and enhancing the capacity and role of sectors having advantages and competitiveness such as electronics, information technology, telecommunications, mechanics, ship-building and repair, high-quality steel and new construction material, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, food processing, garments and textiles. Priority will be given to industries which have high-quality techniques, low emissions and ecofriendly practices.

By 2020, the region will strive to have 80 to 85 per cent of trained labourers and 80 per cent of communes having national medical standards. The number of poor households is expected to decrease by 2 per cent every year, while the per capita income of the poor will increase by 2.5 to 3.5 per cent every five years. – VNS