Party leader asks central region to push marine economy development

The central region is a strategic area of particular importance in terms of politics, economy, culture, society, national defense, security and foreign affairs, he said at a conference held in Hanoi with added participation by online delegates.

The region is both a gateway to the sea, a pedestal for the Central Highlands provinces that connects the East-West economic corridor with international maritime and aviation routes, Trong said.

In recent years, the region has recorded many important achievements and emerged as a dynamic development area, an important bridgehead for the whole country in international cooperation and integration.

However, while some localities have risen strongly to become growth pillars, the region still had lower than average development indicators in some areas compared to other localities, Trong said.

He pointed out that the region has not properly exploited its marine economy advantages and made it an important internal force for development.

In this context, the Politburo issued a resolution 26, aiming to provide specific development guidelines for the central region until 2030 with vision extended to 2045, Trong noted.

Accordingly, the region needs to develop its marine economy strongly, taking advantage of its natural resources. It needs to improve the efficiency of existing infrastructure and coastal economic zones, industrial parks and coastal urban systems.

Medium and long-term visions

By 2030, the Politburo wants the region to be an area with dynamic, fast, strong and sustainable development of its marine economy. It should also have a synchronous and modern socio-economic infrastructure capable of tackling natural disasters and adapting to climate change effectively.

The region needs to have a number of major industrial, service and international cooperation centers with coastal economic zones and coastal urban systems of national and regional standards.

It needs to be a gateway to the sea for the Central Highlands region and the neighboring country of Laos. Cultural, historical, marine, island and forest ecosystems need to be well developed.

By 2045, the region needs to have rapidly, sustainably and strongly developed its marine economy and established a number of major industrial, service and international cooperation centers on par with Asian standards.

It also needs to have modern coastal economic zones and a smart and sustainable coastal urban system with its own identity that is environmentally friendly and highly resistant to natural disasters and epidemics; and which can effectively adapt to climate change.

With the population of about 20.343 million, the central region comprises 14 coastal provinces and towns from Thanh Hoa to Binh Thuan.

The natural area of the whole region accounts for 28.9% of the country’s total and at nearly 1,800 km, it has more than 55% of the nation’s 3,260 km long coastline.