The People’s Committee of Ninh Thuan Province recently presented a master plan for socioeconomic development to 2020 with a vision towards 2030, with an ambition to turn Ninh Thuan into an energy center of the whole country and to list its name among the 20 rich provinces of Vietnam.

The master plan was made with consultancy of the Monitor Group of the US and the Arup Group of the UK.

Nguyen Chi Dung, the chairman of the Ninh Thuan People’s Committee, said that Ninh Thuan is a poor province, so if it wants to go ahead, the province has to make breakthroughs. “Therefore, we have asked the Government for permission to seek help from foreign consultants when making development plans. We believe that in the next 10 years, it will be a feasible objective to turn Ninh Thuan from a poor locality into one of the 20 rich provinces of Vietnam. We did and are taking drastic measures to realize this objective, including the establishment of the Economic Development Office, the creation of the one-stop mechanism, the simplification of complicated administrative procedures, and the facilitation of investment projects,” Nguyen Chi Dung said.

Regarding the objective to turn Ninh Thuan into an energy center of the whole country, he said that the State is investing in the construction of two nuclear power plants in the province with combined capacity of 4,000MW. Construction of the first plant will begin in 2014 so that it can come into commercial operation in 2020. Ninh Thuan Province is attracting investment into wind power and solar energy projects with total capacity of 1,500-2,000MW, gradually forming a major clean energy zone of the whole country. The province is building the first pumped storage hydropower plant in Vietnam with a capacity of 1,200MW on the Tan My Irrigation System. Construction of this plant is projected to finish in 2020.

Ninh Thuan Province is gradually building major tourist sites of the whole country as well as the entire Southeast Asian region. With special products and perfect service quality, the provincial tourism sector’s objective is to make up eight percent of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) and to generate jobs for 10 percent of the country’s workforce by 2020. Ninh Thuan expects that by 2015 it will receive 1.3-1.4 million tourists with 15 percent to be foreign visitors.

Chris Malone, the director of the Monitor Group, said that Ninh Thuan Province has the advantages that allow it to develop the marine economy, especially the production of energy from wind power, industrial salt, cultural tourism and tourism for relaxation purposes.

“The commitments for timely, effective and increasing support from the central Government; the rapid improvement of the infrastructure system; the decision to invest in the construction of nuclear power plants - all these factors are opening new opportunities for Ninh Thuan to boost economic development and improve the lives of local people, said Chris Malone.

Regarding Ninh Thuan’s master plan for socioeconomic development, Professor, Dr.Sc. Nguyen Mai said that Ninh Thuan will be able to realize the objective to become one of the 20 rich provinces of Vietnam in the next 10 years if it takes drastic, appropriate measures. “But I find some shortcomings in this master plan. First, with a population of just nearly 600,000, Ninh Thuan must expand external relations to develop. If the master plan puts an emphasis on seeking ways to tighten the regional linkage between Ninh Thuan and surrounding localities, it will create a stronger driving force for development. Second, the starting point as well as the internal strength of Ninh Thuan is too low with its GDP in 2008 being only US$300 million. With these limitations, Ninh Thuan can hardly go ahead,” Professor Nguyen Mai said.

In the opinion of economist Tran Dinh Thien, the master plan for socioeconomic development of Ninh Thuan Province is truly a breakthrough. But an important thing is to seek ways to realize the objectives of this plan. The plan focuses on two areas where Ninh Thuan has advantages: energy and tourism. Energy development in Ninh Thuan is for national interests but not for the province only. Though it identifies tourism as a key economic sector of Ninh Thuan, the plan does not yet indicate the differences between Ninh Thuan and other localities, which will help the province promote tourism development. “If the plan shows the ways that help Ninh Thuan overcome those limitations, it will allow the province to make breakthroughs in the next 10 years,” said Tran Dinh Thien.

By Thuy Hang