Quang Ninh (VNA)𒁏 – The northern province of Quang Ninh is working hard to complete the disbursement of the entire public investment capital which were allocated for projects in the province at the start of 2021.

With regard to key projects, it is striving to disburse at least 80 percent of capital by September 30 and 100 percent by December 30. The provincial administration has shown its determination to reduce or revoke capital from projects whose investors fail to disburse investment capital as schedule. To accelerate capital disbursement and project implementation, Quang Ninh has set up special working groups at the provincial and district levels to tighten supervision of investors’ performance. The provincial People’s Committee has ordered measures to be drastically carried out to speed up the pace of projects financed by the budget and non-budget sources, and promote the disbursement of public funds in both quantity and quality, especially in key projects. Besides, it has also required leaders of departments, sectors, localities, investors, and project management boards be held responsible for the work. As of August 30, Quang Ninh achieved 52.2 percent of the public investment disbursement target. Excluding the recently allocated capital, the rate reached 67 percent. The province has cut unnecessary expenses, reduce regular expenditures, increase budget reserves for COVID-19 prevention and control, and prioritise capital for key projects that can help fuel overall development. Local authorities are stepping up procedures in order to begin four key projects with total investment of over 283.2 trillion VND (12.4 trillion USD) this October, namely the Ha Long urban area complex, the Quang Ninh LNG-fired power plant, Phase 1 of the Van Ninh general port, and the Dong Trieu golf course. On September 2, Quang Ninh launched a 100-day emulation campaign to speed up three key projects - Cua Luc 1 Bridge, the coastal road linking Ha Long and Cam Pha cities, and Van Don - Mong Cai Expressway - which are currently under construction and scheduled to be put into use by the end of this year. Once operational, they are hoped to help complete the expressway system in the northern region, serve as a gateway connecting northern localities of Vietnam with ASEAN countries and China, and create an impulse for regional connectivity. On September 2, Quang Ninh launched a 100-day emulation campaign to speed up three key projects - Cua Luc 1 Bridge, the coastal road linking Ha Long and Cam Pha cities, and Van Don - Mong Cai Expressway - which are currently under construction and scheduled to be put into use by the end of this year. Once operational, they are hoped to help complete the expressway system in the northern region, serve as a gateway connecting northern localities of Vietnam with ASEAN countries and China, and create an impulse for regional connectivity. Quang Ninh is striving to achieve the highest possible growth in the fourth quarter and the whole year. To obtain a double-digit growth rate, the provincial People’s Committee has built three growth scenarios for Q4 and the entire year, with advantages, difficulties, and growth in each sector taken into account. The Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee agreed that Quang Ninh will exert efforts to achieve this year’s targets, set in the provincial Party Committee’s Resolution 02-NQ/TU, at the highest possible level. Accordingly, the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth is expected at over 10 percent and budget revenue to match the economic expansion. The GRDP growth rate in the first nine months of 2021 is estimated at 8.2 percent. In particular, the processing and manufacturing industry has increased by 36.2 percent year on year, serving as the main driving force for the industrial sector. It has made up for the pandemic-caused downturn in services, tourism, coal, and electricity sectors. Meanwhile, nearly 34.38 trillion VND (over 1.5 billion USD) has been collected for the State budget, equivalent to 67 percent of this year’s target. Administrative reforms and the business environment have continued to be improved. Quang Ninh is one of the three nuclei of the northern key economic region and viewed as a strategic locality in northern Vietnam. It looks to expand its GRDP by 10 percent on an annual average during 2020 - 2025, and the per capita GRDP to over 10,000 USD by 2025. The urbanisation rate is expected to surpass 75 percent, while the rate of poor households to go down to below 1 percent. The province plans to complete new-style rural area building by the end of 2030./.