​2. Promote to the maximum the potentials and advantages of the province; exploiting and using effectively all resources for fast and sustainable socio-economic development and environmental protection; promoting the economic mechanism transition, increasing the growth rate and the competitiveness of the economy.

3. Developing the economy together with ensuring the social progress and justice, protecting the natural resources and environment to step by step increase the living standards of the people, reduce the number of poor households; developing health, culture, education and training. Focusing on training the high-quality human resource to meet the demands of the market, linking the human resource development with the development and application of science and technology.

4. Combining the economic development with the political security and social order protection; ensuring the security and national defense with the location of Long An located in the border region of Mekong River Delta region and in economic integration of Southeast Asia Region and the world.

II. DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

1. General objectives

- Developing Long An to become the province with sustainable and harmonic development between the urban and rural areas; having hi-tech level, synchronous and modern infrastructure system; high-quality human resource; strong national defense-security, ensured social safety and order. Aiming at becoming an industrial province by 2020.

2. Particular objectives

a) Economic:

- The average economic growth rate for period 2012 – 2030 reaches 12.5%/year in which increases to 13%/year for period 2012 - 2020.

- By 2015: the average GDP per capita reaches VND50 million/person/year (around USD2,400); the ratios of the agricultural, industrial and service sectors in the GDP are 28%, 41%, 31% respectively; the revenue for state budget in the province accounts for 10% GDP; the investment capital mobilized from the state budget accounts for 28.5%.

- By 2020: the average GDP per capita reaches VND 80 million/person/year (around USD3,800); the ratios of the agricultural, industrial and service sectors in the GDP are 15%, 45%, 40% respectively; the revenue for state budget in the province accounts for 10.8% GDP; the investment capital mobilized from the state budget accounts for 29.6%.

- Vision to2030: the average GDP per capita reaches VND172 million/person/year (around USD8,000); the ratios of the agricultural, industrial and service sectors in the GDP are 7%, 48%, 45% respectively; the revenue for state budget in the province accounts for 10.8% GDP; the investment capital mobilized from the state budget accounts for 29.6%.

b) Social:

- By 2015:

The natural population growth rate is below 1.2%; the percentage of malnourished children under 5 years is less than 16%; 100% commune health stations meet the standard and 90% communes meeting the national standard on health; providing compulsory preschool education for children of 5 years; 40% - 50% communes, towns, wards meeting the standards of compulsory high school education; 50% schools meeting national standards; the percentage of poor households in accordance with the national standards is less than 3%; the percentage of trained labor is 60%.

Aiming at the objective of 20% (about 36 communes) meet the criteria of new rural commune; 50% communes, wards, towns have the cultural and sports centers; 30% communes, wards, towns meet the cultural standards; 90% of urban households and 95% rural households can access hygienic water and 99.25% households can access power .

- By 2020:

Aiming at reducing the birth rate to 1.46%; the average life expectancy reaches 76 years; the percentage of malnourished children under 5 years is less than 12%; the number of patient bed/10,000 people is 20 beds; the minimum number of doctor/commune is 1 and 8 doctors/10,000 people;

The percentage of poor households in accordance with the national standards is 1%; the percentage of trained labor is 65%; the unemployment rate in urban areas is3%; the ratios of the labors in 3 areas of I, II, III are 28.1%, 37.8%, 34% respectively; the percentage of trained labors is 628,600 and jobs are created for 180,000 people;

The percentages of children going to school are as follows: 100% at primary schools, 95% at secondary schools, 70% at high schools. The percentage of schools meeting national standard is 70%; the number of people with college, university or higher degrees/1000 people is 170 people;

Aiming at the objective of 50% (about 83 communes) meets the criteria of new rural commune; 90% cultural houses at the provincial level; ensuring 100% of districts, city have the cultural, sports centers, 75% communes, wards, towns have the cultural, sports centers; 100% households can access hygienic water and 99.7% households can access power.

- Vision to 2030:

The birth rate reduces to 1.5%; the average life expectation is 78 years; the percentage of malnourished children under 5 years is less than 10%; the number of patient beds/10,000 people is 30 beds; the number of doctors/commune is 3 doctors at the maximum and 10 doctors/10,000 people.

The percentage of trained labors is 70%; the unemployment percentage in urban areas is 2%; the number of trained labors is 762,720 people and jobs are created for 190,000 people;

Aiming at the objective of 100% kindergartens meets national standards; the number of people with degree, university and higher degree/1000 people is 200 people; having 95% cultural houses at the provincial level.

c) Environmental protection:

- Ensuring the green coverage percentage by  2015 reaches 21% and maintained unitl 2020, 2030; increasing the forest coverage percentage to 15% in 2015 and 17%, 19% in 2020, 2030 respectively; the area impacted by the flood (flooding more than 1m) in 2015, 2020, 2030 is 25%, 23%, 20% respectively.

- Aiming at the objective of by 2015, 80% of domestic and industrial solid waste and 100% health solid waste are collected and treated; allocating 100% production establishments causing environment pollution out of the urban areas and residential areas; 100% enterprises commit to protect the environment.

- Raising the awareness of the community and strengthening the capacity for the relevant parties on environmental issues; protecting and exploiting in sustainable way the natural resources; reducing the population and  environmental degradation.

- Ensuring the national defense, security, keeping the political stability, controlling the increase and gradually reducing the crimes and social evils.

III. DEVELOPMENT ORIENTATIONS OF SECTORS, INDUSTRIES

1.Developing agricultural, forestry and fishery sectors: Developing comprehensively aiming at producing high-quality products, protecting the ecological environment and following sustainable development. It is aimed at the average growth rate of 5.7%/year for period 2011 – 2020 and 4.8%/year by 2030; the ratios of the agricultural, forestry and fishery sectors are 82% - 4% - 14% respectively in 2020 and 78% - 6% - 16% respectively in 2030.

- Agriculture: defining rice as the key product to ensure the national food security; following intensive and specialized production, applying advanced technology, using high-quality varieties to increase the production value per unit of farming land and meet the demand of the markets; paying attention on the after-harvesting processing and increasing the quality of export rice. Increasing the production of key products of the province such as sugarcane, vegetables and fruits to meet the standards for domestic consumption and export; step by step controlling the diseases and ensuring the sustainable agricultural growth rate; conforming to the technology procedures in all phases including production, processing to consumption.

Developing animal breeding (pig, cow, livestock) with the suitable scale to meet the demand for domestic consumption; applying advanced breeding technology, producing high-quality products, ensuring food hygiene and safety; strictly controlling diseases and animal pollution from animal breeding activities.

- Forestry: maintaining and protecting the available forest resources to ensure the sustainable forest development; conserving the environment for the wild life, valuable and rare genes in combing with ecological tourism development, especially the specialized forests in which Dong Thap Muoi Region plays an important role in reducing the impacts of climate change and seawater rise. Protecting and issuing suitable policies to maintain the reasonable area of protective forests, combining the forest development with national security in border districts. Exploiting the forest resources reasonably, encouraging investment and production activities and sustainable forest development.

- Fishery: Developing the aquaculture activities in Dong Thap Muoi Region aiming at ecological environment control and protection. Studying to establish the suitable aquaculture models (clubs, cooperatives, economic organizations, farms etc.) to protect the benefits of the parties and promote the goods production; investing in developing the infrastructure to apply the technology in aquaculture.

2. Industrial development

- Developing the industry in sustainable way shall have the impacts on the agricultural and service sectors and become the socio-economic driving force for the province. Aiming at the growth rate of 14.2%/year in 2015, 14.4%/year in 2020 and 13.6%/year in 2030. Paying attention on developing the industries to diversify the products, industries with high percentage of high technology, green and clean criteria.

- Ensuring to provide the suitable infrastructure services for the development of sectors, international business activities; constructing high-quality industrial parks to call for foreign investments; establishing the industry development policies with clear and detailed implementation mechanism, promoting the available resources; ensuring to provide the trained and high-quality labor force at reasonable cost; developing the new sectors to create the key sectors for industrial development of the province in the general background of the industry development of Vietnam.

- Encouraging the industries in accordance with the policies of the province, supporting the existing industries in the South Key Economic Zone such as: high technology, knowledge industry, research and development, environment, new material-based industry, electronic and software production, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), energy batteries, power production system from hydro etc. developing the agricultural tool industry basing on the existing and relevant agricultural production sectors in the province.

-Focusing on developing quickly, effectively and investing in the infrastructure, attracting the investments into the existing industrial parks and complexes, linking with the construction of waste treatment works, ensuring the green and clean environment.

3.Trade, service and tourism development

Aiming at the growth rate of 17%/year by 2020 and 15.3%/year by 2030.

- Trade, service: developing high-quality and diversified services to meet the demands of the people; improving the infrastructure and services to provide the modern and convenient facilities for the users; balancing the service quality in urban and rural areas.

Developing urban centers with competitive capacity to provide the suitable services combined with space development. Establishing the service centers to exploite the advantage of being located in the gateway of Mekong River Delta Region and South Key Economic Zone. Improving the services serving for industrial development, urban service development such as logistics service, technology and information, utilities, market research, financial service etc.

- Tourism: Developing the comprehensive tourism system including information provision, infrastructure and transport service, high-quality accommodation, diversified cuisine; entertainment areas, high-quality serving human resource. Diversifying the tourism products, promoting the cooperation in tourism development with other provinces in the Region, especially with Ho Chi Minh city and provinces of Cambodia. Tourism development models: ecological tourism, trade village tourism with the cultural values etc.

4. Social sectors

a) Education and training:

- Continue to invest in physical facilities for the schools from kindergartens to universities, increasing the school, classroom network especially in rural, remote, border areas and auxiliary works serving for education and training and considered this as a priority objective of the Province.

- Increasing the qualifications and capacity of the teachers, improving the teaching and learning methods to meet the diversified demand in term of skills and quality as well as to create the legal background and promoting the internal forces for education development.

- Constructing the suitable vocational training structure to meet the demand of the economy, the training must be linked with job creation after training; diversifying the vocational training methods to improve the quality; paying attention on providing vocational training for rural labor, strengthening the network of the vocational schools; increasing the cooperation, association on training with other provinces in the country and foreign countries.

b) Health:

-Developing synchronously the health network; gradually improving the quality of the professional quality and ethics for medical staffs; modernizing the physical facilities, medical equipment, disease examination and treatment, prevention; upgrading the preventive health centers at district level; promoting the socialization to attract the investment capital in investing and constructing the clinics disease treatment associated with relaxation therapy;

- Paying attention on constructing the healty society, increasing the quality of the preventive health system, constructing the health care system for the people; increasing the effectiveness of health communication and education, environmental sanitation, food safety and hygiene;

-Aiming at the objective of implementing the universal health insurance and population, family planning policies, increasing the population quality.

c) Culture, Sports:

- Constructing the advanced, healthy culture with national identity, creating high-quality and typical cultural products of the province; focusing on establishing the synchronous cultural system at all levels, restoring the cultural, historical relics and preserving the traditional cultural values of the nations; 

- Paying attention on developing the sports movements; paying attention on training, fostering high performance athletes; promoting the socialization, attracting the investments for physical facilities and increasing the physical education in the schools.

d) Poverty reduction, job creation and social security:

- Continue the investments into rural infrastructure, gradually finishing the necessary infrastructure such as schools, health stations, traffic roads, commune centers, power, water, irrigation systems for the poor commune and areas with economic difficulties. Developing rural economy, especially farm and household economy, rehabilitating and developing trade villages, developing labor-intensive small and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas; issuing the policies to serve for creating jobs and developing agricultural and fishery production.

e) Science and technology

- Increasing the management by standards and quality of the product and establishing the advanced quality control system; expanding the cooperation in science and technology; standardizing the key agricultural products of the province (rice, dragon fruits, peanut, shrimp etc.)

- Promoting the application of the achievements of science and advanced technology such as biological technology, after-harvesting technology, creating the innovation in varieties of plants, animals of high productivity and value; gradually mechanizing the agricultural production phases. Supporting the enterprises to innovate and apply the technologies at the traditional trade villages;

5. Infrastructure development:

a) Traffic

- Developing the traffic infrastructure aiming at creating modern infrastructure and increase the connection with big urban centers, centers with high growth rates and the regions in the province; ensure the safe, effective transportation of the cargoes and passengers as well as protecting the environment and avoiding such issues as traffic jams, traffic accidents, air pollution; establishing the suitable organization mechanism and institution to create and manage the transportation network and transportation services effectively.

- Developing the traffic network (road and waterway) effectively with high competition and connecting with the regional traffic networks to create the conditions for Long An province to become the real gateway connecting Mekong River Delta region and the South Key Economic Zone; upgrading, improving the rural traffic roads, preventing floods and creating conditions for safe and smooth circulation of the means of transportation; developing the suitable public transport services to meet the demands of the people.

b) Irrigation

- Upgrading and improving the irrigation system in districts of Duc Hoa, Can Duoc and Can Giup to create the conditions for agricultural production; constructing the additional water receiving Canals from Phuoc Hoa Lake; studying to prepare the plan for exploiting the groundwater source; planning to exploit the water from Hong Ngu Canal to supply water for irrigation for the region between Vam Co Dong River and Vam Co Tay river.

c) Power supply

- Upgrading and constructing the power network synchronously, increasing the capacity of the substations to stabilize the power supply source; studying,  constructing the power projects using other energy sources such as: wind, solar etc. at suitable locations;

-Developing the power distribution system to the industrial areas, complexes, tourism areas, residential areas and centralized production areas; gradually undergrounding the urban power system; focusing on rural power network development.

d) Water supply, drainage and environmental sanitation:

-Focussing the investments in upgrading and newly constructing the domestic water supply system for the urban areas to ensure the clean water demand for domestic and production activities of the people; for the rural areas, ensuring the access to hygienic water of the people; basing on the ability to mobilize the capital for each phase, preparing the plan for upgrading and expanding the water treatment plants, transmission and distribution network; implementing effectively the rural clean water and environmental sanitation programs.

- Constructing synchronously the drainage, wastewater collection and treatment systems, especially in urban areas, industrial complexes, preventing the flooding situation in urban areas; collecting and treating health solid waste at the hospitals, health stations; studying to construct the centralized landfills at the urban areas.

e) Information and communication

- Increasing the quality, diversifying the services, providing new services. Applying information technology in constructing the online communication system from the city to the districts

-Modernizing, expanding the network in combination with applying advanced technology in post and telecommunication sector; ensuring the information security to meet the socio-economic development demand.

6. Natural resource and environment protection

- Minimizing the environmental pollution in industrial, agricultural production, service and urban development; promoting the application of clean technology in economic sectors; improving the environmental depression and environmental quality; protecting the biodiversity and ecological environment.

-Managing and protecting strictly and effectively the natural resources, especially land, forest and minerals. Controlling closely the use and treatment of chemicals, pollutants at the business production establishment and households.

7. National defense and security.

- Strengthening the national defense and security; promoting the general strength of the entire political system to construct the people's national defense and security.

- Constructing and developing effectively the national defense methods, managing closely the prevention national defense force to ensure the quality and quantity; combining with the socio-economic development of the province in the development investment planning, plans, programs and projects.

IV. DEVELOPMENT SPACE ORGANIZATION ORIENTATIONS

1. Urban-Rural development

a) Urban development

- Developing the urban area linking Tan An-Ben Luc to support the effective transport and developing the urban areas along the corridor.

- Developing Duc Hoa Urban Area as the role of the service center of the Northeast Region; Can Giuoc Urban Area will be proposed to provide the services for ports (Hiep Phuoc and Long An) as well as the inland area; establishing Moc Hoa Urban Area to be the development center of Dong Thap Muoi Region, developing the border gate to provide the facilities for trade activities through the border.

- Strengthening and upgrading the urban areas such as Can Duoc, Tan Tru, Thu Thua, Hau Nghia, Dong Thanh, Thanh Hoa, Tan Hoa, Tan Hung and Vinh Hung.

b) Rural development

Developing the rural centers to link with: Thanh Hoa-Tan Thanh Urban Complex; Dong Thanh-Hau Nghia Urban Complex; Moc Hoa – Binh Hiep Urban Complex, ensuring the development of high-quality urban services to improve the living standards of the rural people.

Developing Vam Co Dong and Vam Co Tay ecological corridor, ensuring the water supply for domestic and production activities and serving for the transport of the province as well as creating opportunity for developing other ecological activities, meeting the demand of the urban, rural people and tourists.

2.Development of economic zones:

- Zone 1 (Food security, tourism and border gate economy zone): including the districts of Vinh Hung, Tan Hung, Moc Hoa, tan Thanh, Thanh Hoa, Chau Thanh and a part of Thu Thua district, where has the competitive advantage in agricultural production and tourist attraction.

Aiming at developing strongly agricultural, forestry, fishery sectors and ensuring the industrial development to serve for agriculture, rural development; developing services, industries at the border gate economic zones; developing ecological tourism; developing Moc Hoa Urban area to ensure the exchange of trade and service with Dong Thap Muoi Region and Tan An city.

-Zone 2 (Ecological Buffer Area): located between two rivers of Vam Co Dong and Vam Co Tay. This zone is defined as the area to protect Zone 1 from the impacts of the excessive urban and industrial development activities of Zone 3; creating the special landscape in terms of land use and combing the urban and rural features; reducing pollution for Vam Co Dong River and Vam Co Tay River and restoring the space for development orientation after 2020.

In the short run, Zone 2 is defined for agricultural development with the seasonal land fund for industrial development, ecological urban area, interprovincial transfer area. The center of the Zone is Thua Thua town to connect with many economic sub-regions of the province, connect the land border and sea port. Focusing on controlling the development of Zone 2 and only permitting the development in the planned areas along the roads and some other defined areas.

- Zone 3 (Urban and Industrial Development Zone) consists of Vam Co Dong River and districts of Duc Hoa, Ben Luc, Can Giuoc, Can Duoc and a part of Tan Tru district in the downstream, Tan An city and a part of Thu Thua district.

Aiming at urban development and general industry to create the central urban development corridor in Ben Luc-Tan An and typical industrial urban areas in Duc Hoa, Can Giuoc, Can Duoc.

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