Can Tho's Vinh Thanh District: Promoting strengths for a breakthrough

DNHN - Vinh Thanh District is a locality with many advantages for developing an ecological agricultural area combined with renewable energy, environmental technology, and the ecological industrial park of Thot Not - Vinh Thanh as recently planned.

A large project like VSIP Vietnam - Singapore located here shows the attractiveness of the investment environment of Vinh Thanh District. As the western gateway district of Can Tho City, Vinh Thanh is associated with traditional place names, marking the land reclamation of the residents on this land, contributing to creating a prosperous region with abundant raw materials.

Determination to overcome difficulties

In 2004, according to a Government Decree, Vinh Thanh District was established based on separation from Thot Not District, Can Tho Province (now Tho Not District, Can Tho City). Promoting the tradition of solidarity, self-reliance, and self-improvement, over the past 20 years, the Party Committee, government, and people of Vinh Thanh District have made efforts, determined to overcome all difficulties and challenges, and gradually achieved remarkable achievements in many fields.

Since 2018, Vinh Thanh District has been recognised as meeting new rural standards with one commune recognised as meeting the model new rural standard; 4/9 communes have reached the advanced new rural standard.

In terms of the economy, the district’s production value has increased quite high, averaging 13.18% per year, the economic structure has shifted in the right direction, and the proportion of the agricultural economy has decreased (accounting for only 39.09%); trade services, industry - small industry - services increased rapidly (accounting for more than 60%), forming many effective cooperative economic models and cooperatives.

The industry-small industry sector of Vinh Thanh has gradually developed in terms of scale, quantity, and production value. So far, the production value is estimated at VND 15,752,161 billion (an increase of more than 200 times compared to 2004). Notably, the district was planned and invested by the City to build Vinh Thanh Industrial Park in Vinh Trinh Commune with a scale of 900 hectares. This is an opportunity for the district to rapidly shift its economic structure, and labour structure, and improve people’s living standards.

Strengths and prospects for a breakthrough

According to Mr Doan Quoc Su - Chairman of Vinh Thanh District People’s Committee, said that according to the general plan of Can Tho City for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, Vinh Thanh District is oriented towards inter-district regional linkages, the district will develop mainly in the following directions: Ecological agricultural area combined with renewable energy, environmental technology: The western part of the district, separated by expressways, has a very low population density, can be identified as large areas for solar power generation, under the solar panel system can still be aquaculture or vegetable growing, livestock. Ecological industrial park of Thot Not - Vinh Thanh: Developing a clean industrial strip interspersed with ecological landscapes, conservation areas along National Highway 80 and Lo Te - Rach Soi Expressway, as many countries in the world are doing today.

Therefore, in terms of urban economy: Forming a new urban centre of the City along the ecological industrial strip from the (old) Thot Not Town to Thanh An Town to create an attractive northern border for the entire Can Tho City. In the coming time, to attract investment, Vinh Thanh District will take the initiative to coordinate with the city’s departments and branches to review, adjust, and submit for approval the planning of the district’s industrial-small industry clusters in a way that connects and effectively exploits the infrastructure of water and road transport such as Cai San Canal, National Highway 80 with Lo Te - Rach Soi Road. These transport routes have broken the division, creating opportunities for the district to trade goods, consume agricultural products, and develop rapidly in terms of the local socio-economy, turning this place into the western gateway of Can Tho. This is also a prospect for Vinh Thanh to attract investment, and develop production, business, and consumption of agricultural products.

Along with that, promoting administrative reform, creating a favourable environment, calling for investors to the locality to invest in development, exploiting the potential and advantages of the locality, creating jobs for workers, and improving the production value of the industry. Organising annual dialogues and meetings with enterprises, listening to enterprises report on their achievements as well as reflecting on the shortcomings and difficulties in the process of production and business activities to promptly remove, resolve, and support enterprises.

In particular, creating conditions for enterprises to access the State’s support policies, investing in improving equipment, and enhancing the economic efficiency and value of products. Promoting trade promotion to restore the domestic consumption market; strengthening the inspection of production and business activities, market management, checking the listing of prices, selling at the listed prices, and implementing fire and explosion safety measures. Timely detecting and strictly handling cases of violations in production and business activities, smuggling, and commercial fraud. Promoting the development of 3-star and 4-star OCOP products for all communes and towns in the district. Continuing to build a high-quality rice material area to ensure the requirements for production according to the value chain and export.

Recently, the VSIP Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park project worth more than VND 3,717 billion has officially started. The district leaders expect that when the VSIP project is completed, it will solve the large number of labourers in the district, create jobs, and income for workers working in the VSIP project, thereby stimulating consumer demand, developing a variety of services, helping people have a more stable life, and no longer dependent on agricultural production. This is also the driving force for growth and is a testament to the attractiveness of the locality.

Thu Hien - Bich Lien