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Hanoi sets 9-10 percent growth target
The Hanoi People’s Council has decided to set a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 9-10 percent for next year.
It has also decided to raise the annual target for income per capita from 32 million VND (1,778 USD) to between 36.5-37.5 million VND (2,028-2,083 USD).
The two targets were approved at the Council’s year-end meeting which opened on Dec. 8. The deputies also set some other important targets for the city’s economy, including the generation of 135,000 new jobs and the reduction of poor households by 1.6 percent.
Pham Quang Nghi, secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, said following last year’s decision to expand the city, things had gone smoothly, including preparations for the 1,000 th founding anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi in 2010.
However, Nghi admitted that the city’s economic development had not been as dynamic as expected and that no major breakthroughs had been achieved - traffic congestion and food safety remained two thorny problems.
“To achieve a GDP growth of 10 percent next year and an increase of 5 percent in budget collection (Tax from all sources), the city must display determination to overcome difficulties and create a good environment to attract investors,” he said.
He said celebrating the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi would be an important event for the capital city and the country as a whole.
Phi Thai Binh, vice chairman of the Hanoi’s Committee said that this year the city had overcome many difficulties created by the economic downturn.
He said that as the year came to a close, high growth had been reported in many sectors. As a result, the city’s GDP increased by 6.7 percent - higher than the national average.
“Thanks to the Government’s stimulus plan, the construction sector saw an increase of 9.9 percent against that of 2008 while trade activities also recorded an increase of 18 percent,” Binh said.
He added that this year, Hanoi had felt the negative impacts of the world financial crisis.
This had led to foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in the city dropping to a low 700 million USD from over 5 billion USD in 2008.
And while the number of registered businesses had increased during the year, their registered capital had gone down.
The four day meetings of the Hanoi People’s Council will last until Dec. 11.
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