A corner of Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province (Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper)
The Prime Minister has issued Decision No. 891/QD-TTg dated August 22, 2024, approving the Master Plan for Urban and Rural Development for the period of 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050.
According to the master plan, eight provinces are oriented to become centrally-governed cities, including Thua Thien Hue, Khanh Hoa, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh, Hai Duong, and Binh Duong.
Thua Thien Hue
According to the report of the Provincial Statistics Office, in 2023, the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) is estimated to increase by 7.03% over the same period last year, ranking 27th out of 63 provinces and cities, lower than the increase of 8.56% in 2022. However, this agency said that this is still a fairly good growth rate in the context of global and domestic economic difficulties.
The scale of the economy in 2023 at current prices is estimated at VND 72,866 billion. With its golden palaces, majestic tombs, historically-charged sites, and an economic structure in which the service sector accounts for the largest proportion (48.8%), this sector also experienced the strongest growth (8.64%) as the tourism industry has strongly recovered, with the total number of tourists for the year estimated at 3.2 – 3.3 million arrivals.
In the first half of 2024, although facing many difficulties, the socio-economic situation of Thua Thien Hue continued to improve positively, with many important indicators and indices growing, with each month higher than the previous month, and the second quarter higher than the first, contributing to an improved overall result.
The scale of GRDP in the first six months (according to comparable prices) is estimated at VND 19,599 billion, up 6.01% over the same period, ranking 10th out of 14 provinces/cities in the North Central and Coastal Central regions, and 36th out of 63 provinces/cities nationwide. The scale of the economy (at current prices) reached VND 37,935 billion. Of which, the service sector accounts for more than 50% of the economic structure, up 6.95% over the same period; the industry-construction sector increased by 5.22%, accounting for 30.1%; the agricultural, forestry, and aquatic sector increased by 2.99%, accounting for 11.2%.
Khanh Hoa
In 2023, GRDP of Khanh Hoa province is estimated at over VND 60,158 billion, up 10.35% compared to 2022, exceeding the plan by 8.7%. Khanh Hoa ranks 4th in the country in terms of GRDP growth rate and is the leading province in the North Central and Coastal Central regions. With an economic structure comprising agriculture, forestry, and aquatic products accounting for 11%; industry and construction accounting for 32.23%; services accounting for 47.56%; and taxes on products minus subsidies on products accounting for 9.21%.
According to the Provincial Statistics Office, tourism continues to play a key role in the province’s economy. Specifically, tourism revenue in 2023 is estimated at VND 31,778 billion, 2.27 times higher than in 2022.
In the first six months of 2024, Khanh Hoa ranked 2nd in the country and topped the North Central and Coastal Central regions in terms of GRDP growth, with an estimated increase of 12.7%. In particular, the industry and construction sector increased by 28.84% over the same period, the highest increase ever. The province’s tourism continued to record impressive growth, with tourism revenue in the first six months estimated at more than VND 26,072 billion, up 97%.
According to the Provincial Statistics Office of Khanh Hoa, 2024 has been chosen by the province as the “Year of Governance and Administration”, and it is also a significant year in successfully implementing the goals and tasks of the Resolution of the 18th Congress of the Provincial Party Committee of Khanh Hoa.
Bac Ninh
Aiming to become a modern and high-tech industrial city, Bac Ninh’s economic structure is dominated by the industry-construction sector, which accounted for 72.18% in 2023. In addition, the service sector accounts for 20.68%; and the agricultural, forestry, and aquatic sector accounts for 2.88%. According to the Provincial Statistics Office, in 2023, the scale of GRDP (at current prices) in the province is estimated at over VND 220,000 billion; GRDP per capita is estimated at VND 145.1 million/person.
In 2023, against the backdrop of a struggling global economy, Bac Ninh recorded the sharpest decline in GRDP ever, and was also the province with the sharpest decline in the country (down 9.28%). Of which, the industry-construction sector decreased by 13.24%, the agricultural, forestry, and aquatic sector decreased by 2.31%; while the service sector grew positively but not high.
In the first six months of 2024, Bac Ninh’s economy initially recovered well, with GRDP growing by 2.32%, ranking 60th in the country, in which the industry-construction sector increased by 1.35%; the service sector increased by 5.62%, and the agricultural, forestry, and aquatic sector increased by 2.65%. The industrial production index (IIP) grew by 5.5% over the same period in 2023.
Ba Ria – Vung Tau
Ba Ria – Vung Tau province has a significant advantage in marine resources, with not only deep-water seaports but also the largest oil reserves in the country. Therefore, the industrial economy is the key to the province’s economy. However, due to the sharp decline in oil and gas extraction output, GRDP including oil and gas in 2023 (according to comparable prices) decreased by 1.02% over the same period, ranking only before Quang Nam (down 8.25%) and Bac Ninh (down 9.28%). Of which, crude oil and gas extraction industry accounts for 41.7% of the whole economy; manufacturing industry accounts for 20.12%.
The scale of GRDP (at current prices) in 2023 of the province was VND 366,456 billion, GRDP per capita reached VND 308.7 million/person/year, down 5.47% compared to 2022. The main reason for the decline is still mainly due to the drop in crude oil extraction and international market gas prices.
In the first six months of 2024, the oil and gas sector continued to face difficulties, decreasing by 14.37%, causing Ba Ria – Vung Tau’s GRDP to still grow negatively, decreasing by 1.42% over the same period last year, the only locality recording a decrease.
Mr. Le Ngoc Linh – Director of the Department of Planning and Investment analyzed: Including Oil and Gas, Ba Ria – Vung Tau is negative, but excluding Oil and Gas, it ranks 8th in the country. The whole country has only Ba Ria – Vung Tau related to Oil and Gas, so if we exclude Oil and Gas, we will be behind some provinces and cities such as: Bac Ninh, Khanh Hoa, Thanh Hoa, Ha Nam, Hai Phong, Tra Vinh, and Hai Duong. Although Ba Ria – Vung Tau ranks 8th, its economic scale is in the top 5 in the country.
Quang Ninh
According to the Provincial Statistics Office, in 2023, the economic scale of Quang Ninh reached over VND 315,000 billion, 1.5 times higher than in 2020. In terms of structure, the industry-construction sector accounted for 51.9%; services accounted for 30.7%; and the agricultural, forestry, and aquatic sector accounted for 4.7%. State budget revenue is estimated at over VND 55,600 billion, leading the country in FDI attraction with a figure of more than USD 3 billion, 3.1 times the plan for the year.
The economic growth rate (GRDP) in 2023 reached 11.03%, more than twice the national average, ranking first in the Red River Delta region and third in the country. This is also the 9th consecutive year from 2015 to 2023 that Quang Ninh has achieved a two-digit growth rate. Quang Ninh province has great attraction from transport infrastructure, airports, seaports, and tourism resources, notably Ha Long Bay.
In the first six months, Quang Ninh’s GRDP increased by 9.02%, ranking 8th out of 63 provinces and cities. In which the agricultural, forestry, and aquatic sector increased by 4.3%; the industry-construction sector increased by 7.68%; and the service sector increased by 13.85%. The GRDP scale is estimated at VND 161.6 thousand billion. The total registered FDI capital in the first six months reached over USD 1.5 billion, or 56.1% of the yearly plan.
Ninh Binh
The GRDP scale in 2023 (at current prices) is estimated at over VND 88,947 billion. In terms of structure, the agricultural, forestry, and aquatic sector is estimated to account for 8.6%; the industry-construction sector accounts for 35.88%; the service sector accounts for 39.62%; and taxes on products minus subsidies on products account for 15.9%.
In 2023, GRDP in the province (according to 2010 comparable prices) grew by 7.27% compared to 2022, ranking 23rd in the country. According to the Provincial Statistics Office, the economic structure of Ninh Binh continues to shift towards reducing the proportion of agriculture, forestry, and aquatic products, and increasing the proportion of the service sector. The service sector is gradually becoming the strength of the province as tourism is being focused on investment and development to become the spearhead economic sector of the province.
GRDP in the province in the first six months of 2024 is estimated at VND 26,838.9 billion, up 8.19% compared to the first six months of 2023, ranking 12th out of 63 provinces and centrally-governed cities, and 6th out of 11 provinces and cities in the Red River Delta region. Of which, the industry-construction sector increased the most (10.45%), contributing 3.53 percentage points to the province’s GRDP growth rate; the service sector grew by 9.43%, contributing 3.63 percentage points.
Hai Duong
The economic growth rate of Hai Duong province in 2023 is estimated at 8.16%; ranking 13th out of 63 provinces and cities and 6th out of 11 provinces and cities in the Red River Delta region. Notably, according to the Provincial Statistics Office, the province’s growth rate surged in the fourth quarter of 2023 (up 10.88%; contributing 2.94 percentage points to the growth rate of the year) thanks to the recovery in industrial production and the determination to disburse and attract investment of the authorities at all levels.
The GRDP scale of the Province is estimated at VND 184,123 billion, continuing to rank 11th in the country (ranking after Nghe An and before Bac Giang). The economic structure of the province is shifting towards a decrease in the proportion of the agricultural sector and an increase in the proportion of the industrial sector. However, the proportion of the service sector tends to decrease, indicating that the economy in the Province is still in the early stage of industrialization, and the service economy still has much potential for development in the following years.
In the first six months of 2024, GRDP of Hai Duong province is estimated to increase by 10% over the same period in 2023, ranking 7th in the country and 3rd in the Red River Delta region. A bright spot in Hai Duong’s growth in the first half of 2024 is that the agricultural, forestry, and aquatic sector, the industry-construction sector, and the service sector all recorded positive growth.
According to the Provincial Statistics Office, the industry and construction sector recorded the highest growth rate, estimated at 13.71%. Specifically, the industry sector increased by 14.3%, as 34 out of 36 industries grew. The agricultural, forestry, and aquatic sector increased by 3.52% as livestock and aquaculture remained stable; the yield of the winter crop and the summer-autumn rice crop increased compared to the same period.
The service sector is estimated to increase by 6.9%, mainly due to stable consumer demand; transport and supporting production services increased; and positive impacts from the increase in the basic salary of civil servants and public employees in the middle of 2023 in the fields of state management, healthcare, and education.
Binh Duong
In 2023, GRDP of Binh Duong province is estimated to increase by 5.97% over the same period, ranking 37th in the country. GRDP per capita reached VND 172 million, up from VND 166 million in 2022. The economic structure of Binh Duong province is dominated by the industrial sector (accounting for 66.26%); the service sector accounts for 23.71%; the agricultural sector accounts for 2.64%; and taxes on products minus subsidies on products account for 7.39%.
Known as the “industrial capital”, the province’s manufacturing industry continues to play a key role in the industrial sector and contributes significantly to the overall economic growth. However, in 2023, many enterprises still faced reduced orders, had to downsize or even cease operations, so the industrial production index (IIP) is estimated to increase by only 5.95%…
In the first six months of 2024, in the context of volatile global economic conditions, Binh Duong province still achieved positive results in most fields. Accordingly, GRDP is estimated to increase by 6.2% over the same period, ranking 34th in the country, with the industry and construction sector accounting for the highest proportion (64.57%). Export turnover is estimated at USD 16.3 billion, up 10.3% over the same period, and imports are estimated at USD 11.5 billion, up 9.9% over the same period.
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