VGP – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will chair a conference to seek ways to boost the development of the 14 central coastal localities, in Binh Dinh province on August 20. 

GDP share of 14 central coastal localities remains modest
only accounts for 6.93% of Viet Nam's GDP

 Specifically, the participants to the conference will evaluate socio-economic situation in the region to find out solutions, including institutional policies and mechanisms to remove its development “bottlenecks”.

The region is the home to 20.2 million people, accounting for 21% of the nation’s total population and makes up 28.9% of the nation’s area. 

With the coastal lines of 1,900 km and beautiful beaches, central region plays a crucial role in marine economic development, especially tourism.

In addition, the region enjoys rich solar power potential, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. By the end of June this year, 89 solar power plants came into operation with total capacity of 4,543.8 MW.

In term of investment, the region is home to 11 economic zones with 209 foreign-invested projects worth nearly US$32 billion and over 1,000 locally-invested projects with total registered capital of VND 587 trillion.

In the first half of 2019, the GRDP growth of the central region was estimated at 8.05%, higher than the nation’s average GDP growth of 6.76%. Eight among 14 localities reported the high GRDP growths such as Thanh Hoa 22.18%, Ha Tinh 12.78%, Ninh Thuan 10.07%, Phu Yen 9.2%, Binh Thuan 8.46%, Nghe An 7.09%, Thua Thien Hue 6.87% and Quang Tri 6.8%. 

However, the region’s  industrial growth remains weak due to the lack of mega projects while export value share is still modest, accounting for only 4.76% of the country’s total volume. Noticeably, only Da Nang city and Khanh Hoa province enjoy trade surplus.

The region’s GDP share only made up 6.93% of the national GDP in 2018, putting pressure on poverty reduction, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

One of the major bottlenecks is weak and fragmented transport system due to the lack of investment capital./.