Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recommended the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai to make efforts to be named among top 15 developed localities in Vietnam while meeting local leaders on July 20.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the working session (Photo: VNA)

At the working session, Dang Xuan Phong, Chairman of the Lao Cai People’s Committee, informed the PM on the province’s socio-economic development in recent times.

In the first six months of 2019, its Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) grew 10.02 percent. The province welcomed nearly 3 million tourists, generating an annual revenue increase of over 20 percent for the local tourism sector. Lao Cai fulfilled 60 percent of its budget collection target. The rate of poor household reduction also reached nearly 60 percent of its plan.

Participating officials proposed the PM and Government direct the local building of special mechanisms to support investment in infrastructure as well as expand the Sa Pa urban area and make it an international-standard tourism destination. 

They recommended the Government continue selecting the Lao Cai border gate economic zone to be among key zones of its kind for 2021-2025; build a bridge crossing the Red River in Bat Xat district’s Ban Vuoc commune to connect Vietnam to China; and invest in building the Lao Cai – Ha Noi – Hai Phong railway; among others.

Agreeing with a number of such proposals, including the building of the bridge, PM Phuc asked relevant agencies and sectors to assist Lao Cai to carry out these projects in line with regulations.

Lauding the province’s socio-economic achievements, he advised local authorities pay attention to environmental protection, particularly the sustainable development of the Sa Pa national tourism site.

Phuc requested Lao Cai to continue boosting its border economy and trade as well as transport infrastructure with a focus on the Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong economic corridor. He also suggested the local development of high-tech agriculture. 

The same day, the PM toured the Lao Cai international border gate and Ban Vuoc border gate, while paying tribute at the martyrs' cemetery of Duyen Hai commune ahead of the upcoming 72th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27).