Vietnam is a country with special potential in marine economic resources, located on the western shore of the East Sea with a coastline stretching over 3,260 km from North to South, and for every 100 km² of mainland area, there is 1 km of coastline. Of the country’s 34 provinces and centrally governed cities, 21 have coastlines, and nearly half of the population lives in coastal provinces and cities. Notably, the sea areas under Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction cover approximately 1,000,000 km² of the East Sea (three times the mainland area), with about 3,000 large and small islands and two offshore archipelagos, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, distributed relatively evenly along the country’s coastline, forming an outpost defense line protecting the eastern flank of the nation.

However, in the 1980s, the country’s economy fell into extreme hardship. Numerous seminars and presentations by domestic and international economists were organized to seek solutions for the economy. People turned to classical theories such as those of Kant, Adam Smith, Keynes... in the hope of finding a way out for Vietnam’s stagnant and lagging economy that was sinking deeper into crisis. Yet, an extremely poor and backward economy at that time needed not only classical theories but also individuals and collectives with aspiration, daring to break through and act in real life. Moreover, it required leaders with vision who dared to think, dared to act, and dared to take responsibility.

At that historic moment of the nation, a poem by revolutionary poet To Huu resonated like a signal marking the beginning of national renewal at the frontline of waves and winds — the port city of Hai Phong under the leadership of Party Secretary Doan Duy Thanh: “… Dig canals and reclaim land from the sea to expand our foundation…”. Thus, one of the historical chapters of national economic reform was entrusted to Con Dao prisoner Doan Duy Thanh, who was also among the leaders of the prison break on December 12, 1952, at the so-called earthly hell of Con Dao. This daring sea escape, which shocked world public opinion, was reported at the time by major French newspapers such as Le Figaro, Paris-Match, L’Echo, L’Humanité, etc. Perhaps the spirit of that sea escape in search of the only path toward light and freedom from the dark earthly hell helped shape the ocean-crossing vision of former Con Dao prisoners such as Party Secretary Doan Duy Thanh.

Former Deputy Prime Minister, former Hai Phong Party Secretary Doan Duy Thanh reported to former General Secretary Le Duan on the development strategy for Hai Phong Port in 1981.

In the years preceding the country’s Doi Moi process, with the vision of reaching out to the sea to “grow rich and achieve victory” by Party Secretary Doan Duy Thanh and Hai Phong’s leadership, the city implemented the project to build the Road 14 dyke, reclaiming land from the sea in Do Son with an area equivalent to the former Tien Lang district. The construction of the Road 14 dyke alone led to the establishment of two new communes. To commemorate Mr. Doan Duy Thanh’s contributions, the new communes were named Hai Thanh and Tan Thanh. In addition, projects such as the Dinh Vu dam, Cai Trap canal excavation, and the cross-island roads of Cat Hai and Cat Ba created breakthroughs in infrastructure, expanding the port system and logistics network, including the expansion of Cat Bi Airport as well as the establishment of the Hai Phong Ship fleet to transport food and goods serving agriculture and foreign trade, generating significant revenue and reducing dependence on the centrally planned subsidy mechanism.

Along with leading the implementation and successful application of the agricultural “Output Contracting” mechanism, these infrastructure development projects not only created the brightest flamboyant red identity throughout the city’s history but also laid the foundation for promoting and effectively developing investment projects in infrastructure construction, logistics, industrial parks – seaports – non-tariff zones at Nam Dinh Vu covering 1,329 hectares, and Lach Huyen Port, the largest in the country, located in Hai Phong. In particular, this also served as a prerequisite for the development of a free trade zone in Hai Phong and contributed to the formation of the country’s marine economic sectors.

Vietnam, with its advantage of marine resource potential, needs to further strongly develop the strategy of expanding national development toward the East Sea to promote the marine economy and safeguard national defense and security. In particular, Hai Phong, with its unique position in Vietnam, has effectively promoted simultaneous connectivity through road, air, sea, inland waterway, and especially the existing railway system connecting with localities and countries in the region. The city has effectively implemented a seaport system comprising five port areas with 98 berths of various types and eight main maritime channels, basically meeting the capacity to receive large vessels.

The road transport system has basically met the requirements for connecting seaports with industrial parks, service zones, inland container depots, linking with many northern provinces and cities and the “two corridors, one belt” Vietnam–China framework. Over the past five years, many large projects have been invested in and constructed, effectively serving cargo transportation through the ports in the Dinh Vu and Lach Huyen areas, such as the Hanoi–Hai Phong Expressway, the Tan Vu–Lach Huyen road and bridge, and the Hai Phong–Ha Long Expressway. At the same time, Hai Phong has focused on investing in external transport infrastructure connecting with Hanoi, Quang Ninh, and Hung Yen. Alongside this, Cat Bi Airport has been invested in, upgraded, and developed into a Level 4E international airport.

Currently, Hai Phong ranks among the top five localities nationwide in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2024, the total registered FDI reached USD 4.94 billion, exceeding 145% of the planned target and increasing by more than 34% compared to the previous year. With abundant resources, the material, cultural, and spiritual life of Hai Phong residents has also been improved. GRDP per capita has continuously increased, reaching USD 8,665 in 2024, far exceeding the national average of USD 4,700. With these achievements, on April 28, 2025, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Hai Phong, the State President signed the decision to confer the title “Heroic City” on Hai Phong.

Currently, following the merger of provincial-level administrative units and the implementation of a two-tier local government model, Hai Phong continues to strongly implement Politburo Resolution No. 45 (2019) on the construction and development of Hai Phong City to 2030 with a vision to 2045: “to build and develop Hai Phong into a leading seaport city nationwide in the cause of industrialization and modernization, serving as a growth engine for the Northern region and the whole country, with logistics services as a key focus.”

In addition, based on the positive results achieved and inheriting the spirit of reform over more than 40 years, Hai Phong needs to pioneer the implementation of Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW (2018) on the “Strategy for sustainable development of Vietnam’s marine economy to 2030, with a vision to 2045.” Accordingly, by 2030, Vietnam aims to achieve successful and breakthrough development in marine economic sectors in the following priority order: (1) Marine tourism and services; (2) Maritime economy; (3) Oil and gas exploitation and other marine mineral resources; (4) Aquaculture and fisheries exploitation; (5) Coastal industries; (6) Renewable energy and new marine economic sectors. This strategy must be based on national planning for regional industrial and logistics connectivity consistent with the national marine economic vision.

In the process of reform, the documents of the 14th National Party Congress identified three strategic breakthroughs: developing high-quality human resources; building synchronous and modern infrastructure; and especially perfecting development institutions, which are always considered the “breakthrough of breakthroughs,” holding a central position in creating a favorable environment for sustainable socio-economic development. In reality, in institutional improvement as well as social resource mobilization in general, the mechanism and quality of leadership cadres play a very important role in determining the quality of the organizational apparatus. The practical reform experience in the coastal city of Hai Phong — the frontline of waves and winds of the country — more than 40 years ago, with fundamental orientations that helped shape the country’s overall reform path, was reflected in the statement of Party Secretary Doan Duy Thanh: “We do not ask for money, we only ask for a mechanism,” which highlighted a key lesson: in the reform process, one of the most essential tasks is to reform governance mechanisms and perfect national institutions. In the new technological era, the contemporary vision of leaders of organizations and government authorities at both central and local levels will increasingly play a decisive role in ensuring the success of national reform amid rapid digital technological development, competitive market economies, and global geopolitical and social transformations.