Binh Phuoc - Strategic vision and aspiration to rise

It used to be a less developed province than other localities across the country, but after more than 20 years of development, Binh Phuoc province has had "transformations" in all aspects.

A group of experts from Fulbright University Vietnam assessed that Binh Phuoc currently has more opportunities than ever. If you know how to make good use of it, Binh Phuoc can completely transform from the position of "development reserve" to a "development engine" of the Southeast in particular as well as the country in general.

Binh Phuoc province comes from a low position

In 1997, Song Be province divided the administrative boundary into two provinces of Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc. Binh Phuoc was one of the poor provinces of the country when it was first separated; The people's life of ethnic groups in the province is facing many difficulties, GDP per capita is only nearly 180 USD; infrastructure is poor, out of date, the staff of branches in the province is seriously lacking.

The main economy of Binh Phuoc province is agriculture-forestry (accounting for more than 70%), while the activities of industry, trade and services account for a very small share; Poor and asynchronous infrastructure. The rate of free migration is increasing, ethnic minorities account for about 20% with a low educational level.
The People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province said that after more than two decades of construction and development, the province has made remarkable progress. The proportion of the population compared to the whole country has increased from 0.9% to 1.03%.

GDP per capita when the province was just re-established was only 52% of the national average, up to now, GDP per capita is equivalent to the national average, while the poverty rate in 2019 is only 2., 56% (about 4% nationwide).

Since the re-establishment of the province up to now, Binh Phuoc's population growth, job creation, budget revenue and GDP have all increased quite high.

According to the group of experts from Fulbright University Vietnam, since 1997, Binh Phuoc has not had many opportunities in economic development due to its lack of spillover size and economic activities.

According to economic experts, the reason for the results that are not commensurate with their potentials and expectations is that Binh Phuoc is facing problems that most localities of Vietnam are facing related to the structure of operating apparatus and general mechanism. In particular, Binh Phuoc province has not identified a proper direction to take advantage of potentials and advantages, minimize difficulties and limitations, and resolve challenges.

Moving from "reserves" to "motivation"

Referring to the creation of the sustainable budget revenue of Binh Phuoc in recent years, Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province Tran Tue Hien commented, “The positive thing is that in recent years, it is possible. The budget revenue of Binh Phuoc has increased significantly. Expected budget revenue in 2020 will reach 10,000 billion, up 21% / year, double the period 2010-2015. This is a great effort by the province ".

Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province also said that compared with the previous term, the economic structure of the province has shifted in a positive direction. The size of the economy increased 1.64 times, GDP per capita increased significantly, reaching 67.3 million VND (about 3,000 USD), increasing 1.54 times.

Compared to the 2011-2015 period, the province has now attracted 800 domestic investment projects with the registered capital of 50,000 billion VND, more than 4 times more than the number of projects, more than 3 times the registered capital. along with it are 146 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a registered capital of 1.44 billion USD, more than 2 times increase in the number of projects, nearly 3 times in the registered capital.

At the meeting with Binh Phuoc province in July 2020, Chairwoman of the National Assembly Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said Binh Phuoc is a bridge and gateway to the Central Highlands.

In addition, the province also needs to promote geographical advantages when owning a border gate connecting to Cambodia, the bridge position between the Central Highlands and the Southeast, the very favorable conditions to develop trade, services, logistics.

Dr. Tran Du Lich said: "Is the attraction of neighboring localities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai in the condition of poor transport infrastructure connecting the region, making Binh Phuoc lose profits? competitive advantages and the ability to attract businesses to invest. It is this objective factor that exceeds the local capacity ” Mr. Tran Du Lich said that Binh Phuoc really needs objective and subjective factors to create the attraction in the next 10 years.
Also according to Dr. Tran Du Lich, Binh Phuoc's political reports for the 2020-2025 term must demonstrate development aspirations. Firstly, it is about institutional reform, attracting businesses, especially enterprises with systematic development in the value chain. In addition, the province should promote its advantages, develop urban areas and form an urban economy.


Aspiration rise

At the "Report on assessment of the competitiveness of Binh Phuoc province and the strategic direction for 2030 with a vision to 2050, plan and action plan for the period 2020-2025", group of economic experts from Fulbright University Vietnam Nam believes that Binh Phuoc has mixed opportunities and challenges in the present and in the future.

"Before the COVID-19 epidemic happened, the global value chain shift began to appear, That risk is even more apparent when there is an outbreak," said the expert team.

Favorable location and building prestige in disease prevention, Vietnam has many advantages in this shifting trend. Therefore, this is an opportunity for Vietnam in general and Binh Phuoc in particular ".

For Binh Phuoc, where the gateway connecting the center of the Southern key economic region with the Central Highlands began to have conditions for development, opportunities have become increasingly apparent.

In addition, in the context of climate change and sea-level rise causing many obvious impacts, the Mekong River Delta and Southeast will be greatly affected in the coming decades. Meanwhile, Binh Phuoc is in a position that is less affected, so there will be many conditions and opportunities to become the center or driving force of the whole region in the next few decades.

The group of economic experts from Fulbright University recommends that in order to realize the rising "aspirations" of Binh Phuoc, the role of the head and the investor's spirit is very important. In which, the local leadership team must become a reliable support

Secretary of the Party Committee of Binh Phuoc Nguyen Van Loi used to evaluate the building of a strategic vision as an opportunity for the province to evaluate and identify the overall potentials, advantages, resources, opportunities and challenges. That will help the province to plan strategies, build feasible solutions, develop policies, renew the growth model, restructure the economy, and orient the development in the medium and long term.

The Secretary of the Party Committee of Binh Phuoc affirmed: “The province will become a convergence place and attract resources for development. The socio-economic development of Binh Phuoc province is set in the development context of the country and the southern key economic region.

The province should aim for sustainable development by closely combining socio-economic development with social security policies and development for the whole region through industrialization and urbanization.