LookAtVietnam – The Ha Noi People’s Council has decided to set a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 9-10 per cent for next year.

Traffic infrastructure in a new urban area in the west of Ha Noi. The city plans to increase its gross domestic product by 9-10% next year. (Photo: VNS)

The two targets were approved at the Council’s year-end meeting which opened yesterday. The deputies also set some other important targets for the city’s economy, including the generation of 135,000 new jobs and the reduction of poor households by 1.6 per cent.

Pham Quang Nghi, secretary of the Ha Noi Party Committee, said following last year’s decision to expand the city, things had gone smoothly, including preparations for the 1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi in 2010.

However, Nghi admitted that the city’s economic development had not been as dynamic as expected and that no major breakthroughs had been achieved - traffic congestion and cooking safety remained two thorny problems.

“To achieve a GDP growth of 10 per cent next year and an increase of 5 per cent in budget collection (tax from all sources), the city must display determination to overcome difficulties and create a good environment to attract investors,” he said.

He said celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi would be an important event for the capital city and the country as a whole.

“We should take the occasion to improve living standards, spiritually and materially, for Hanoians. The festival should become a big event for everyone” Nghi said.

Phi Thai Binh, vice chairman of the Ha Noi People’s Committee, said that this year the city had overcome many difficulties created by the economic downturn.

He said that as the year came to a close, high growth had been reported in many sectors. As a result, the city’s GDP increased by 6.7 per cent - higher than the national average.

“Thanks to the Government’s stimulus plan, the construction sector saw an increase of 9.9 per cent against that of 2008 while trade activities also recorded an increase of 18 per cent,” Binh said.

He added that this year, Ha Noi had felt the negative impacts of the world financial crisis.

This had led to foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in the city dropping to a low US$700 million from over $5 billion in 2008.

And while the number of registered businesses had increased during the year, their registered capital had gone down.

Nguyen Duc Kien, vice chairman of the National Assembly, asked the city to speed up socio-economic development next year.

“The 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi is drawing near. The city should focus human and financial resources on completing important projects before the big event arrives and make the city greener, cleaner and more beautiful,” said Kien.

The four day meeting of the Ha Noi People’s Council will last until Friday.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News