The bravery of Ho Chi Minh City's economic locomotive in the face of the 'headwind' in 2023

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - The Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City stated that when the growth rate was low (0.7%) in the first quarter of 2023, the locality received much criticism. The city calmly analyzed the situation and sought solutions to overcome that period.

The upcoming year 2024 is a pivotal year for Ho Chi Minh City in implementing the socio -economic development goals and tasks outlined in the Resolution of the 11th City Party Congress, term 2020-2025. Traditionally, in the fourth year of a term, the leading city of the country only needs to accelerate to reach its goal. However, given both internal and external changes, Ho Chi Minh City needs to prepare differently from usual for 2024. "The city needs to be prepared to both accelerate and overcome obstacles to reach the finish line. There are still many obstacles, some heavy stones, but there is no way to avoid them," said Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, at the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Executive Board meeting on the afternoon of December 2nd.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, expressed his views at the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Executive Meeting (Photo: Quang Huy).

The composure of a locomotive

Looking back to the beginning of the year, Ho Chi Minh City ended the first quarter with surprising figures, growing by only 0.7%, the lowest among the five centrally-governed cities. At that time, numerous questions were raised about "what was happening in Ho Chi Minh City?", "what problems was Ho Chi Minh City facing?". Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, recalled that the city had faced criticism and negative assessments at that time. After nearly a year of reflection, the head of the city government stated that the locality needed to remain calm in the face of such issues, analyze them together, and find solutions to overcome them.

Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, recalled the time when Ho Chi Minh City experienced low growth in the first quarter of 2023 (Photo: Quang Huy).

Amidst mounting difficulties, Ho Chi Minh City has accomplished a tremendous amount of work with high quality and efficiency. This is reflected in the tangible results and figures regarding socio-economic development. "I haven't measured it yet, but I feel that the efficiency is at least 1.5 times greater than usual. We can see this through the socio-economic development and many other aspects," the Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City expressed. Specifically, over the past year, the city advised the National Assembly to issue Resolution 98, piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies, and immediately implemented this resolution. The locality also focused on removing a series of difficulties and obstacles for businesses, while also concentrating on resolving major outstanding issues. In 2023, Ho Chi Minh City also restarted and commenced construction on many important projects and works such as the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3 project, the Tham Luong - Ben Cat - Rach Nuoc Len canal project, etc.

In 2023, Ho Chi Minh City commenced construction on many important projects and works, including the Ring Road 3 project (Photo: Hai Long).

According to Ms. Le Thi Huynh Mai, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Investment, in 2023, the city was allocated 68,000 billion VND for public investment disbursement by the central government, double the amount from last year. To date, the disbursement rate of public investment in Ho Chi Minh City is approximately 45.2%. It is expected that by December 5th, Ho Chi Minh City may have disbursed 50.3% of the total allocated capital for 2023. "Although we have not yet reached the 95% target, the absolute figure is over 31,000 billion VND, double that of the same period last year. In the national summary of public investment disbursement in early November, the Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that Ho Chi Minh City's absolute figure ranked third after other ministries, sectors, and localities," Ms. Mai analyzed.

During the period of 0.7% growth in the first quarter of 2023, Ho Chi Minh City faced much criticism and commentary.

Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City

After a year of facing numerous internal and external challenges, Ho Chi Minh City is projected to achieve an economic growth rate (GRDP) of 5.8%. The Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee stated that while this hasn't met the set target, it's a commendable result. Following the low growth in the first quarter of 2023, the entire city has strived to achieve higher growth in subsequent quarters, with continuously improving growth quality. "We have overcome the 'headwinds,' simultaneously addressing shortcomings and maintaining economic recovery and development. Positive changes have occurred month by month and quarter by quarter, most notably the improvement in the material and spiritual lives of the people," Mr. Nguyen Van Nen shared.

The obstacles Ho Chi Minh City needs to overcome.

"There are heavy obstacles, but there's no way to avoid them. If we remove the obstacles soon, we'll accelerate quickly," Secretary Nguyen Van Nen expressed. The head of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee analyzed that the locality has been and continues to address outstanding issues. Since the end of 2022, a previously unresolved issue has become a major one: the Van Thinh Phat case. On the government side, Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the City People's Committee, analyzed that the entire political system of the locality has made great efforts to effectively resolve a large volume of work over the past period. Much of that effort has been devoted to resolving these outstanding issues.

There are heavy obstacles, but there's no way around them. If we can remove the obstacles soon, we'll be able to move forward quickly.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee

"The city has devoted a great deal of time, effort, and resources to resolving these cases. If we can resolve them, the city will certainly have removed another heavy burden to move forward," Mr. Phan Van Mai expressed. Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, added that the local political system is inheriting what the previous generation left behind. Among these, unfinished tasks need to be continued, shortcomings need to be rectified, and wrongdoings and violations need to be dealt with. These are tasks that need to be done with the purest motives and the highest sense of responsibility.

The case involving Van Thinh Phat is one of the major outstanding issues that Ho Chi Minh City must resolve (Photo: Hai Long).

The head of the city's Party Committee also acknowledged that, in the coming year, the global economy is not very optimistic, and the domestic economy is still heavily impacted by unfavorable external factors and internal limitations. Faced with intertwined opportunities, difficulties, and challenges, the city needs to maximize opportunities, capitalize on chances, and adapt flexibly to unexpected fluctuations. "We have endured and overcome challenges before, so now we must continue to build on that spirit. There is no other way," Mr. Nguyen Van Nen emphasized. According to the Resolution of the 11th Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress, term 2020-2025, the locality needs to achieve an average GRDP growth rate of 8% per year during this period. The head of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee believes that, despite facing many challenges, the locality has the foundation to achieve this growth target. "The city is still growing, and many new policies are being implemented to mobilize social resources. We are striving to achieve this goal so that we can report to the Congress that we have completed our task," the Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee emphasized.

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