Transport infrastructure development projects help mountainous people improve their lives.

On November 9, in Gia Lai, a conference was held to evaluate the implementation results of the National Target Program on Socio -Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas for the 2021-2030 period in the Central Highlands region.

The conference to evaluate the implementation results of the National Target Program on Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Area Development for the 2021-2030 period in the Central Highlands region aims to summarize the achievements in Phase I (2021-2025) and orient and propose contents for Phase II (2026-2030) in the Central Highlands region.

Conference overview.

Many achievements

Rural transport changes

The rate of communes with asphalt or concrete roads to the commune center has reached an average of 98.9% so far, and is expected to reach 100% by the end of the period (target 100%). It is expected that 16/16 provinces will complete this target by December 31, 2025.

The rate of villages with paved roads to the center is now at an average of 88%, and is expected to reach 89.9% by the end of the period (exceeding the 70% target set in the plan). To date, 16/16 provinces have completed this target.

Ethnic Committee

According to the Ethnic Committee, the Central and Central Highlands regions currently have 445 communes in region I, 66 communes in region II, 476 communes in region III and 3,243 extremely disadvantaged villages (accounting for 24.53% of the total number of extremely disadvantaged villages in ethnic minority and mountainous areas nationwide). The population of this region is over 21 million people, of which more than 3.6 million people belong to 53 ethnic minorities, accounting for about 17% of the population.

In the 2021 - 2025 period, the total expected resources to implement the program are over 22.5 trillion VND, of which the central budget is over 20.5 trillion VND.

According to data, as of September 30, 2024, 16 provinces in the Central and Central Highlands regions have disbursed more than VND 12.9 trillion, reaching 60.6% of the plan. Notably, the disbursement rate of investment capital of the Program reached 74.3%, 3 times higher than the general disbursement rate of investment capital of the whole country at 57.7%.

Support policies have been implemented synchronously, contributing to improving the material and spiritual life of ethnic minorities. Many projects to develop transport infrastructure,education , health care and production have been implemented, creating many job opportunities and improving income for people.

The increasingly spacious and solid appearance of traffic has contributed to promoting economic development in remote rural areas...

There are still many difficulties

According to the assessment of the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programs, although the National Target Program for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas has only been officially implemented since the second half of 2022, thanks to the efforts and proactiveness of many localities in organizing and integrating resources from other programs and projects, some targets in Phase I are estimated to have been completed by December 31, 2024, exceeding the assigned plan targets.

The early completion of some targets in phase I is both a driving force for socio-economic development, hunger eradication and poverty reduction for the people, and at the same time helps the locality allocate resources for other more difficult goals that require a higher level of concentration and longer implementation time.

At the conference, delegates discussed and proposed many important contents for the Program in Phase II (2026 - 2030). Opinions focused on the need for priority policies for remote and disadvantaged areas. Continue to improve support policies, especially infrastructure development, improve the quality of education and vocational training to create quality human resources to meet the sustainable development needs of ethnic minority areas. In addition, it is necessary to support production, improve income for ethnic minorities, ensure gender equality, solve urgent problems for women and children; at the same time promote sustainable economic development associated with preserving cultural identity.

Gia Lai Provincial Party Secretary Ho Van Nien said that after three years (from 2022 to present), in addition to the achieved results, there are still limitations in the implementation process. The results of the Program implementation in some localities have not met expectations; some contents, sub-projects, and projects are still confused in applying regulations and instructions of central ministries and branches, leading to slow implementation and low disbursement rates.

Therefore, Gia Lai province proposed that the Government and central ministries and branches pay attention to supplementing resources for localities, especially increasing the investment capital ratio compared to phase I (2021-2025), in which investment capital is at least 70%, and career capital is about 30%.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dao My, Vice Chairman of Phu Yen Provincial People's Committee, said that in phase II, the Government and central ministries and branches need to develop guidelines or have specific priority mechanisms to mobilize and allocate official development assistance (ODA) capital, in order to increase investment capital for the Program. At the same time, there should be specific incentive policies to mobilize and attract key partners, investors, and enterprises to invest in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, as well as train and employ ethnic minority workers. In addition, it is proposed to allow the disbursement time of the Program's capital in 3 implementation phases, creating conditions for localities to have time to effectively implement programs and projects.

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh spoke at the conference.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh suggested that localities continue to exploit local potential, innovate and ensure social security. The main goal is to reduce poverty quickly, narrow the gap in living standards and income compared to the national average, and reduce the number of extremely disadvantaged communes and villages.

"The consensus of authorities at all levels and the community is the decisive key for this program to truly bring practical benefits to ethnic minorities and mountainous areas, contributing to the overall development of the country," the First Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

At the conference, the Steering Committee for National Target Programs set out specific targets for the 2026-2030 period, aiming to improve the lives of ethnic minorities. The targets include: average income reaching half of the national average; reducing the poverty rate to below 10%; no more extremely disadvantaged communes and villages; 70% of communes meeting new rural standards; eliminating temporary housing and maintaining forest coverage of over 85%... These targets demonstrate the determination of the Party and State in caring for and improving the lives of ethnic minorities in the Central and Central Highlands regions, contributing to promoting the comprehensive development of the country.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/cac-du-an-phat-trien-ha-tang-giao-thong-giup-nguoi-dan-mien-nui-cai-thien-cuoc-song-192241109172103878.htm