Ninh Binh - Center of heritage and driving force of innovation
Dr. Phan Chi Hieu, President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, assessed: Ninh Binh has an important strategic position in terms of politics , economy and national defense-security, especially the important intersection of the Red River Delta - Northwestern mountainous region and North Central Coast region. Hoa Lu Ninh Binh was the capital of Vietnam in the 10th century; is the land associated with the career of 6 Kings of the three dynasties Dinh-Tien Le-Ly; a place with many strong marks in the history of building and defending the country.
At the same time, Ninh Binh also has many unique advantages in terms of natural values, natural resources and ecosystems; including Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex recognized by UNESCO as the first and only World Cultural and Natural Heritage in Vietnam and Southeast Asia; Kim Son Mangrove Forest in the Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve recognized by UNESCO in 2004; Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve certified by the Global Green List Committee (IUCN) as the first Green List of Vietnam and Southeast Asia in 2020 and the 9th Ramsar site of Vietnam; Cuc Phuong National Park, the first National Park of Vietnam with 6 consecutive years honored by the World Travel Awards as Asia's Leading National Park..., are conditions for Ninh Binh to develop comprehensive tourism and service sectors.
Based on its unique, outstanding potentials and advantages, in recent years, Ninh Binh has been implementing an economic development strategy with its own identity: Taking industry as the foundation, taking tourism and cultural industry as the key economic clusters, taking ecological agriculture as the mainstay. In the period of 2020-2025, Ninh Binh is identified as one of the three largest automobile industrial centers in the country, with the Hyundai Thanh Cong Joint Venture as the locomotive. Supporting industries, agricultural processing, energy equipment and construction materials have developed strongly, contributing to creating high added value for the local economy. The average economic growth rate reaches 8%/year, enough to play the role of an industrial nucleus when forming a new province.
Notably, Ninh Binh is one of the first provinces in the country to issue a Resolution on the development of cultural industries (Resolution No. 22-NQ/TU on the development of cultural industries in Ninh Binh province for the period 2025-2035, with a vision to 2050) and propose to become a National Cultural Industry Center, marking an important turning point in the local economic development strategy, while establishing a distinct direction in combining cultural identity with contemporary creativity, a huge potential for a new economic model. In 2025, the province is expected to welcome 9 million visitors, with tourism revenue reaching 10,000 billion VND, accounting for a large proportion of the service structure.
In the Ninh Binh Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the basic goal is set: "By 2030, it will be a fairly developed province, a growth pole of the southern provinces of the Red River Delta, basically meeting the criteria of a centrally-run city with the characteristics of a Millennium Heritage City, a creative city..." and "by 2035, it will become a centrally-run city with the characteristics of a Millennium Heritage City, a creative city; a large center with high brand value in tourism, cultural industry, and heritage economy of the whole country and the Asia-Pacific region; a leading center of the country in modern transport mechanical industry; an innovative startup center of the southern provinces of the Red River Delta".
Speaking at the conference announcing the Ninh Binh Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh confidently assigned the task: "Ninh Binh will continue to develop strongly, towards becoming a civilized, modern, smart city directly under the Central Government, with its own identity, on par with millennium heritage cities and creative cities in the world".
Nam Dinh - Center of culture, education and marine economic potential
Nam Dinh province is facing many opportunities for breakthrough development thanks to its specific advantages that have been clearly established in strategic documents such as the Nam Dinh Provincial Planning for the 2021-2030 period, Resolution 30-NQ/TW of the Politburo and the Red River Delta Regional Planning.
First of all, in the field of education, Nam Dinh is a locality with a tradition of mandarin examinations, a land that has produced many famous people from feudal times to modern times. Over the past 30 years, the Nam Dinh Education and Training sector has maintained excellent achievements, always being in the top of the country in terms of education quality; Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, the pride of the quality of general education, is continuously in the group of leading schools in the country in terms of national and international excellent student achievements and university entrance rate. The province's school network is planned synchronously, with a high rate of achieving national standards, creating favorable conditions for universalization and improving the quality of education.
The province also has many important vocational and university training institutions such as Nam Dinh University of Technical Education and the University of Nursing, which is oriented to become a center for research and specialized training in nursing medicine in the Red River Delta. According to Resolution 30-NQ/TW, Nam Dinh will be a pole of high-quality education and health development in the Red River Delta, especially in training technical, nursing and technological human resources.
Along with education, Nam Dinh also possesses strategic advantages in marine economy and trade thanks to its 72 km long coastline, which is identified as an important part of the Northern marine economic development strategy, an important hub connecting the marine economy and the inland area. Ninh Co Economic Zone, which is being planned and invested in, is an important highlight in the marine economic development strategy, identified as a comprehensive economic zone of industry, seaports, services, and urban areas. This is an important link in the seaport chain of the Red River Delta, contributing to connecting with the Hai Phong-Quang Ninh port cluster and supporting the development of marine logistics. Nam Dinh's coastal area is planned as a key economic zone, linked to coastal economic corridors and deep-water seaports in the future, contributing to shaping a new "marine economic map" for the province after the merger.
In addition, Nam Dinh is also a commercial gateway to the southern delta region, with a heavily invested transport infrastructure system that gives the province the potential to become a regional logistics center, especially in the transit of agricultural products, aquatic products and light industrial products from neighboring provinces to the sea.
In terms of industry, Nam Dinh has a long-standing foundation and sustainable tradition, especially in the textile industry. Nam Dinh city was once called the "textile city" with the famous Nam Dinh Textile Factory, a symbol of the Northern industry in the 20th century. Currently, Toray Group (Japan) has also put into operation a high-tech fabric factory in Rang Dong Textile Industrial Park, with a capacity of 60 million meters of fabric/year, aiming for 120 million meters of fabric by 2025, contributing to increasing export value, affirming Nam Dinh as the leading textile center in the North and supporting the sustainable development of the Vietnamese textile industry.
From 2021 to present, Nam Dinh has promoted attracting investment in the construction and development of industrial parks: Rang Dong Textile and Garment, My Thuan; industrial clusters: Thanh Coi, Giao Thien, Thinh Lam, Yen Bang, Yen Duong... to create space and attract secondary investors to produce a variety of industries.
It can be seen that the presence of large-scale projects from strategic investors, combined with the strong transformation from traditional industry to high-tech industry, is demonstrating the great potential of Nam Dinh to become an important industrial center in the Red River Delta region.
Ha Nam - High-tech industrial center
With a strategic geographical location adjacent to the capital Hanoi, and at the same time being a junction on the North-South expressway corridor, Ha Nam province is gradually affirming its role as a new growth pole of the Red River Delta. In recent years, the province has constantly innovated its development thinking, taking high-tech industry as a breakthrough, while simultaneously developing areas such as tourism, high-quality healthcare and human resource training. In particular, after the Ha Nam Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, was approved by the Prime Minister, the province has made a strong shift in planning thinking and investment attraction. Synchronous planning has helped Ha Nam take the initiative in infrastructure development, improve the investment and business environment and build great trust with domestic and foreign investors.
In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Ha Nam attracted 32 investment projects, an increase of 88.2% over the same period last year. Notably, among these were 14 FDI projects with a total registered capital of 411.3 million USD, an increase of 637% in capital, an impressive figure demonstrating the growing attractiveness of the province. Domestic investment capital also increased sharply, with 18 projects reaching 5,802.4 billion VND, an increase of more than 300%. In total, Ha Nam has had 1,317 valid projects, including 428 FDI projects with a total registered capital of more than 7.3 billion USD, demonstrating the strong potential of the investment environment and the long-term development vision of the locality.
A special highlight in the journey of transforming Ha Nam's growth model is the establishment of Ha Nam High-Tech Park according to Decision No. 1541/QDTTg of the Prime Minister dated December 10, 2024. With a scale of 663 hectares located in Ly Nhan district, this high-tech park is planned synchronously and modernly, oriented to develop core technology industries of the 21st century such as artificial intelligence, electronics-semiconductors, biotechnology, medicine and new materials. This is the fifth high-tech park in the country and is a clear demonstration of Ha Nam's strong transformation from a traditional agricultural and industrial province to developing high-tech industry with high intellectual content and added value.
The presence of strategic investor VSIP Group, the operator of a model industrial park chain in Vietnam, further affirms the project's appeal and long-term development potential. According to the plan, Ha Nam High-Tech Park will start construction at the end of 2025. In addition to attracting investment in the field of advanced technology, the project is also the nucleus for the province to develop ancillary services such as social housing, medical infrastructure, education, river ports, clean water plants, towards forming a smart, green, modern and sustainable ecosystem. At the meetings with the Singaporean Ambassador and representatives of VSIP Group, the leaders of Ha Nam province proactively proposed many cooperation solutions, including promoting investment in Singapore, linking human resource training, researching and developing renewable energy and managing high-tech parks using digital technology.
Notably, during his visit to Singapore in early March 2025, the Provincial Party Secretary and Chairman of the Ha Nam Provincial People's Committee, Truong Quoc Huy, together with the leaders of Sembcorp Group and VSIP, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on strategic cooperation to comprehensively develop the Ly Nhan area according to the smart urban and high-tech industrial model. Key projects such as the Northern Nhan My Urban Area, river port, clean water plant, electricity distribution and renewable energy development are being systematically researched and implemented, expected to create a major breakthrough in growth quality and improve people's lives.
With high political determination, clear planning vision and active support from international strategic partners, Ha Nam is taking steady steps on the path to transforming itself into a modern technological and industrial center of the Red River Delta and the whole country. Promoting investment in infrastructure connecting with high-tech zones, developing social housing, and planning waterway logistics shows that Ha Nam not only attracts investment with its geographical advantages but also with a methodical, flexible and long-term development strategy.
It can be affirmed that three localities, three identities, three strengths, properly connected, will create an ideal development space, a comprehensive economic and cultural ecosystem: a place with modern industry, high-quality services, unique cultural and natural heritage, high-quality human resources and a top strategic geographical location in the North.
* Part III: Striving to build a green, modern and livable Ninh Binh province
Source: https://baoninhbinh.org.vn/khoi-day-suc-manh-hoi-tu-kien-tao-khat-vong-tuong-lai-ky-ii-172060.htm
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