Mr. Tran Hong Thai: Will strive to make Lam Dong forever a destination for everyone

For those interested, how the new Chairman of the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee, Tran Hong Thai, will perform and what results he will achieve remains an unpredictable mystery. Being appointed to head the Lam Dong government after significant leadership changes is indeed a challenging task. Whether he can demonstrate his capabilities in the face of adversity, and what he will accomplish, is the subject of our interview with Mr. Thai after nearly 60 days in this important position.

-Sir, after less than two months in the position of Chairman of the People's Committee of Lam Dong province, have you encountered any unexpected pressures in your work?

-Before assuming the position of Chairman of the People's Committee of Lam Dong Province, I worked at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Science and Technology . During that time, I developed strong ties with local authorities. However, I clearly recognized the need to enhance my experience in local affairs. Being assigned to Lam Dong provided me with an environment for training and development, and gave me the opportunity to directly apply the policies of the Party and the State, as well as experience the rich local life.

Although many tasks are new to me, I am deeply aware that my decisions and the actions of the Provincial People's Committee will directly affect the lives of nearly 1.4 million people in Lam Dong province. Therefore, I strive to do my best in every task.

However, I remain confident because Lam Dong province in general, and I personally, have been receiving attention from the Government , central ministries and agencies, and close supervision from the Standing Committee and the Provincial People's Council, as well as the unanimous support of officials and employees of Lam Dong province, all sharing the common goal of "Lam Dong overcoming difficulties and rising together with the country." Therefore, although the work is still extremely demanding, I do not feel any pressure beyond my capacity to handle.

-The responsibility of the head of the People's Committee of a province or centrally-governed city is immense, especially in localities with many heritage sites like Lam Dong. Therefore, what are the things you are committed to pursuing for the long-term value of Lam Dong when you are appointed as the Provincial Chairman?

-First, let's acknowledge the natural values ​​and advantages of Lam Dong in general and Da Lat in particular. Lam Dong is located in the Southern Central Highlands with an altitude difference of 300-1,500 meters above sea level, and an average temperature of 18-25 ^° C (this is a unique advantage of Lam Dong that no other province in the South possesses).

Chairman of the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee, Tran Hong Thai, always hopes that Lam Dong will be a place where people only speak to each other with loving and warm words.

Lam Dong has a well-developed transportation system with national and provincial highways connecting it to the Central Highlands, the Southeast region, and the South Central coastal region; it also has Lien Khuong International Airport (the only international airport in the Central Highlands region). With its geographical advantages and gradually improving transportation infrastructure, Lam Dong has the potential to become, and will continue to be, a vital transportation hub for the entire Central Highlands region, connecting it with other economic regions as well as with many countries around the world.

Therefore, it can be affirmed and oriented that Lam Dong is the leading province in the Central Highlands region with key economic sectors in tourism, agriculture, forestry, and industry.

Furthermore, Lam Dong is home to 47 ethnic groups, resulting in a wealth of cultural resources steeped in traditional identity, with many unique customs, architectural styles, and folk festivals.

Lam Dong currently boasts three UNESCO World Heritage sites: the "Gong Culture Space of the Central Highlands" intangible cultural heritage; the "Woodblocks of the Nguyen Dynasty" documentary heritage; and Da Lat city – a UNESCO Global Creative City in the field of music. In addition, the unique architecture of its wooden houses, castles, and French-style villas makes the preservation and exploitation of this architectural heritage a valuable opportunity for high-quality tourism.

Lam Dong currently has 539,403 hectares of forest land, with a forest cover rate of 55%, ranking 6th nationwide and 2nd in the Central Highlands; it has two national parks, Cat Tien and Bidoup - Nui Ba; and the Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve (Vietnam's 9th World Biosphere Reserve and the first in the Central Highlands region). These are significant potentials for developing sustainable green tourism in the province.

With the aforementioned unique potential and heritage values, I and the leaders of the Provincial People's Committee agree on the direction of best developing these distinctive potentials, outstanding opportunities, and competitive advantages to make Lam Dong a model province of the Central Highlands region, especially its cultural values.

Along with that are new potentials (air connectivity, transportation connectivity, high-tech agricultural development, industrial development linked to raw material areas) so that not only Da Lat is the city of a thousand flowers, the city of love, and a UNESCO global creative city in the field of music, but the entire Lam Dong province will forever remain a destination of love, warmth, and affection.

As the head of the Provincial People's Committee, I also request that the leaders of the Provincial People's Committee and the relevant departments, agencies, and localities "understand" and implement the province's overall direction. Furthermore, the province recognizes the need to strengthen communication and mobilization efforts to encourage citizens and businesses to "understand" and cooperate with the government, because only in this way can we create a combined force to successfully implement the province's approved plan.

The People's Committee of Lam Dong province and its departments, agencies, and localities are determined to work together with the military and people of Lam Dong to build a province that is increasingly prosperous, beautiful, and forever a destination where people only speak to each other with loving, warm, and affectionate words!

-In reality, every locality has its own advantages and disadvantages, and the goals to pursue depend on the context and resources. For you, would the approach be to focus on the province's development advantages first, or to address both aspects simultaneously ?

As mentioned above, Lam Dong has many advantages in terms of geographical location, natural resources, cultural heritage, and people… but along with that, there are also many difficulties and obstacles that need to be overcome.

We need to view the advantages, disadvantages, and strengths of development dialectically, as they are inseparable. The Provincial People's Committee and relevant departments and localities will focus first on addressing the shortcomings and deficiencies in the system of guiding and managing documents, based on existing regulations and updating the latest legal content. The goal is to resolve bottlenecks in planning and land compensation, thereby creating a favorable economic development environment and attracting investors.

As I've shared, for people, businesses, and the government to "understand" each other, this is a two-way relationship. One side must ensure that business and production comply with the law, while the other side must minimize the need for multiple decisions and multiple levels of authority to resolve issues; there must be clear decentralization of responsibilities, with a clear target, accountability, and specific deadlines for every task.

Overall, the province will strive to build the highest possible results in transportation infrastructure, industrial infrastructure, and social infrastructure; develop agriculture in conjunction with tourism; and promote the consumption chain of OCOP (One Commune One Product) products of the province throughout the country. This will gradually promote cultural values ​​and realize the new potential of Lam Dong province.

-In June of this year, the Government announced the Lam Dong Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050. The goals set out in the plan are extremely impressive, and the Provincial People's Committee is the main agency responsible for implementing this content. To ensure feasibility, sir, what is the order of tasks you prioritize?

-On June 23, 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang, on behalf of the Government, announced the Lam Dong Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050. Accordingly, the goal by 2030 is for Lam Dong to become a relatively comprehensively developed province in the country; to develop Da Lat city and its surrounding areas into a high-quality tourism center for the country and the Southeast Asian region, and a center for education, innovation, and creativity.

Lam Dong province considers agricultural and forestry development as its core and cornerstone; processing industry development as its driving force; and tourism development as its breakthrough. Regarding agriculture, Lam Dong strives to become a national and international center for high-tech research and production; a region producing organic agricultural products and high-value commodities for the Southeast Asian market.

In terms of tourism, the province strives to become a "Green Paradise" with the appeal of top-class resort, eco-tourism, health care, and sports centers in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Here, I want to emphasize that tourism is expected to become a key economic sector, moving towards high quality and sustainability, creating momentum for the development of related industries based on the foundation of the green economy, circular economy, digital economy, and creative industries.

Regarding industry, the province will prioritize the sustainable development of bauxite and alumina mining and processing industries, aluminum processing industries and aluminum products; and the development of agricultural and forestry product processing industries.

To realize the above objectives, the Provincial People's Committee is focusing on directing the construction of transportation infrastructure, with a focus on commencing and striving for the earliest possible completion of the Tan Phu-Bao Loc and Bao Loc-Lien Khuong expressways, creating an important transportation axis connecting Da Lat quickly with Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast region (a dynamic economic region of the country); accelerating the proposal of expressway projects, upgrading national highways connecting Lam Dong with neighboring provinces, building an inland port in Duc Trong district and upgrading Lien Khuong International Airport; and building and attracting investment in industrial parks and supporting logistics zones to maximize the advantages of the two aforementioned expressways.

Along with breakthroughs in infrastructure development, Lam Dong will simultaneously address planning difficulties and update new legal regulations to transform this into a great opportunity to attract reputable domestic and foreign investors.

Naturally, we are also very concerned about social welfare, because above all, social security is a core value for stable development. Lam Dong encourages businesses to invest so that the people of Lam Dong can gradually enjoy high-quality social amenities such as high-quality hospitals, bilingual schools at all levels, conference services, resorts, and high-class hotels meeting international standards… With the motto that the state only manages output through indicators, it provides and creates the maximum conditions for people and businesses to maximize the province's advantages for the common goal of Lam Dong overcoming difficulties and progressing together with the country.

- Recently, in his opening speech at the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly, General Secretary To Lam mentioned the need to remove institutional bottlenecks. From the perspective of Lam Dong province, do you have any recommendations to the Central Government regarding institutional reform to create more favorable conditions for investment and development in Lam Dong?

-I wholeheartedly appreciate General Secretary To Lam's dedication, especially when he comes to work at the local level. Personally, I believe that institutional and policy reforms are the prerequisite for the country to enter the "New Era - the era of the Vietnamese nation's rise," a modern era as we look forward to the 100th anniversary of the Party's founding in 2030 and the 100th anniversary of the nation's founding in 2045.

This requires a breakthrough in thoroughly addressing the bottlenecks, weaknesses, limitations, and difficulties that are hindering the development of Vietnam in general and Lam Dong in particular.

Institutional and policy reforms are both goals and conditions for Lam Dong's development, focusing on unifying planning; attracting investment; and improving social welfare conditions.

-Finally, could you please tell us how you hope the Party Committee and people of Lam Dong will welcome you when you are assigned by the Central Committee to lead the province?

-Thank you for this question. After more than two months living and working in Lam Dong, working and interacting with the local Party committee, government, and people, I feel very happy to be working and contributing to Lam Dong province, the homeland of 47 ethnic groups, a land of opportunity for people from all over the country to come together to build.

Although I have a lot of work to do, because of our common goal of making Lam Dong richer and its people happier, every day at work is a joyful and meaningful day for me.

In Lam Dong, I witnessed the love, sharing, and mutual support of the people, from the unity and consensus towards a common goal among the comrades in the Provincial People's Committee, from departments, agencies, and localities; the entire government system under the leadership of the Provincial Party Committee and the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee formed a unified bloc, maximizing the potential and advantages of the province, determined to overcome difficulties and challenges. This included striving for 500 days and nights to build the expressway, and resolutely creating a flower festival as a gift to the people of Lam Dong, the people of the whole country, and international friends.

Indeed, working and reflecting alongside the government, people, and businesses in the province has given me more energy to contribute even more to the goal of making Lam Dong a comprehensively developed province in the country, financially self-sufficient, and forever a destination where people only speak to each other with love, warmth, and affection.

Thank you very much, sir!

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/ong-tran-hong-thai-se-no-luc-de-lam-dong-mai-mai-la-diem-den-cua-moi-nguoi-207756.html