Worthy of being the dynamic center of the North

After the merger, with enough space, width and depth, Phu Tho province has many potentials and opportunities to open a new era. From a sacred historical and cultural land, Phu Tho is now striving to become a new growth pole of the Northern midland and mountainous region, with clear achievements in economics - administration - investment and strong development prospects in the near future.

Sustainable economic foundation

The merger has opened up a new economic development space for Phu Tho province with a large scale in terms of area, population and domestic market. The province's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) is estimated to reach nearly VND 290 trillion in 2024, increasing by an average of over 8.5% per year. This is the highest growth rate in the Northern midland and mountainous region, reflecting the economic management efficiency and strong integration capacity of a new province after the reorganization.

The economic structure has undergone clear changes. The industrial and construction sectors now account for about half of the total economic value, becoming the main growth driver. The service sector accounts for about 35%, playing a supporting role in connecting and improving the quality of life of the people. Meanwhile, the proportion of agriculture, forestry and fishery has decreased to below 15% but has been restructured towards clean, high-tech agriculture , associated with value chain development.

Clearly developed nuclei have been formed. Vinh Phuc and Viet Tri regions play the role of industrial-urban centers with concentrated industrial zones, synchronous transport infrastructure and abundant technical labor force. The Northwest region (including old Hoa Binh and mountainous districts) stands out with organic agriculture models, medicinal herbs, combined with the development of eco-tourism and resorts.

Streamlined administrative apparatus

Along with economic development, the province's administrative apparatus has been strongly restructured towards streamlining, effectiveness and efficiency. The reorganization of local government into a 2-tier model from July 2025 has contributed to increasing flexibility and shortening the time for handling administrative procedures for people and businesses.

Geographical location and traffic infrastructure are among the important advantages for Phu Tho to become the Northern Dynamic Center.

To date, after just over a month of merging, 148 commune-level public administrative service centers have been put into stable and effective operation. The electronic one-stop system, administrative records management software and data platform have been upgraded synchronously. The rate of online application submission reached over 77%, the rate of correct and early application processing reached 98.7%. The indicators reflecting the satisfaction level of people and businesses have all increased significantly.

Thanks to these drastic reforms, Phu Tho’s Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) has skyrocketed, entering the top 10 provinces nationwide, up 6 places compared to the pre-merger period. In particular, component indices such as information transparency, informal costs, land access, and district-level governance quality have all improved significantly.

Attracting investment effectively

Phu Tho is emerging as an attractive investment destination. By mid-2025, the total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the province will reach over 9 billion USD, with a series of large-scale projects from Japan, South Korea, Singapore and European countries. In particular, the eastern area of the province - especially the old Vinh Phuc area and Viet Tri city - stands out with high-tech industrial parks, electronics, precision mechanics, medical equipment and logistics.

Along with FDI, hundreds of domestic investment projects have been and are being vigorously implemented. Many key infrastructure projects are changing the face of the entire region, such as the inter-regional route connecting Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway with National Highway 6 through Viet Tri and Hoa Binh; the expanded Ha Hoa - Lam Thao industrial park; smart urban projects in Phuc Yen, Viet Tri, Phu Tho town; the Thanh Thuy - Kim Boi hot mineral resort with a scale of 2,000 hectares is attracting investment in the field of high-quality tourism.

Planning and site clearance work has been carried out synchronously and scientifically. Many localities in the province have proactively developed a list of projects calling for investment, completed land databases, and promoted investment both domestically and internationally.

Flexible development mindset

The merger of three former provinces – each with its own development characteristics – into a unified province is not only a change in geography but also a shift in development thinking. Before the merger, the localities had their own strengths but lacked connectivity, were fragmented in resource allocation and had not yet formed coherent growth axes.

After reorganization, the new Phu Tho has gradually shaped clear economic development axes. The Eastern axis is the industrial, logistics and urban corridor; the Western axis is the clean agricultural development area, community tourism and medicinal herbs; the middle axis along the Red River - Lo River is the space for developing trade, services and waterway logistics.

Not only stopping at infrastructure, the strong movement is also reflected in the local governance model, the spirit of serving the people, applying technology and digital transformation in operations. Many localities and grassroots officials have shown a proactive, flexible and creative spirit in solving problems arising after the merger, creating high social consensus and arousing the people's aspirations to rise up.

Worthy of being the dynamic center of the North

With the advantage of a central geographical location, comprehensive infrastructure connections, rich resources and a culture imbued with identity, Phu Tho has the opportunity to become a comprehensive development center of the Northern midland and mountainous region.

The province is being planned according to a three-axis development model: Industry - urbanization in the East; ecological agriculture - tourism in the West; services - logistics in the central corridor. At the same time, the orientation of comprehensive digital transformation in the fields of education, health, public administration and e-commerce has also been initially deployed.

With a vision to 2030, Phu Tho aims to become a locality with the leading GRDP in the region, successfully building e-government - digital government; developing evenly in all regions, improving people's quality of life, and sustainably protecting the ecological environment. In addition, the role of "national origin" continues to be affirmed through strategies for developing culture, historical tourism, preserving heritage and honoring national values.

From an administrative merger, the new Phu Tho province is gradually asserting itself as a model of new, dynamic, effective, modern and humane local development. A sustainable and open future awaits this sacred land.

Quang Nam

Source: https://baophutho.vn/xung-tam-trung-tam-dong-luc-phia-bac-237390.htm