 Dien Bien Phu city viewed from above (Photo: qdnd.vn) |
Dien Bien province has 10 administrative units, including one city, one township, and eight districts with 130 communes, hamlets, and towns. The province covers more than 9,500 square kilometers and has more than 630,000 people and 19 ethnic groups whose ethnic minority groups account for nearly 83 percent of its population. The province occupies a strategic geographical position with a 460-kilometer border with Laos and China.
Dien Bien has potentials and strengths to develop agriculture, industry, services, and tourism. In recent years, the province has maintained a high growth rate and an evolving economic structure.
Last year, the province gained important achievements in multiple fields, meeting 48 of 51 targets and recording an economic growth of 10 percent.
During a visit to Dien Bien province early last month, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the province to focus on infrastructure development and work out a vision to 2050. He said: “The province needs to further develop its infrastructure in telecommunications, electricity, education, training, and healthcare, and promote commerce, investment, and trade. It is essential to continue administrative reform, improve competitiveness, and remove the obstacles confronting businesses.”
To develop rapidly and sustainably, Dien Bien province has adjusted its economic strategies, focusing on agriculture, forestry, tourism, hydroelectricity, minerals, processing, and the border-gate economy, and moving toward a green, digital, circular economy that makes full use of the province’s potentials and strengths.
Mr. Le Thanh Do, Chairman of Dien Bien province’s People’s Committee, said: “Dien Bien province has attracted many businesses, especially those who are looking for investment projects. We have opened air routes from Dien Bien to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which have boosted tourism and attracted investors. A number of key projects, notably the site clearance project for upgrading and expanding Dien Bien airport, have been accelerated. Other projects, including the Ang Cang Reservoir Project, which was behind schedule, have been implemented on schedule.”
 Le Thanh Do, Chairman of Dien Bien province’s People’s Committee (Photo: VOV) |
In agriculture and forestry, Dien Bien province has focused on macadamia nuts, coffee, rubber, and other plants which thrive here, and has combined agricultural restructuring with new rural development and high-profit intensive farming.
Mr. Bui Minh Hai, Director of Dien Bien province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: “To restructure the agricultural sector, the province has formed production links between cooperatives and the OCOP (One Commune One Product) program. So far, the province has linked more than 20 OCOP products. And a large-scale field model has been implemented for Dien Bien province’s rice specialty.”
Dien Bien province has set a growth target of 10 percent for this year as the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory approaches. With its strong potentials and resources, Dien Bien province is expected to have a developed economy in Vietnam’s northern mountain region by 2030.