HANOI – The city of Hanoi will give priority to improving its business climate and competitive capacity, aiming to be among the top 10 localities nationwide in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) by 2020.

The conference turned the spotlight on the socio-economic development plan for the period 2016-20, targeting Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth of 8.5-9 per cent and per income capita at VND140-145 million (US$6,268-6,492). Social investment mobilisation is expected to be VND2.5-2.6 quadrillion in the next four years. In the economic structure, the service and construction industry account for 67-67.5 per cent and 30-30.5 percent, respectively, while agriculture makes up 2.5-3 per cent.

Regarding urban infrastructure development, the capital city is striving to become a green and modern urban area. Its target is to increase the rate of public transportation to 20-25 per cent, zone off 10-13 per cent of urban land for transportation and make the city greener by planting one million trees.

The secretary of the municipal Party Committee, Hoang Trung Hai, highlighted the city’s economic growth in the first half of this year, noting that concerted efforts needed to be made to realise an economic growth rate of 10-11 per cent in the remaining six months of the year.

Priority should be given to investment attraction, simplifying administration procedures and developing a transparent administration system, Hai added.

Concerning the city’s socio-economic development plan, he stressed that attention should be paid to the balance of resources to effectively implement the strategic tasks set out.