Central provinces predict negative economic growth for 2020

Some central provinces and cities are estimated to experience negative economic growth in 2020 due to Covid-19 and natural disasters.

A corner of Danang City. Illustrative image.

For the first time, the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of Danang is predicted to drop by -9.77% this year. The city budget revenue would reach only 70% of the goals. Some major policies have not proved effective, the budget for public investment projects have been disbursed more but it was still very slow. The city still has to deal with other problems like pollution and congestion.

Nguyen Van Quang, party secretary of Danang People's Committee, said, "In 2021, we'll have to review and adjust the policies to improve the business environment, focus on developing the infrastructure to attract investments from big corporations and speed up the disbursement of public investment. It's important to carry out everything smoothly to recover the economy from Covid-19 and the storms and flooding."

In Khanh Hoa Province, gross regional domestic product dropped by 9.8%. This year's drought also badly affected the economy and daily lives. Nine out of 16 economic goals weren't met. Budget revenue reached VND14.2trn (USD611m) or 82% of the target while import-export revenue reached USD1.36bn, 90% of the set goal.

Despite the difficulties, Khanh Hoa’s authorities still worked hard to meet many social goals such as reducing the number of poor households or further promoting health insurance. The authorities have set the economic growth rate of 7.4% for 2021.

In a similar situation, Quang Nam provincial authorities have also reported that many socio-economic goals for 2020 weren't met. The economic growth rate dropped by 7.2% compared to 2019 and the budget revenue goal was only fulfilled by 78.7%. As the supply chain was disrupted and spending fell, many businesses had to close temporarily. The revenue from tourism activities dropped to 82% due to fewer visitors.

For 2021, Quang Nam authorities will develop tourism services as a key sector for the province.

Covid-19 and floods caused damage of VND13trn (USD559m) in Thua Thien-Hue Province. The provincial growth rate was estimated at over 2%.

Le Truong Luu, party secretary of Thua Thien-Hue Province said, "Despite the challenges, we have been able to fulfill 10 out of 14 goals. The budget revenue reached VND8.5trn, an increase of 11.2% compared to the set goal and 0.7% higher than last year."