Le Thanh Hai, member of the Politburo of the Vietnam Communist Party’s Central Committee, was re-elected Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee for a new term at the ninth congress of the City Party Committee that ended last Friday.
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| Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary answers questions from assembled reporters after the closing session of the ninth congress in Ho Chi Minh City last Friday |
The deputies for the 2010-2015 term are Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee; Nguyen Van Dua, Deputy Secretary of the eighth-term Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; and Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, head of the eighth-term Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee’s Personnel Department.
At the closing session on Friday morning, Ha announced 17 members of the city’s Standing Party Committee as well as 34 other members of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee would participate in the 11th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, scheduled to take place early next year.
The 60-year-old Le Thanh Hai told reporters right after the closing session that Ho Chi Minh City would strive to address major woes including traffic congestion, flooding and low quality and competitiveness of the city’s economy.
“It is important for us to look at the reality and focus all resources to address weaknesses and to achieve the targets in a new resolution (passed at the ninth congress),” Hai said.
The resolution, which was approved by 449 delegates at the ninth congress, states that Ho Chi Minh City targets average annual gross domestic product growth of 12% in the next five years. By the end of 2015, the GDP per capita here should reach US$4,800 compared to the over US$2,800 estimated for this year.
Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, head of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee’s propaganda and education department, told a press conference after the closing session that delegates spent much time debating the 12% GDP expansion.
While many said this target was not enough for the important role and potential of this economic hub of Vietnam, several others said the 12% GDP growth was not easy and Ho Chi Minh City would have to exert great efforts if it wanted to make it a reality.
This is one of the 18 targets in the resolution. Tam said the Ho Chi Minh City government would have policies to attract and make the best of human resources as well as to develop quality employment to ensure fast but sustainable growth for the city and to assert its crucial role as the locomotive of the Southern Focal Economic Zone.
