Ninh Binh’s sea-based economy expected to make breakthroughs after mergence

Creating breakthroughs from sea-based economy

The formation of new Ninh Binh province is not only a strategic step to streamline the administrative apparatus but also serves as foundation for creating a new growth pole of the Red River Delta and of the whole country.

 It is time to restructure the development space, reorient the industries and fields based on the outstanding potential, competitive advantages, and unique identities of each province with the vision of building a new Ninh Binh province as a centre of the region and the whole country, opening up a strategic inter-regional development space.

Pham Khanh Toan, Secretary of the Nam Dinh provincial Party Committee, said that currently, the three provinces of Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh are facing major barriers related to narrow administrative - territorial development space, causing market fragmentation, limiting the ability to connect regions and attract resources.

Digital transformation and innovation still lack depth, while the proportion of digital economy in the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) is still low; research and development centres have not been formed, and there is no clear strategy for developing key industries.

In particular, this region is still a "lowland" in international logistics due to the lack of deep-water seaports and airports, so the mergence of the three provinces is a historic opportunity to comprehensively restructure the growth model, liberate all resources, reorganise the development space, towards the goal of sustainable, comprehensive development and deep integration, in line with the development requirements in the new period.

Sustainable development solutions

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Chu Hoi, a deputy to the 15th National Assembly and Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Fisheries Society, the 2030 Marine Strategy emphasises the harmonious adjustment between development and conservation, between economy and national security and defence, between socio-culture and ecological environment.

Vietnam will develop traditional marine economic sectors in a sustainable direction, encourage renewable energy, conserve biodiversity, expand marine protected areas and develop ecological marine urban areas. In particular, this strategy is associated with goal 14 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda on the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources.

This is the fundamental orientation for coastal localities such as Ninh Binh (after the mergence) to concretise into a marine economic development plan suitable to their advantages, contributing to the implementation of the national goal of sustainable development.

After the mergence, the newly formed Ninh Binh province has an area of ​​about 3,942.6 km2 and a population of over 3.8 million people.

The geographical location adjacent to the sea, adjacent to the capital of Hanoi and owning three large cities (Nam Dinh, Phu Ly, Hoa Lu) creates favourable conditions for the formation of three intra-regional growth poles, effectively connecting with the capital region and the Northern dynamic axis.

The newly-formed province of Ninh Binh will have four coastal districts, including Giao Thuy, Hai Hau, Nghia Hung and Kim Son. The sea and coastal space has expanded nearly five times compared to old Ninh Binh province, with the coastline increasing from 15km to more than 88km. This is a traditional area for salt production, aquaculture, sedge cultivation and sea encroachment for production.

Along with that, Xuan Thuy National Park is an international RAMSAR site, a global highlight for delta ecological conservation.

This is an outstanding advantage for developing a multi-sector marine economy such as eco-cultural tourism, aquaculture, seaport services and renewable energy. At the same time, it creates a foundation for Ninh Binh to build a sustainable marine economic development strategy.

 Opening up new development momentum

Before the mergence, the efforts to develop the marine economy were mainly undertaken by Nam Dinh, with a GRDP growth rate of 7.7% in 2021, ranking 11th in the country.

Currently, the provinces of Nam Dinh, Ha Nam, and Ninh Binh all have development plans for the period of 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, with a clear orientation towards the marine economy.

A bright spot is the Ninh Co Marine Economic Zone, covering nearly 14,000 hectares at the mouth of the Ninh Co River (Hai Hau - Nghia Hung of Nam Dinh), focusing on developing seaports, shipbuilding industry, logistics and tourism. Coastal traffic is being synchronously connected with key routes such as National Highway (QL) 10, National Highways 21A, 37B, 38B, Ninh Binh - Hai Phong and Cau Gie - Ninh Binh expressways.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Chu Hoi, to sustainably develop Ninh Binh's marine economy after the mergence, it is necessary to focus on three principles: promoting advantages - overcoming disadvantages - comprehensive transformation.

Accordingly, a number of major groups of solutions are proposed. Regarding infrastructure, it is necessary to synchronously invest in coastal roads and restore mangrove forests, creating a "green belt" to respond to climate change.

Regarding development space, it is suggested to build urban growth poles in Hoa Lu, Nam Dinh, Phu Ly; develop a chain of coastal ecological urban areas. Regarding industry and energy, the province should prioritise environmentally friendly industries, wind power, logistics services and deep processing; apply flexible mechanisms in economic zones and attract foreign investment.

Ninh Binh should develop economic models associated with conservation, seaweed farming, medicinal aquatic products and recreational fishing.

Building ports according to national planning and central fishing wharves, while applying advanced processing technology is other tasks.

From the existing foundation, if properly planned, taking advantage of its location in the "development quadrilateral" of Hanoi - Quang Ninh - Hai Phong - Thanh Hoa, the marine economy of Ninh Binh province can completely make breakthroughs, becoming a new growth pole and a driving force for the entire coastal region of the Southern Red River Delta./.