Prime Minister Le Minh Hung urged the northern border province of Lao Cai to convert challenges into opportunities, utilize its border location as a strategic advantage, and harness its distinctive strengths and potential as catalysts for growth during a working session with the provincial Party Committee's Standing Board in Yen Bai ward.
The PM recognized the province's socio-economic successes in the first half of 2026, with an economic growth of 9.01 percent, surpassing the national average, positioning it fourth in its region and 15th nationwide.
Budget revenue surpassed 11.3 trillion VND (430.31 million USD), achieving 64 percent of the yearly goal and increasing by 21.3 percent compared to last year, while public investment disbursement hit 47.2 percent, ranking fifth in the country and significantly above the national average of 35.5 percent.
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Cross-border trade, manufacturing, and tourism kept growing, with newly sanctioned investment initiatives up by 31 percent and total registered capital soaring 3.4 times compared to the previous year.
Nevertheless, the Government leader highlighted several challenges, such as the still small economic scale, GRDP growth that is slower than expected, limited economic restructuring, and a digital economy making up just 9.46 percent of GRDP. He additionally mentioned poor FDI appeal, insufficient transport and digital infrastructure, and setbacks in significant projects due to site clearance and ongoing legacy issues.
In the latter part of 2026 and onward, PM Hung urged Lao Cai to efficiently carry out the resolutions from the 14th National Party Congress, as well as the conclusions from the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and essential Government resolutions. He emphasized that attaining double-digit growth necessitates innovative ideas, increased initiative, and creativity, leveraging regional advantages and local strengths as development resources while taking decisive actions to achieve growth objectives.
In addition to conventional growth engines, Lao Cai needs to revamp its growth strategy via digital transformation, embracing technology, enhancing productivity, reforming the business environment, and developing high-quality human resources.
It must recognize new growth drivers, especially the border-gate economy, advanced processing sectors, mining, ecological farming, forestry, and tourism.
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The Prime Minister requested enhanced economic restructuring focused on green, high-value, and high-tech sectors, the advancement of renewable energy, and the growth of border trade to transform Lao Cai into a modern smart logistics center. He further encouraged the province to transform tourism into a vital economic sector and foster sustainable, circular agriculture connected with value chains, OCOP products, and tourism.
He directed Lao Cai to sustain the pace of public investment disbursement and aim for a 100 percent disbursement rate by the end of the year through monthly and quarterly KPI tracking and reallocating funds from sluggish projects.
He emphasized the need for tight collaboration with ministries to eliminate institutional barriers, efficiently carry out provincial planning, and create vital growth corridors grounded in international and inter-regional connectivity.
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Focus must be placed on transport infrastructure, economic zones at borders, areas for cross-border collaboration, and digital infrastructure, along with fast-tracking strategic initiatives such as the Sa Pa international airport, the smart border gate initiative, the Lao Cai–Ha Noi–Hai Phong railway, the expansion of the Yen Bai–Lao Cai segment of the Noi Bai–Lao Cai Expressway, and regional transport connections in the northern mountainous region.