THE PRIME MINISTER

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To orient the production restructuring and socio-economic development in the Mekong river delta region in the 2001-2005 period, aiming to:

Tap the potentials and advantages with respect to geographical position, land, water resources (fresh water, blackish water, sea water), forests� and labor in order to continue promoting the whole country�s status in the export of rice, aquatic products and other farm produce.

Raise the production effectiveness of the branches: food, vegetables and fruits, husbandry, aquatic resources and industry, including processing of agricultural, forestrial and aquatic products, mechanical engineering in service of agriculture and rural trades; deploy the building of Southwestern gas-electricity-nitrogenous fertilizer industrial clusters and make a quick step in the economic restructuring along the direction of increasing the ratios of industries and services�

Continue to invest in developing socio-economic infrastructures (communications, irrigation, health, education and training�), build population clusters and lines and dwelling houses in flood-prone, river-mouth and coastal areas. Strengthen the capability of preventing and fighting natural calamities, restricting damages caused by floods or other natural calamities, ensuring a safe and stable life for people in the flood-prone areas who shall not have to evacuate when floods occur.

Effect the agricultural restructuring along the direction of raising effectiveness and ensuring sustainable development, increasing the value created per acreage unit, increasing peasants� incomes; concentrate efforts on developing a number of production branches with a high competitive edge in association with the processing industry and the consumption market, and at the same time ensure the requirements of sustainable development and protection of the ecological environment.

Article 2.- Major socio-economic development objectives to be attained in the 2001-2005 period:

1. The annual GDP growth rate shall reach over 9.8%, in which agriculture, forestry and fishery will remain to be major production branches of the region, with an annual growth rate of 6%; industry and construction will rise 13.5% a year and services 10% a year.

2. By 2005: Agricultural, forestrial and aquatic products shall account for 45.5% of the GDP; industry and construction 22.5%, and services 31.5%. The annual average per-capita income shall reach over USD 550.

3. Jobs shall be created for 1.8 to 2 million laborers, or an average of 350,000 laborers a year.

4. By 2005, there shall be no hungry households, the percentage of poor households shall drop to 10%; the percentage of malnourished children shall reduce to 22 - 25%; 70-80% of the rural households shall be supplied with electricity; 75-80% of the urban households and more than 60% of rural households may use clean water. There shall be no footbridges.

5. 85-90% of the five-year children shall be sent to kindergartens before going to primary schools; 95-97% of the children in the eligible age bracket shall go to primary schools; 78-80% of the children in the eligible age bracket shall go to junior-high schools; 42-45% of the children in the eligible age bracket shall go to senior-high schools; to strongly develop vocational education in various forms. To raise the enrolment in vocational secondary schools by 10-15% a year; to increase the number of college and university students, striving to have 60-70 students per 10,000 people. The percentage of trained laborers in the region shall reach 20-25%.

6. To make investment so as to complete the construction of population clusters and lines in line with the overall planning, ensuring that inhabitants living in flood-prone areas shall not have to evacuate, that all communes have health centers, inhabitants have timely medical examination and treatment, pupils in flood-prone areas shall not have to stay away from schools during the flooding season, inhabitants shall step by step have a safe and stable life, society shall become more and more civilized in spite of annual floods.

7. To markedly improve and raise the living standards of ethnic minority people, especially Khmer people. To effectively implement the hunger elimination and poverty alleviation programs and attain the set targets, settle problems related to employment and production land, to guide ways of making a livelihood and provide dwelling house support for poor households and policy beneficiary households.

Article 3.- Contents of the production restructuring and socio-economic development in a number of the following major branches and domains:

1. Agricultural production, forestry and fishery:

a/ On rice production:

Rice production shall remain to be an advantageous production branch of the Mekong river delta region. To stabilize the rice acreage of around 1.8 million hectares of land with good irrigation conditions for growing two surely successful crops, of which one million hectares shall be grown with high-quality rice varieties for export, thus maintaining a yearly rice output of 15 to 16 million tons. To readjust the crop structure and the rice variety structure to suit the development of floods and consumption markets. To raise the levels of rice production, processing and preservation technologies on par with the advanced level in the region by 2005, with a high competitiveness on the international market.

For land areas planted with rice of low and unstable productivity, riverside land areas, flood-free high-lying land areas, rice cultivation areas in the outskirts, along traffic roads and in other areas, they shall be gradually shifted to cultivation of trees of higher economic value or aquaculture.

b/ On the development of plants for use as industrial raw materials:

To expand the areas under corn, soybean� in combination with the use of new high-yield strains so as to supply raw materials for production of animal feed.

To stabilize the sugarcane areas of around 90,000 hectares in order to ensure raw materials for existing sugar mills. To apply scientific and technical advances in strains in combination with intensive farming in order to raise the sugarcane productivity to an average of 80 tons per hectare by 2005.

To continue to improve the coconut-processing technology, diversify and increase the value of coconut products. At the same time, to step by step carry out research into high-yield and high-quality coconut varieties, suitable to consumers� tastes, in order to supplant old and stunted, low-yield coconut orchards; to implement the method of inter-planting coconuts with other plants or in combination with husbandry or aquaculture, in order to increase the current land use efficiency by 1.5 - 2 times.

On the basis of scientific conclusions on the effectiveness and possibility of development of cotton in the region, the provincial People�s Committees, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Vietnam Garment Corporation shall work out plans and measures to expand the areas under hybrid cotton strains of high yield and quality in areas where conditions permit. The cotton development must be associated with the development of cotton-spinning and textile industries. To develop jute planting in areas where conditions permit for use as raw materials for packaging and paper industries.

c/ Regarding fruit trees:

To develop assorted tropical fruit trees with competitive edge and high economic commodity value, such as mango, longan, thick-skinned orange, sweet mandarins, shaddock, pineapple, star apple, mangosteen, durian and others trees. The development of fruit trees must be associated with export markets and import substitution.

Frequently-flooded areas should change their plant- and -crop structures suitable to inundation conditions.

d/ Regarding husbandry: To continue developing herds of pigs, poultry, beef cows and quickly develop herds of milch cows in order to supply raw materials for milk-processing plants in Long An, Can Tho and other localities.

e/ Regarding forestry development:

To protect and develop submerged forests in southern South Vietnam, particularly coastal ones in the provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh�, considering it a vital issue of the ecosystem of the whole southern South Vietnam.

To associate the protection and development of special-use forests, nature conservation parks, and forests being historical places with the development of eco-tourism.

To speed up the plantation of economic forests on alkaline soil areas and in areas where conditions permit, to grow around 100,000 new hectares of cajeput forests in the Plain of Reeds, Long Xuyen Quadrangle, western Hau river area and southern Ca Mau peninsula.

To intensify the protection and development of forests in submerged ecological land areas, to associate forest zoning and regeneration with aquaculture, to enhance the protection capability, ensure economic efficiency of forestry and protect the ecological environment.

To strongly develop the planting of scatter trees and wave-shielding trees, attaching importance to planting timber trees in populous areas, population lines and clusters, along roads, canals and around dwelling houses.

To increase the forest coverage in the Mekong river delta provinces to over 15%.

f/ Regarding aquatic resource development:

To bring into full play potentials and advantages of the country�s largest aquatic product production and export region. To strongly develop aquaculture on water surface of various types (fresh, blackish and salt); at the same time, to develop step by step the sea-rearing of assorted shrimps, fishes and mollusks of high value according to the overall plannings of the region and each locality.

Before 2005, the aquaculture areas in the whole region shall reach over 700,000 ha; the fishing and aquaculture output shall be 1.7 million tons and the export value over USD 1,500 million.

To diversify aquaculture methods: inter-farming, farming rotation, specialized farming, intensive and semi-intensive farming, ecological rearing and diversification of reared animals in order to achieve high economic efficiency, protect the ecological environment, limit risks, meet the demands of domestic and international markets, especially markets with huge potentials.

To prioritize investment in building the aquaculture infrastructure system, especially the network of irrigation projects (dykes, canals, main water supply and drainage culverts, electricity-operated pumping stations�), to form small- and medium-sized aquaculture project areas with a view to receiving synchronous investment, ensuring the requirements of rapid, sustainable and highly-effective development of aquatic resources.

Offshore fishing must be associated with marine services so as to raise economic efficiency; to re-organize production and create jobs for coastal fishermen along the direction of strong shift to aquaculture, provision of services and protection of aquatic resources in coastal areas.

To concentrate investment in renewing processing technologies, gradually downsizing the crude processing; increasing the processing contents of high added value, diversifying products and turning out high-quality products to meet the market demands; at the same time, to well manage the quality, ensuring aquatic food hygiene and safety.

2. Regarding industrial development: To concentrate investment in developing the key industries:

a/ Processing of agricultural, forestrial and aquatic products, especially the aquatic product-processing industry. To give priority to renovating, expanding and bettering aquatic product-processing establishments in Ca Mau, Soc Trang, Can Tho, Tra Vinh�, to bring the processing capacity to over 250,000 tons a year by 2005; to use to the utmost the capacity of fresh milk-, yogurt- and ice-cream-processing factories in Long An and Can Tho.

b/ Mechanical engineering in service of infrastructure development, agricultural production and rural development.

c/ Production of construction materials to develop infrastructure and build dwelling houses. By 2005 the cement production output shall reach 4.17 million tons, of which cement produced in Kien Giang shall be 3.05 million tons.

d/ For the textile and garment industry, to build two combined textile, garment and dyeing complexes in Can Tho and Long An, each shall have 20,000 to 30,000 spindles for yarn-spinning, a total capacity of 20 million meters/year for coarse cloth weaving; 1,500 tons a year for knitting, 45 million meters a year for finished dyeing for cotton and synthetic fabric. To attract over 20,000 redundant labors from the agricultural sector.

e/ Manufacture of shoe leather, chemicals, fertilizers, packaging, paper, wood processing� In localities where condition permit, to develop handicraft and cottage industries.

f/ Regarding the electricity industry, to invest in building the O Mon power plant (I + II) with a capacity of 600 MW, a 110kW electricity transmission line network and stations compatible with the plant. To deploy the building of the Ca Mau mixed gas turbine power plant with a capacity of 720 MW and the Ca Mau - O Mon high-voltage power line network; to expeditiously build the electricity and nitrogenous fertilizer industries in Ca Mau and Can Tho (to build in 2002 the nitrogenous fertilizer plant with an annual capacity of 800,000 tons in Ca Mau) according to the Ca Mau gas-electricity-nitrogenous fertilizer industrial park planning, which was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 776/QD-TTg of June 26, 2001.

g/ Regarding cigarette production, to stabilize an annual output of 230-240 million packs; to continue intensive investment in order to modernize factories, raise the quality of cigarettes, with filter cigarettes in hard packs to account for 90%.

h/ Regarding the brewery industry, to concentrate efforts on improving the quality of beer in five local State-run establishments, expand their capacity, re-organize and re-arrange establishments so as to raise the beer quality to meet the consumption demands in the region.

To find outlet markets, raise the quality of assorted fruit juices, aerated and non-aerated soft drinks; to study and make additional investment in building a plant with a capacity of over 10 million liters/year in order to consume fruits of large yield like mango, longan, orange, mandarin, rambutan�

i/ To develop and attract investors into six existing industrial parks, at the same time to step by step plan and form some more new industrial parks of small and medium sizes.

To continue setting up industrial parks, industrial clusters and spots in townships and districts so as to meet the needs of preservation and processing of farm produce; to develop industries, handicraft and cottage industries and craft villages to turn out more products to meet the domestic demands; to boost export, contributing to stimulating demand and quickly stepping up the rural industrialization process.

3, Development of commerce, tourism and services:

a/ To well perform the work of market forecasting and information as well as trade promotion in order to expand domestic and foreign markets with funding sources of enterprises, financial support of organizations and individuals, and the State�s support. To build and develop the border-gate economy in provinces where conditions permit.

To encourage the founding, and promoting the role of, commodity-line associations. To study and set up a Trade Promotion Fund, Funds for insurance of animals and plants; to formulate and organize the implementation of programs to raise the competitiveness of each commodity item, of each enterprise and of the Mekong river delta region as a whole.

To build and develop trade centers, market information centers, trade promotion centers, systems of warehouses for storage and preservation of farm produce, networks of wholesale markets for farm and aquatic products� To invest in trade technical infrastructure (market, trade centers�) for localities in areas mainly inhabited by ethnic minority people, deep-lying and remote areas.

To increase the growth rate of goods and service retail sales of the whole region to 15% a year and the export growth rate to 18-20 % a year.

b/ To tap the region�s potentials and advantages so as to develop tourism and eco-tourism. The tourism sector shall strive for a yearly growth rate of over 20% in the 2001-2005 period; by 2005 its turnover shall surpass VND 800 billion.

c/ To diversify and raise the efficiency of production and business activities of various services, focusing on quickly developing services of various forms to boost goods production and export, and serve the people�s daily life, such as communications and transport, post and telecommunications, banking, insurance, customs bonded warehouses, transit, border gate-to-border gate delivery, temporary import for re-export, labor export, technology transfer, provision of input and output supplies and techniques for agriculture and aquaculture. The annual growth rate of the service sector in the 2001-2005 period shall reach 8-10%.

4. Science, technology and the environment:

a/ To enhance the scientific and technological capability in the region, to mobilize scientific and technological forces outside the region, making a fresh and effective development step in scientific and technological research and application with a view to increasing scientific and technological contributions to the added value of commodity products, creating a driving force for socio-economic development in the Mekong river delta region.

To continue deeper research into the flood distribution and development rules, to work out scientific grounds for measures to deal with floods, landslides� as well as construction solutions like coastal dykes, island dykes and protection dykes for densely-populated areas; to effectively treat the rural environment and the environment in concentrated rearing and planting areas.

To invest in upgrading the region�s agricultural, forestrial and fishery scientific research institutions in order to quickly apply scientific advances to the production restructuring, especially for breeds (of plants, animals, aquatic resources), the industry of processing and preservation of agricultural, aquatic and forestrial products, thus meeting domestic and export demands.

b/ To apply new scientific and technological achievements in construction, material production and construction structure� suitable to landslide prone areas and frequently-flooded areas; to study the dredging of Dinh An ship passage leading to Can Tho port so that ships with a capacity of up to 10,000 tons can enter or leave the port.

c/ To study so as to build the software industry in Can Tho, build and exploit the region�s Internet network.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall coordinate with the provincial People�s Committees and the concerned ministries and branches in planning the allocation of funding in the five-year (2001-2005) and annual research plans for attainment of the economic restructuring objectives in the Mekong river delta region.

5. Health, education and training:

a/ Health:

To consolidate and develop the network of general hospitals in service of the primary healthcare, epidemic prevention and fight and medical examination and treatment for people.

To finish soon the investment in building the region�s general hospital in Can Tho city, with a view to better meeting medical examination and treatment needs of people in the region.

To continue strengthening and upgrading the grassroots medical network, especially in communes, hamlets and villages; to adopt policies to encourage medical doctors to work in communes, with 80% of communes to have medical doctors by 2005.

To ensure the necessary reserve amounts of medicines for flooded areas, at the same time intensify the propaganda and education on the use of clean water, safe and proper use of medicines. To take measures to prevent, fight and restrict such dangerous diseases as typhoid and other diseases.

b/ Education and training:

To quickly generate a basic change in education and training to meet the education needs of all population strata and socio-economic development in the region; to attach importance to attracting children of Khmer and other ethnic minority peoples to schools.

To strengthen and perfect the planning on the network of pre schools and general education schools (including boarding schools for ethnic minority children) in association with the planning on population clusters, making them suitable to frequently-flooded areas; to basically eliminate three-shift classrooms in the 2001-2002 school-year, to build solid and semi-solid general education schools which shall account for 80% of schools by 2005, ensuring stable study and use as shelters when floods occur.

On the basis of the planning on the network of colleges and universities, already approved by the Government, to start the founding of a number of universities and colleges in provinces where conditions permit so as to enhance the capability of training human resources on the spot, and meet the region�s socio-economic development needs, especially in the domains of agriculture, aquatic resources, processing of agricultural, forestrial and aquatic products, medicine and training of teachers.

On the basis of the existing Medicine and Pharmacy Faculty of Can Tho university, to deploy in 2002 the founding of, and investment in building, a medicine and pharmacy university for training specialized and general medical practitioners for the Mekong river delta provinces.

To definitely put an end to the shortage of primary school teachers in 2002, junior- high school and senior-high school teachers by 2005. For the immediate future, to expand the teachers-training scale of the Pedagogy Department of Can Tho university, the Vinh Long Pedagogy and Technical College and a number of local pedagogy colleges so as to supplement in time and raise the qualifications of the contingent of teachers in the region. To deploy in 2002 the establishment of, and investment in building, a pedagogy university for training teachers in the region.

To gradually increase the investment ratio for education and training in the Mekong river delta region to around 22% of the total education and training budget in the 2001-2005 period.

c/ Labor and employment:

Together with the economic restructuring, to strongly develop traditional crafts and trades, to invest in building rural infrastructure in line with the planning, to effect production restructuring, to create more jobs for local laborers.

The Mekong river delta provinces shall closely coordinate with the ministries, branches and Corporations 91 in studying, supplementing and finalizing job training and teaching programs to satisfy human resource needs; to strive to transfer annually around 240,000 laborers from the rural sector to the industrial and service sectors; to reduce the unemployment rate in urban areas to below 4%; to achieve the percentages of labor in the agricultural and forestry sector at 53%, the industrial sector 17% and the service sector around 30% by 2005 in the region.

Article 4.- On development of infrastructure

To continue strongly developing infrastructure with a view to creating conditions for rapid socio-economic development in the region.

The plannings on communications, construction, population clusters and lines and dwelling houses, electricity, water� must be further supplemented and revised to suit the irrigation and flood control plannings so as to meet the flood drainage requirements, and at the same time to ensure safety for infrastructural works when floods occur every year.

1. Regarding irrigation: To invest in building systems of irrigation works in association with the communications development and construction of population clusters, lines and centers according to Decision No. 99/TTg of February 9, 1996 in order to serve effectively the production restructuring and people�s life.

On the basis of the 2000 and 2001 figures on floods, to assign the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches and the provincial People�s Committees in supplementing and finalizing the overall planning on irrigation and flood drainage systems, acidity and alum neutralization, salinization prevention, freshwater containment� to meet the requirements of the region�s economic restructuring program; supplementing and revising the flood control planning on the basis of calculating the 2000 flood reversion in the whole Mekong river basin, making it suitable to the flood development and newly-arising issues, thereby ensuring the requirements of rapid and sustainable socio-economic development in the region.

a/ Regarding the objectives for 2005, to perfect the system of key irrigation and flood control projects in the region in order to better meet the production requirements, minimize flood consequences, ensure safety for the people�s lives and properties as well as economic establishments and infrastructure.

To continue implementing and perfecting the irrigation system, combining water supply and drainage, alum neutralization, salinization prevention with flood control in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle. To speed up research so as to have scientific grounds for investment in building irrigation and flood control works in the Plain of Reeds and the Vam Co river area.

b/ To complete the construction items under the World Bank-funded project, including Quan Lo - Phung Hiep, Nam Mang Thit and Omon - Xa No; the Ba Lai irrigation project in Ben Tre province�;to build a synchronous intra-field irrigation system capable of controlling the water supply and drainage for the areas of around one million hectares planned for production of rice for export; to build a synchronous and complete irrigation system in service of around 700,000 hectares for rearing shrimps and assorted aquatic species.

To operate the irrigation systems in the western Hau river area, southern Ca Mau peninsula� U Minh Thuong and U Minh Ha areas in order to meet the requirements of diversified production development.

To revise and finalize the planning on sea and river-mouth dykes in the coastal provinces with a view to facilitating the production restructuring, safeguarding people and draining flood water in the region.

2. Regarding communications and transport:

a/ Over the five coming years, to solve basically traffic problems, with attention paid to both land-road traffic and exploitation of the strengths of waterway traffic in the region; to upgrade and solidify national and provincial roads, of which 90% shall be asphalted; to open new roads N1 and N2 in parallel with the North-South national highway 1A, to open the Quan Lo - Phung Hiep route and the southern Hau river route (91c).

b/ To upgrade the systems of national highways, provincial roads and key district roads in order to formulate a smooth land road traffic system throughout the flooded region of the Mekong river delta.

The construction of communications lines, bridge and culvert systems must be closely coordinated with irrigation projects, thus forming a synchronous system for flood control, exploitation of water resources, protection of the sustainable environment, and construction of population clusters, lines and centers.

c/ For the immediate future, to concentrate on completing key projects, renovating and upgrading a number of communications lines and main ports; to make concentrated investment so as to achieve practical efficiency, creating a driving force in timely service of circulation, export and production development in the region, consolidating the security and defense posture.

To begin the construction of route N2, the Thanh Hoa - Duc Hoa section, route N1, the Ben Thuy - Tinh Bien - Ha Tien section, the southern Hau river route (91c), and the Quan Lo - Phung Hiep route.

To open national highway 1A at the Ho Chi Minh city - Trung Luong section, national highway 60 (Ben Tre - Tra Vinh, Soc Trang and two ferries of Co Chien and Dai Ngai); national highway 80 (the My Thuan - Vam Cong section); national highway 50 (the Cau Nhi Thien Duong - Go Cong - My Tho section), To Chau bridge on national highway 80 and a number of roads linking to the border gates; to deploy the construction of Can Tho bridge; to restore national highway 1 at the Ca Mau - Nam Can section.

To deploy the projects to build an expressway from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho (stage 1), Rach Mieu and Vam Cong bridges in the BOT form.

d/ To continue constructing inter-district, inter-commune and inter-village rural road networks with the funding sources: budgetary capital, capital mobilized from the population, capital provided by JBIC, ADB and WB donors; to complete soon the program on elimination of foot bridges and building of new rural bridges; to strive for all communes to have motorways leading to their centers by 2005.

e/ To make investment in order to basically complete the construction of traffic roads on islands (mainly on Phu Quoc island), aiming to ensure defense and security, at the same time settle matters related to electricity and water supply, bridges and culverts, health, education� in order to raise the people�s living standards and develop production.

f/ To upgrade river ports located along the main communications line: Vinh Long port, Cao Lanh port on Tien river; My Thoi port on Hau river, Ca Mau river port, My Tho port (Tien Giang), Dai Ngai port; to raise the span of the First of January bridge in Soc Trang, Vinh Thuan bridge, to upgrade Sa Dec bridge, to build Thoi Binh bridge.

To complete the projects on two southern waterway routes and Can Tho port; to continue upgrading Can Tho port, stage 2, including completion of the remaining 76 meters of pier, building of yard roads and furbishment of loading and unloading equipment. To invest in building Cai Cui port (Can Tho), Can Giuoc port (Long An) and Dinh An port (Tra Vinh).

The Ministry of Communications and Transport shall closely coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in calculating and determining the span width and positions of the bridges along the traffic roads and the systems of axis irrigation canals, to work out appropriate construction solutions (over-the-flood bridges, viaducts, floodways�) so as to both ensure traffic and avoid affecting the flow and raising the flood level.

3. On the plan for building population clusters and lines and dwelling houses in frequently-flooded areas.

a/ To build over-the-flood population clusters and lines (taking the peaks of the 1961 and 2000 floods as standard).

For the construction of population clusters and lines, public welfare facilities such as schools, health centers�, it must ensure that they shall not be inundated as in 1961 and 2000, inhabitants in flood-prone areas shall have a safe and stable life, not have to evacuate when floods occur; at the same time create favorable conditions for production development, suit the living conditions and habits of the people in the region, help the people in the whole region to lead a civilized and modern life, meet the requirements of agricultural industrialization and modernization and rural development.

The population lines and clusters and dwelling houses shall be constructed according to planning, by methods of elevating house bases, building protection dykes or building house floors on piles, ensuring safety in the flood season and compliance with the plannings which are approved by the provincial People�s Committees after obtaining the evaluation opinions of the Ministry of Construction.

To build public welfare facilities (education, health, cultural and social�) which can operate normally in the flood season.

b/ To supplement and finalize the construction planning, to arrange population in clusters and lines; protection dykes surrounding population quarters shall be associated with socio-economic infrastructures in service of the people�s life; for the immediate future deeply-submerged areas shall be given priority.

- For populous provincial towns, district townships and suburban centers: To combine the elevation of their bases and the building of protection dykes surrounding population quarters with solutions to water drainage, environmental sanitation and construction of urgent essential public welfare facilities, suited to the practical conditions of each locality.

- For commune center clusters, consisting of commune�s headquarters, schools, health stations, dwelling houses� to apply mainly the solution of raising their bases to an over-the-flood level on an appropriate scale of between 3 and 5 ha; for each population cluster, around two to three ha may be arranged for 100 to 120 households, in association with rice fields and compatibility with living and production conditions of the people and the location of public welfare facilities.

- Population lines shall be built mainly along axis canals, grade I - canals and major traffic roads. Population clusters shall be arranged along population lines. Population clusters may be arranged along one side or both sides of such canals or roads, interruptedly or successively along each line, suited to the flood drainage planning and concrete conditions of each area.

- For large surrounding dykes to protect people�s production and daily-life activities on a village, commune or district scale, detailed plannings must be worked out so as to avoid spontaneous widespread construction thereof which serves sectional interests at the expense of common interests. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development must consider and approve detailed plannings for each province on the basis of the whole region�s irrigation and flood control plannings.

c/ In the 2001-2005 five-year plan, to concentrate investment so as to basically complete the construction of population lines and clusters and essential infrastructure in flood-prone, river-mouth and coastal areas; to ensure that schools, hospitals, medical and cultural establishments� operate normally in the flood season, step by step solidify them to avoid inundation.

Within two years 2001 and 2002, to complete the formulation of detailed plannings on the construction of commune centers and population clusters in the flood-prone areas; to concentrate on directing the simultaneous completion of five pilot population clusters in flood-prone areas, which are now being invested incompletely, to sum up and draw experiences for wide application. By 2005 the construction of over-the-flood population lines and clusters must be completed.

The Ministry of Construction shall assume the prime responsibility for formulating, together with the provinces, programs and plans on the construction of safe population clusters and lines in flood-prone areas and the 2001-2005 five-year program on housing development in the Mekong river delta region, submit them to the Prime Minister for approval and direction of the program implementation.

d/ To implement appropriate housing support policies for policy beneficiary families, poor inhabitants, especially households of Khmer people who are leading a difficult life and unable to build their houses. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in formulating specific support policies and submit them to the Prime Minister in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Together with the State�s support policies, the localities and people in the region shall launch campaigns to help people solve problems regarding land and dwelling house construction with a view to stabilizing their life.

e/ To review and adjust the plannings of population areas, district townships and suburban centers, well combining the embellishment, upgrading and expansion of old urban centers with the investment in building new ones; to upgrade and renovate infrastructures in district townships and suburban centers in the region; to coordinate with the localities in directing the effective implementation of support policies and creating conditions for improving the people�s dwelling houses, particularly for inhabitants in flood-prone areas.

f/ The State encourages the localities to mobilize resources and organize the effective implementation of the program on investment in development of rural infrastructure such as investment in rural traffic roads, aquaculture infrastructures, rural craft village infrastructure�; to ensure clean water and environmental sanitation in rural areas; to well deal with the environment in industrial parks, population quarters, rivers and canals.

Article 5.- A number of mechanisms and policies

The mechanisms and policies for the Mekong river delta region must ensure the accelerated economic restructuring in an effective manner; the development of infrastructures; the solution of burning issues in the region, such as hunger and poverty, diseases, schooling, so as to raise the living standards of ethnic minority people, especially the Khmer people.

1. Regarding the mobilization of investment resources for production development:

To encourage all economic sectors to participate in making investment in socio-economic development, creating jobs and providing vocational training; the State budget shall prioritize the allocation of fundings for investment in building key infrastructure.

For aquaculture projects in newly-reclaimed areas, the localities shall have plans on reserving land for them and encourage investors to invest therein and enterprises to act as investors to build infrastructure then sell, contract or lease them for capital recovery according to the investment mechanisms for industrial parks.

2. Regarding the consumption of agricultural, forestrial and aquatic goods:

To build an organizational mechanism for associating farmers� households, cooperatives and enterprises, together with appropriate mechanisms and policies in order to strive for a majority of farmers engaged in goods production to be able to produce these goods under contracts.

By 2005, over 50% of farmers� households engaged in commodity production shall be able to produce goods under contracts signed with economic cooperation organizations, processing and trading enterprises. First of all, to effect the production under economic contracts of sugarcane, cotton, cow milk, aquatic products and step by step expand the contractual production to other production raw materials.

The signing of commodity product consumption contracts shall be an obligation of processing and consumption enterprises of all economic sectors.

To set up associations for mutual assistance in production and consumption, protection of interests of producers and business people in each commodity line branch.

3. Regarding investment:

Besides the budgets (including central and local budgets), human force and external financial sources shall be mobilized to increase resources for investment in building socio-economic infrastructures like roads, irrigation, education, health, population lines and clusters and public welfare facilities in population clusters.

To adopt policies to encourage all economic sectors to invest in manufacturing construction materials suitable for building dwelling houses and socio-economic infrastructure in the Mekong river delta region.

4. Regarding credit:

a/ The State�s development investment credit shall ensure sufficient capital for investment projects for economic development, projects on manufacturing and processing of export goods, agricultural, forestrial and aquaculture projects�, which may borrow capital under the provisions of the Government�s Decree No. 43/1999/ND-CP of June 29, 1999, the Prime Minister�s Decision No. 02/2001/QD-TTg of January 2, 2001 and Decision No. 133/2001/QD-TTg of September 10, 2001.

The Development Assistance Fund shall apply various credit forms: guarantee, post-investment support under the provisions of Decree No. 43/1999/ND-CP of June 29, 1999.

To earmark part of the State�s development investment credit capital for policy beneficiary households and poor households to borrow at a preferential interest rate to lift their house bases or build dwelling houses by mode of installment payment over many years; to support investment in population lines and clusters.

The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the State Bank of Vietnam, the Development Assistance Fund and the concerned ministries and branches in formulating capital-lending mechanisms and policies, then submit them to the Prime Minister for decision.

b/ Commercial banks shall provide loans to goods producers according to regulations, at the same time set up soon credit guarantee funds so as to help those who have no collateral conditions to borrow bank capital. To encourage the expansion of capital service forms for producers, to especially encourage enterprises to provide capital services for people in the form of capital advance and repayment in farm produce.

5. To elaborate industrial promotion policies: To support job training, reduce the land use levy for investors, provide preferential credit for enterprises to invest in industrial and handicraft production in the Mekong river delta region.

To set up an industrial promotion fund (from the sources of State budget, financial support of organizations and individuals and recovered support capital�) for the development of industries and handicraft and cottage industries.

6. To basically settle the problem of peasants having no land or lacking production land:

To create more land fund by virgin-land reclamation.

To review the land funds of State-run organizations, agricultural and forestrial farms in order to recover right in 2001 and early 2002 unused or ineffectively-used land areas and assign them to the localities for assignment to farmers� households for production.

To create conditions for a section of land-hungry and land-less peasants to settle down in new economic zones.

To enhance the land management; to complete cadastral dossiers, grant land use right certificates, and strictly manage land-related fluctuations. To strictly forbid the illegal land cessions, to definitely settle land-related complaints and disputes.

To continue well implementing the policy on exemption of agricultural land use levy for flood-prone areas as well as localities that face outlet market difficulties. To exempt the land use levy for poor households (according to new criteria), for households in communes covered by Program 135.

7. For ethnic minority people: To continue implementing freight and price subsidy support policies for ethnic minority people suited to their conditions and habits; the State shall adopt support policies suitable to Khmer households facing real housing difficulties.

To give priority to them to borrow capital for production from the Bank for the Poor and other sources; to well perform the agricultural promotion work and give further guidance on ways of living and production to ethnic minority people.

As from 2002, to implement the following policies towards poor ethnic minority households:

- Exempting them from making school building contributions, paying school and textbook charges for their children; giving priority to ethnic minority children to have jobs after finishing training courses.

- Exempting them from paying charges for medical examination and treatment at health stations, health centers or hospitals.

Article 6.- Organization of implementation:

1. The People�s Committees of the Mekong rive delta provinces must consider the implementation of the contents of this Decision a major task of the Party committees and local administrations at all levels as well as of the people in the region; at the same time, closely coordinate with the ministries and central branches in elaborating, and organizing the implementation of, the programs and projects.

On the basis of the agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Aquatic Resources, the General Land Administration and concerned agencies as well as provinces shall review and adjust the plannings on the construction of population quarters, on the land use, and detailed plannings on production areas (rice-shrimps; rice-subsidiary food crops; fruit trees, forestrial development�) in their respective localities. The presidents of the provincial People�s Committees shall approve detailed plannings on production areas suited to the characteristics of each locality; concretize them into programs and plans, then organize the implementation thereof.

2. The ministries and branches shall base themselves on their respective functions and tasks to assume the prime responsibility together with the Mekong river delta provinces in organizing and directing the implementation of specific programs and projects. The ministries and localities shall report once a year to the Prime Minister on the results of the implementation of the contents of this Decision.

3. In order to settle the housing problem for policy beneficiary households and poor households in deeply-flooded areas, to assign the Ministry of Construction to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance in formulating policies on providing loans in kind being dwelling houses to these households, then submit them to the Prime Minister for decision.

The projects on construction of urgent population lines and clusters in 2001 and 2002, which have been approved by competent authorities, shall not be required to make pre-feasibility study reports and have them approved but only need to submit technical designs and total cost estimates for approval according to regulations, be allowed to apply the form of bidder appointment for implementation, but they must not let negative acts happen.

For the immediate future, the Ministry of Construction shall work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People�s Committees of the provinces having flood-prone areas to determine and select projects on the construction of urgent population clusters and lines, and protection dykes surrounding population quarters in deeply-flooded areas, compatible with the planning, for early investment in 2001 and 2002, then submit them to the Prime Minister.

To exempt the charge for changing the purpose of agricultural land use to construction of population lines and clusters.

4. To assign the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to consider and allocate adequate fundings for the breed program; arrange plans on investment capital for construction of traffic and irrigation works, urgent population quarters.

The State Bank of Vietnam shall direct the prioritized lending of preferential credit to people for investment in production development and rural infrastructure construction.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall make full use of the sympathy and support of foreign countries and international organizations, prioritize the use of ODA capital sources to support the implementation of programs and projects on development of economic and social establishments.

5. The General Department of Hydrology and Meteorology shall continue enhancing the measuring, surveying and exploring capacities so as to collect adequate and accurate data on hydrology, meteorology and water environment so as to perform well the hydrological and meteorological forecasting work, study more comprehensively the climatic and hydrological rules in the region; create scientific grounds for the branches and localities to consider, revise and/or supplement the plannings with a view to bettering solutions to control and use flood water in the Mekong river delta region in a rational and effective way.

Article 7.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 8.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the Mekong river delta provinces shall have to implement this Decision.

Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI