Article 1.- To approve the master plan on socio-economic development of Lai Chau province in the 2006-2020 period, with the following principal contents:

To tap to the utmost internal resources, combined with supports of the central government and the whole country, speed up economic growth, gradually narrow the development gap with other provinces in the region and ensure conformity with the process of international economic integration.

To concentrate all resources on building socio-economic infrastructure; to restructure the economy for commodity production development; to bring into the fullest play the strengths of border-gate economy; to regard hydropower, minerals, cement, paper pulp, tea, rubber, cardamon, pharmaceutical materials and big cattle husbandry as major and long-term commodities. To properly organize relocation. To closely combine economic development with the protection of the eco-environment, tending and protection of headwater forests in the Da river basin in order to protect water sources of major national hydropower plants.

Economic development must be harmoniously combined with the settlement of such pressing social issues as hunger eradication and poverty reduction, sedentarization, raising of public knowledge, training of cadres, especially grassroots cadres, ethnic minority cadres and female cadres; to properly implement ethnicity policies, assist ethnic minority inhabitants in having a stable life, escaping from the particularly difficult state and enjoying a gradually improved material and spiritual life.

To associate the province's socio-economic development objectives with the performance of national strategic tasks in the province, namely, to build the political system strong, build up and strengthen defense and security, build the great unity block among ethnic minorities living in the province, firmly protect national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity in connection with building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation and long-lasting stability.

1. General objectives

To accelerate economic growth; markedly improve socio-economic infrastructure; bring into full play strengths of a border-gate province, its natural resources, minerals, hydropower, land and climate for development of various economic activities; to concentrate on hunger eradication and poverty reduction, basically complete sedentarization work; to conserve and develop cultural identities of ethnic minorities, improve the people's material and spiritual life; to ensure defense and security, political stability and firmly protect sovereignty over the national boundary.

In the 2006-2010 period, to accelerate economic growth, basically lift Lai Chau out of the state of particular difficulty, narrow the development gap between the province and other provinces in the region and the whole country. By 2020, the province will be out of the state of underdevelopment.

2. Orientations for development of branches and domains

a/ Economic branches and domains

- Economically, to achieve average per-capita GDP (according to current prices) of VND 7 million (two times over 2005, equal to 45% of the country's average) by 2010; and of VND 24.8 million by 2020 (equal to 60-65% of the country's average).

To restructure economy along the line of quickly increasing industry-construction and service ratios and reducing agriculture and forestry ratios:

To increase budget revenues in the locality, striving for over VND 160 billion by 2010 and over VND 500 billion by 2020.

To quickly increase the province's export value, striving for the total value of USD 10 million/year by 2010 and over USD 30 million by 2020.

- Regarding agriculture and rural development.

To vigorously step up economic restructuring within agriculture, choose plant varieties and animal species that are the locality's strengths for prioritized development toward commodity production connected with processing industry and major local and export markets.

+ Cultivation:

To develop food production, striving to ensure food security in the locality. To promote intensive cultivation, increase crops, extensively apply widely technologies and advanced cultivation techniques to production in order to increase rice and maize yields. To establish concentrated high-yield food production zones in areas where conditions permit. By 2010, total food output shall surpass 150,000 tons and average per capita food output reach about 400 kg per year; by 2020, these targets shall be over 165,000 tons and about 370 kg per year respectively.

To develop tea trees in the direction of intensive cultivation for higher yield. By 2010, the tea area shall reach 4,500 ha, of which 500 ha are newly planted; by 2020, it shall reach 5,500 ha, of which 4,500 ha are for commercial purposes. To plant rubber trees on 3,000-5,000 new ha in border communes. To develop cardamon growing on 3,000 ha by 2010, including 1,000 new ha; and on 5,000 ha by 2020. To encourage the growth of short-term industrial plants suitable to the province's climate, such as cotton, groundnut, soy bean, etc., with a view to raising land use efficiency and improving locals' living conditions. To study and organize a network of state-run traders for purchase and sale of products.

+ Husbandry:

To supply high-quality animal breeds, provide veterinary services, and mobilize locals to change their husbandry practices. Livestock herds shall increase by over 6% throughout the period, particularly 6-7% in the 2006-2010 period. To increase the numbers of buffalo and cow herds: by 2010, there will be 111,500 buffaloes, 20,700 cows, and annually 8-10 thousand tons of buffaloes and cows in live weight supplied to the market.

To develop aquaculture, exploit existing water surface areas, develop more ponds and lakes; to proceed to concentrated, large-scale aquaculture when Son La, Lai Chau, Huoi Quang, Ban Chat hydropower reservoirs are completely built.

+ Forestry:

To protect and develop existing forests, striving to increase forest coverage to 45% by 2010 and over 60% by 2020 from 37.5% in 2005, in order to promote the functions of headwater protective forests and regulate water sources for hydropower projects. To select a tree structure which promotes headwater protection and brings about high economic benefits. To associate afforestation with zoning off for tending and regeneration of existing forests, establish material areas for the development of paper, chipboard and household furniture industries. To conserve primitive forests and establish a nature conservation zone on the southwest side of Hoang Lien Son mountain range.

To adopt proper policies on investment in particularly disadvantaged highland and border communes facing shortage of agricultural land to help them switch to live on afforestation and tending and protection of protective forests.

To strive to plant 10,000 new hectares of forests in the 2006-2010 period and 30,000 new hectares of forests in the 2011-2020 period. To zone off for tending and regeneration an additional area of 200,000 ha of forests, mostly in Muong Te and Sin Ho districts.

+ Rural construction:

To elaborate a planning on population redistribution and sedentarization for ethnic minority people to stabilize and improve their lives, with priority given to population redistribution in areas meeting with a shortage of residential and production land or having particularly difficult living conditions, areas facing high risks of land slide, and Vietnam-China border areas. Coupled with the construction of irrigation projects and places for resettlement shall be the reclamation of at least 5,000 ha of wet rice fields and terraced fields in the 2006-2020 period, with 3,000 ha in the 2006-2010 period alone.

To step up the building of rural infrastructure: power, roads, daily-life water, irrigation, schools, dispensaries, etc.

To develop trades, effectuate rural economic restructuring, establish new craft villages and agricultural and forestry farms.

- Regarding industries-construction

To concentrate on developing industries in which the province has strengths, such as hydropower generation, processing of agricultural and forest products, production of construction materials, mineral exploitation, traditional handicrafts, and industrial establishments that serve the resettlement programs for hydropower projects.

+ Energy (hydropower) industry

To orient the building of Lai Chau, Ban Chat and Huoi Quang hydropower plants. To survey, plan and formulate mechanisms and policies to attract enterprises to invest in building small- and medium-sized hydropower projects.

+ Mining industry

To encourage enterprises to survey, prospect and invest in exploiting and processing minerals in gold, rare earth, copper, lead and zinc mines, and organize the exploitation and gathering of minerals in smaller mines in the locality.

+ Construction material production industry

To orient the establishment of Muong So industrial park (cement production, mineral processing and construction material production) and certain industrial clusters. To research, explore, exploit and process black, colored and white marbles for construction and export. To exploit sand, rock and gravel to meet the province's construction demands. To build tunnel brick factories and cement factories to meet civil construction demands and hydropower projects in the province.

+ Agricultural and forestry product processing industry

To raise the production and business efficiency of Lai Chau paper plant; to set orientations for increasing the capacity and improving the quality of products of tea factories, and set up agricultural product processing establishments in concentrated production areas.

+ Other industries

To set orientations for developing the engineering of hand-held tools suitable to local production practices and encourage the private sector to invest in building mechanical workshops in Lai Chau town.

- Regarding trade-services

To accelerate the development of services to account for a higher ratio in the province's GDP.

To synchronously develop the system of trade centers in towns, townships and centers of commune clusters, giving, first of all, priority to building several markets in border areas. To ensure the supply of essential goods for highlanders and stabilize market prices.

To develop holiday tourism, eco-tourism and ethnic cultural tourism in combination with the preservation and promotion of ethnic cultural identities, turning tourism into an important industry and a driving force for socio-economic development in the province, materializing the policy direction on hunger eradication and poverty reduction and firm preservation of security, defense, social order and safety. Tourist activities shall be directed toward exploiting the potential of the Hoang Lien Son mountain pass peak, Tien Son cavern, Tien Binh thermal spring, Tac Tinh waterfall and Dong Pao lake in close connection with developing restaurants and hotels in Tam Duong town; to develop Lai Chau town into a tourist center of the province; to properly organize tours and tourist routes, especially international travel services to attract Chinese visitors coming through Ma Lu Thang border gate; to invest in developing Sin Ho plateau into a holiday tourist resort, a place for ecological research, pharmaceutical materials, flowers, bonsai, tropical fruit trees and peculiar ethnic cultural traits in the province; to invest in embellishing and building a tourist complex of Le Loi King stele and the Van Long mountain pass relic area in association with eco-tourism in the reservoirs of Son La and Lai Chau hydropower plants and cultural traits of ethnic minorities in Muong Te.

Transport services: To develop cargo and passenger transport services along inter-provincial and intra-provincial transport routes and, when conditions permit, international transport services, exploit waterway transport routes after the hydropower reservoirs are completely built.

b/ Regarding infrastructure development

- Communication

In 2006, there will be motorways to 100% of commune centers and by 2010 and 2020 there will be 70% and 100% respectively rural roads useable in all seasons in the year.

To attach importance to building a diversion road of national highway 4D running through Lai Chau town; upgrading sections of national highway 4D running through towns and townships, national highway 32, stage II; flood-sheltering sections of national highway 12, provincial highway 127, and national highway 279. To attach importance to building interconnected roads, upgrading provincial and district roads linking to national roads. To continue investing in rural roads running to the centers of communes without motorways. To renovate, upgrade and ensure rural roads usable in all seasons in the year.

For waterways and port system: To survey and build several ports along Da river, such as Pac Ma, Po Lech, Nam Hang, Chan Nua and Pa Ha ports for developing waterway transport after the big hydropower projects are completely built in the locality.

- Irrigation

To prioritize investment in irrigation development, step by step meeting demands for water for agriculture, industrial production and daily life.

- Daily-life water supply and electricity supply.

+ To develop the system of daily-life water supply: To invest in upgrading and building new clean water supply systems for towns, townships and industrial clusters. To continue with investment in building daily-life water supply systems for rural areas, with priority given first to upland villages and villages facing shortage of daily-life water. By 2010, clean water will be provided for over 80% of urban population and 30% of rural population and, by 2020, the needs of all the population will be basically met.

+ To develop the electricity grid: By 2010, the national electricity network will reach 100% of communes and electricity will be available to 80% of households. By 2020, electricity will be available to meet the needs of all the population.

- Development of the urban system.

In the 2006-2010 period, to make investment in building new urban centers: Lai Chau town, Phong Tho township, Tam Duong township and Ma Lu Thang border gate.

In the 2011-2020 period, to continue renovating and upgrading the townships of Than Uyen, Than Thuoc, Sin Ho and Muong Te; to build new townships of Nam Tam (lowland Sin Ho), Huoi Luong (Muong Te) in parallel with the relocation and resettlement for the building of hydropower projects and the adjustment of the administrative boundaries of some districts. To upgrade Lai Chau town into grade-III urban center and a city by 2015.

c/ Social domains

- Regarding education and training

To consolidate and maintain the results of primary education universalization and illiteracy eradication; to achieve the standards of primary education universalization among the eligible age group by 2008; complete junior secondary education universalization by 2009; complete senior secondary education universalization by 2015. Annually, the number of pupils drawn to school will increase by 4.47%; by 2010, there will be 20,087 preschool pupils, 49,994 primary pupils, 27,610 junior secondary school pupils and 10,611 senior secondary school pupils.

To set orientations for expanding boarding schools for ethnic minority pupils, develop semi-boarding schools where pupils are fed by locals in centers of commune clusters and communes. To speed up the implementation of the program on building school buildings and classrooms solid, expanding existing junior and senior secondary schools and building new ones to meet the requirements of junior secondary education universalization in the 2006-2010 period and the requirements of senior secondary education universalization in the 2011-2015 period. To increase teaching and learning equipment under the general education renewal program. To invest in building dwelling houses for education administrators and teachers, particularly in schools situated in deep-lying, remote and border areas.

To set orientations for preparing conditions for building soon such training schools as community colleges, a provincial politics school, a vocational training school, a provincial military school and politics training schools in districts, towns, etc., for training grassroots cadres, particularly ethnic minority cadres, female cadres, and raising the ratio of trained laborers. To raise the percentage of trained laborers to 25% by 2010 and to over 45% by 2020.

- Regarding public healthcare

By 2010, 50% of communes will have health stations up to national standards as set by the Ministry of Health; to strive to achieve five medical doctors per 10,000 population and 50% of communes having medical doctors. By 2020, there will be over 90% of commune health stations meeting national standards and 10 medical doctors per 10,000 population.

To consolidate and expand the network of medical establishments and community healthcare. To basically control malaria and tuberculosis epidemics and effectively prevent HIV/AIDS. To reduce the malnutrition rate among under-five children to 20% by 2010 and reduce the underweight rate among newborns to under 5%, ensuring that over 96% of children are fully immunized. To expand health insurance and forms of healthcare for ethnic minority people in deep-lying and remote communes.

To set orientations for investment in building the provincial general hospital, Phong Tho general hospital and Tam Duong district general hospital; to upgrade Sin Ho district general hospital and Muong Te general hospital. To build a new anti-social disease center and Lai Chau town medical center. To accelerate the upgrading of commune health stations to meet set standards.

- Regarding population development

To carry out family planning and reproductive health programs with a view to improving population quality. The average population growth rate will be 2.2% per year in the 2006-2010 period, of which the natural growth rate will be 1.8% and the mechanical growth rate, 0.4%, the population will be 368,000 by 2010 and 445,000 by 2020.

To encourage inhabitants from elsewhere to settle and build new homeland in Lai Chau in accordance with the province’s planning and plan, including those from lowland areas and non-agricultural households from the areas of the Son La hydropower reservoir in Dien Bien, and from Son La, etc., so as to have more human resources for the province's socio-economic development.

- Regarding culture and information

To improve cultural-information benefits, preserve and promote cultural values of ethnic minority groups in combination with combating backward habits that hinder development. All communes will have telephone lines and commune post-cultural points where locals can have access to newspapers, books and information. To set orientations for investing in building provincial libraries, cultural centers and museums, district libraries and cultural houses, and commune cultural houses. To renovate and embellish historical and cultural relic areas, conserve cultural heritages in the hydropower reservoir areas. To build village cultural institutions suitable to the cultural tradition of every ethnic minority. Annually, 100% villages and street quarters will register to be cultured units, of which at least 50% will be recognized to meet district-level or provincial-level standards. By 2010 and 2020, 50% and 70% of villages will respectively achieve the title of cultured village.

To extensively develop mass physical training and sports activities, paying attention to traditional sports of ethnic minority groups. To step by step build and promote high-achievement sports, strive to win medals in regional and national ethnic minority sports tournaments. To set orientations for building sport training and competition facilities in towns and townships, while all communes and wards will have land areas or places reserved for physical training and sport activities.

To build the provincial television station and radio station so as to expand their broadcasting coverage, and develop television wave-receiving stations in villages where electricity conditions permit.

- Information: By 2010, 100% of communes will have Internet at their centers; 100% of townships will be covered with mobile phone waves. By 2020, the information technology use needs of all inhabitants shall be basically meet. By 2010, over 90% of households will be able to listen to the radio and over 80% of households watch television. Radio and television programs broadcast in ethnic minority languages will be longer. By 2020, the radio and television needs of all inhabitants will be basically met. The entire-province post and telecommunications network and the telephone network from the province to communes will be further modernized.

- Regarding hunger eradication and poverty reduction and employment

By 2010, there will be no hungry households while the percentage of poor households will be reduced to below 30% (according to the new poverty line) and below 10% by 2020. To concentrate all resources on hunger eradication and poverty reduction in upland and border and among particularly disadvantaged ethnic minority communes (Mang, La Hu, Kho Mu, Cong, Khang, etc.). To organize narcotic detoxification for 1,000 addicts per year. By 2020, drug addition will be basically abolished.

Annually, 4,000-4,500 new jobs will be created. Labor restructuring will be accelerated to create more jobs and increase social productivity along the line of industrialization and modernization. The rural labor time proportion will increase to 78-80% and the unemployment rate in urban areas will drop to under 3%. Labor quality will be improved to help increase the economy's productivity and efficiency.

d/ Regarding relocation and resettlement for the building of big national hydropower projects in the locality.

In the 2006-2012 period, 9,000 households residing in the to-be-inundated areas of Son La and other hydropower projects will be relocated, of which 6,000-7,000 will be completely relocated in the 2006-2010 period. In the immediate future, to concentrate on properly organizing relocation and resettlement work for the building of Son La hydropower project according to the planning already approved by the Prime Minister. At the same time, to prepare conditions for the resettlement in service of the building of Ban Chat, Huoi Quang and Lai Chau hydropower projects.

e/ Spatial and territorial development planning

Orientations for development of three economic areas will be as follows:

- The motivating economic area along national highways 32 and 4D (covering Lai Chau town, and Phong Tho, Tam Duong and Than Uyen districts): To develop border gate trade, service and other economic activities, develop the production of agricultural and forest commodities and the agricultural and forest product processing industry with tea, rice, cardamon, buffalo and cow meat, milk as major commodities, mineral exploitation and processing and production of building materials, etc.

- The Da river forest-agricultural eco-economic area (covering two districts of Muong Te and lowland communes of Sin Ho district): To zone off for tending and protection existing natural forests, strongly develop the planting of protective forests, rearing of buffaloes and cows, and production of pharmaceutical materials; to make use of rivers, national highway 12 and provincial highway 127 for developing transport services, eco-tourism and forestry product-processing industry. To make plans for developing the rearing, exploitation and processing of aquatic resources, and efficiently exploit water surface areas of hydropower reservoirs.

- The economic, eco-tourism, ethnic culture and high-quality agriculture area in Sin Ho plateau: To develop this area into a resort for eco-tourism and cultural tourism in association with development of a high-quality agriculture and the growth of herbs, flowers and tropical fruit trees.

f/ Adjustment of administrative boundaries

In the 2006-2010 period, to set orientations for studying and dividing communes of over 100 km2 large into smaller ones, proceeding to have a stable number of 130 communes, wards and townships.

In the 2011-2015 period, to study, divide and adjust the administrative boundaries of Muong Te, Sin Ho and Than Uyen districts so as to have a stable number of seven districts and one town.

g/ To build and incrementally modernize working offices of Party and mass organizations and state agencies.

In the 2006-2010 period: To prioritize the building of a system of working offices of provincial-level Party and mass organizations and state agencies in Lai Chau town, of district-level agencies in Phong Tho and Tam Duong townships; to set orientations for building solid working offices for communes where new offices have not been built yet. In the 2011-2020 period, to continue renovating, upgrading and expanding deteriorated offices with working areas of under 70% of the standard or limit set for the use of working offices.

- To scrutinize, adjust and supplement the plannings of branches and domains and the plannings of economic areas; to improve the quality of construction plannings, etc., serving as a basis for socio-economic development and defense and security maintenance. To properly perform investment planning and preparation work.

- To develop human resources, prioritize training of local cadres, female cadres and ethnic minority cadres, involve village patriarchs and chiefs in motivating the people to properly implement policy directions and policies of the Party and State. To adopt special preferential policies for cadres working in border communes and particularly disadvantaged communes. To set up a provincial vocational training center to help improve the quality of trained laborers, particularly those working in cottage industries and handicrafts and agricultural and forestry product processing. To increase numbers of educational staff, healthcare workers, border guards and agricultural, forestry and fishery extension cadres.

- To formulate mechanisms and policies to attract investment, trade promotion programs, etc.

- To step up the application of scientific and technological advances. To adopt preferential policies to attract talented persons.

To mobilize resources for investment:

- Central budget and provincial budget capital shall be mainly reserved for investment in socio-economic infrastructure (meeting about 25-30% of capital demand). In order to increase investment capital from the state budget, it is necessary to increase the savings ratio in the province's economy, maintain a high growth rate and take measures to encourage savings for development investment. To call for investment from the central government in major infrastructure facilities of the communication system, electricity supply, irrigation, etc.

- Investment capital from enterprises and the population is estimated to account for 40-45% in the investment capital structure. In order to increase this capital source, it is necessary to carry out administrative reform, simplify procedures in the investment domain and take measures to encourage the people and enterprises to invest in carrying out and expanding production and business activities in the province.

- The province's investment capital demand in the 2006-2020 period will far exceed its resources and capabilities. Therefore, Lai Chau province should work out capital mobilization plans for each period, arrange and select priority projects and apply specific and proper measures to attract investment capital, ensuring the achievement of set objectives.

- To strengthen and expand production relations after the models of household economy, farm economy and cooperative economy. To enhance the role of state economy in ensuring the supply of consumer goods, input factors and gathering and sale of products for farmers. To accelerate the equitization and transformation of ownership of state enterprises managed by the province. To encourage and facilitate private enterprises and cooperatives in the production and processing of agricultural and forestry products.

- To scrutinize, supplement and promulgate mechanisms and policies for development.

- To enhance management, exploitation and efficient use of natural resources in association with environmental protection.

- To consolidate defense and security.

- To build the political system and the contingent of cadres at all levels capable of meeting the requirements of their tasks.

- Programs prioritized for development: (1) hunger eradication and poverty reduction program; (2) socio-economic development program; (3) program on resettlement for the building of Son La and other hydropower projects; (4) border-gate economic development program; (5) human resource training and political system quality improvement program; (6) defense and security maintenance program.

- Projects prioritized for investment research (listed in enclosed appendix).

Article 2.- The approved master plan shall serve as the basis for the elaboration, submission for approval and materialization of specialized plannings (construction planning, land use planning and plan and other specialized plannings) and investment projects in the province according to regulations.

Article 3.- The People's Committee of Lai Chau province is hereby assigned to base itself on the province's socio-economic development objectives, tasks and orientations stated in the approved master plan and coordinate with concerned ministries and branches in directing the elaboration, submission for approval and implementation of the following contents according to regulations:

- Formulating a planning on development of the system of urban centers and population areas, construction planning, land use planning and plan, branch and domain development plannings, with a view to ensuring comprehensive and coordinated development.

- Studying, formulating, promulgating or submitting to competent state agencies for promulgation (for issues beyond its jurisdiction) mechanisms and policies suitable to the province's development requirements in each period in order to attract and mobilize resources for the materialization of the master plan.

Article 4.- Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies are hereby assigned to assist the People's Committee of Lai Chau province in studying and formulating the above-said plannings; at the same time study, formulate and submit to competent state agencies mechanisms and policies in response to the socio-economic development requirements of Lai Chau province in each period in order to mobilize and efficiently use resources, stimulate and attract investment to ensure the proper materialization of the province's socio-economic development objectives, tasks and orientations defined in the master plan report. To step up investment in building projects which are of certain scope and nature significant to the province's development and in which investment has been decided. To study, adjust and add to branch development plannings and investment plans related projects which are expected to be invested in as stated in the master plan report.

Article 5.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

Article 6.- The president of the People's Committee of Lai Chau province, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and heads of Government-attached agencies shall have to implement this Decision.