Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Phan Van Mai speaks at the meeting. (Photo: SGGP)

It is a dual goal of implementing the Central Government's directives and resolutions of the 11th Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress.

Speaking at the 34th session of the 11th HCMC Party Executive Committee in the 2020-2025 period, the Chairman of the municipal People's Committee said that Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth for 2024 is expected to reach 7.17 percent and 9-10 percent in 2025. The city must achieve a growth rate of 9.3 percent or above in the next year to meet the growth targets in the tenure.

In order to achieve the growth target of 9-10 percent, the city must mobilize both budgetary and non-budgetary resources and focus on removing obstacles to unlock these resources.

Regarding the 2024 state budget revenue collection, Ho Chi Minh City has collected over VND500,000 billion, equivalent to 104 percent of this year's target. The city is striving to achieve 110 percent of revenue compared to the same period last year.

However, the city still has restraints, including five missions and three goals that have not been completed yet. In addition, it takes a lot of time to address the backlogs. If problems in state assets, assets of state-owned enterprises, social projects, public investment obstacles, and other challenges are fully resolved, it will liberate a large number of resources, equivalent to hundreds of trillions of VND expected to move into the economy, creating jobs and contributing to the growth of the city, the city’s chairman stressed.

The Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City also acknowledged that the coordination in addressing issues among departments and localities has not been smooth and effective, leading to delays.

Therefore, in 2025, besides reorganizing the apparatus structure, it needs to improve the coordination between departments and units to accelerate work progress and unlock resources. In addition, the city must focus on achieving and exceeding the targets outlined in resolutions of the 11th Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress, mobilizing resources for growth and development in 2025 and the 2025-2030 period, solving backlogs, and creating detailed plans to mobilize resources.

In the 2025-2030 period, Ho Chi Minh City needs VND4.4 quadrillion(US$173 billion) to achieve the growth target of 10 percent. Of this figure, VND1.1 quadrillion (US$43.2 billion) will be mobilized from the state budget. Regarding this amount of money, the state budget allocation could be VND500,000 billion (US$19.7 billion), while the remaining funds will be mobilized from transit-oriented development (TOD) projects and land-related revenues. Therefore, the city must promptly implement TOD projects, review more than 10,000 properties managed by state-owned enterprises and public assets, and rearrange public office buildings.

Regarding administrative reforms and digital transformation associated with reorganizing the administrative structure, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City said that the city is reorganizing the government apparatus in conjunction with redefining roles and responsibilities, restructuring the workforce, and modernizing the administrative system.

Besides works and projects marking the 50th anniversary of southern liberation and national reunification (April 30, 1975-2025), Ho Chi Minh City will continue to kick off other projects, including the Nguyen Khoai Bridge-Street project, Ring Road 2, the Xuyen Tam Canal renovation project, the improvement of the environment on the bank of Doi Canal, the launch of the International Finance Center, and the first phase of Can Gio International Transshipment Port, the city’s chairman informed.

By Ngo Binh, Thai Phuong - Translated by Kim Khanh