Vietnam sets growth plan of 8% till 2015

VNStockNews.com - The Ministry of Planning and Investment presented Monday its national economic growth draft plan to run from seven to eight percent a year for 2011–2015.

The plan was introduced at a press conference in Hanoi and called for feedback from government agencies and the public.

The 170-page report compiled by the ministry sets a target for the average growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to reach 7 – 8 percent, said Investment Minister Cao Viet Sinh.

According to a September World Bank report, Vietnam scored GDP growth of 6.2 percent in 2008 and is estimated to reach 5.5 percent this year.

The report suggests the state budget is expected to expand by 22 – 23.5 percent of GDP during 2011-2015 and export turnover is also forecast to increase 12 percent a year.

The population may hit 93 million; with skilled workers accounting for 55 percent of the nation’s workforce.

The draft plan also raises a goal to pull down the unemployment rate in urban areas to just 4 percent. That figure, currently hovers around 10 percent.

As for environmental protection, the forest coverage rate in Vietnam is forecast to increase to 42.5 percent by the year 2015 from the current rate of 38.7 percent, the report writes.

Till late 2008, the total forest area of Vietnam was at 12.9 million hectares, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

And till 2015, 98 percent of the population in urban areas and 96 percent in the countryside are provided with clean water.

Minister Sinh said the target will see Vietnam become a medium-level industrial country by 2020.