In the first ten months of 2024, Haiphong marked significant progress on its development journey. With an impressive economic growth rate and a 15% increase in the industrial production index compared to the same period last year, Haiphong has affirmed its position as one of the driving forces of growth in the Red River Delta region. These achievements are the result of continuous efforts by the entire political system and the city's residents, laying a solid foundation for achieving the targets and plans set for 2024. The results of the first ten months of 2024 reflect the impressive growth of economic indicators. The industrial production index (IPI) rose by 15% compared to 2023; in October alone, it is estimated to have increased by 12.09%, and the cumulative growth over ten months is estimated at 14.45% year-on-year. This demonstrates vibrant production and business activities, particularly in the manufacturing and processing industries. The specific figures reflect the stability and development of the local economy: state budget revenue reached 106,761.592 billion VND, with 45,000 billion VND from domestic revenue and 60,000 billion VND from import-export activities; cargo throughput at ports in October reached 21.4 million tons (up 13.5% year-on-year), with an estimated 145.8 million tons over ten months (up 10.7% year-on-year), fulfilling 76.7% of the annual target; tourism figures: October is estimated to have welcomed 667,000 visitors (up 10.1%), while the cumulative total for ten months reached 7.8454 million visitors (up 14.1%), achieving 86.2% of the annual plan; FDI attraction: in the first ten months, 1,894.98 million USD was attracted, equivalent to 59.35% year-on-year. Export and import activities continued to thrive, with substantial growth in trade turnover. FDI attraction also achieved positive results, focusing on manufacturing industries and infrastructure.
Alongside economic growth, the city achieved significant accomplishments in social sectors. The new rural development program continued to advance, improving the quality of life for residents. Fields such as education, healthcare, culture, and society all saw considerable progress, better meeting the needs of the people. Social welfare policies were effectively implemented, contributing to poverty reduction and ensuring social security. Key activities included continuing to implement the Communication Plan on the World Natural Heritage values of Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago for 2024, carrying out activities of the UNESCO Campaign to honor the scholar Nguyen Binh Khiem in 2024, implementing the guidelines for the 2024–2025 school year, organizing Learning Promotion Month and Lifelong Learning Week, conducting 55 job fairs involving 930 enterprises, with 13.32% of recruitment needs preliminarily met.
Haiphong has focused on infrastructure development, particularly in transportation, to facilitate socio-economic growth. Major transportation projects have been implemented to enhance connectivity and expand the city’s development space. Concurrently, rapid urbanization has accompanied urban infrastructure upgrades. Urban management and development efforts included issuing and implementing the 2023 Housing Law and 2023 Real Estate Business Law and proposing increased support for disadvantaged households for submission to the City Council. Transportation management and development efforts focused on accelerating key interprovincial and regional transportation projects for completion in 2024 and subsequent years, including projects at Lach Huyen Port and Cat Bi International Airport, as well as strengthening inspections and addressing violations of transportation safety regulations. Natural resource and environmental management activities included continuing land allocation, leasing, and compensation for key city projects and collaborating with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on technical standards for waste management.
Restructuring district- and commune-level administrative units for 2023–2025, as approved by the National Assembly Standing Committee, and coordinating resolutions for urban governance and specific mechanisms for Haiphong have also been priorities. The city conducted 3,474 inspections, uncovering violations amounting to 40,652.79 million VND. Haiphong has carried out dynamic foreign relations activities, including receiving 360 international delegations (3,133 individuals), 14 of which were high-level delegations, organizing 138 outbound delegations (390 participants), including 17 city leadership delegations, hosting over 100 economic diplomacy and investment promotion events, such as opening the Lijiang-Haiphong flight route, and approving seven new NGO projects worth 1.174 million USD.
Despite these achievements, Haiphong faces challenges such as slow disbursement of public investment funds, environmental pollution, and insufficient workforce quality. In the remaining two months of 2024, Haiphong will focus on enhancing administrative reforms and streamlining procedures to create a favorable business environment, attracting high-quality, environmentally friendly investments, investing in workforce development and skill enhancement, strengthening environmental protection and climate change adaptation while promoting sustainable urban development, and expanding international cooperation and integrating further into the global economy.
With the results achieved in the first ten months of 2024, Haiphong has reaffirmed its position as one of the key economic hubs of the Red River Delta region. By addressing limitations and leveraging strengths, the city is poised to meet its development goals, contributing to its sustained prosperity and leadership in the region.