Newly merged Phu Tho sets sights on regional leadership

Newly merged Phu Tho sets sights on regional leadership

Following the historic merger of three provinces, Phu Tho is accelerating reforms and development to become a regional powerhouse in industry, logistics, tourism, and innovation in northern Vietnam.

The newly established province came into operation on July 1 following the merger of the former provinces of Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, and Hoa Binh.

This major political and administrative milestone streamlines state governance and marks a strategic shift in Phu Tho’s efforts to expand its development capacity and position itself as a regional hub for industry, services, logistics, and tourism in both the northern midlands and nationwide.

Immediately following the merger, provincial leaders issued strong directives to ensure the smooth operation of the new administration and effective delivery of services to citizens and businesses.

Newly unified Phu Tho centre. Source: Phu Tho portal

At the first session of newly unified Phu Tho People’s Council on July 1, Chairman of Phu Tho People’s Committee Tran Duy Dong reaffirmed the collective commitment to effectively implementing the party’s and the government’s policies, building a strong, efficient, and capable system of governance from the provincial to grassroots levels, and making a proactive contribution to the province’s overall development.

"The unification of the three provinces has created an integrated administrative, economic, and social entity with a larger scale, combining multiple growth drivers and a more diverse pool of resources and potential," said Dong. "This opens up new development opportunities and facilitates Phu Tho’s journey to becoming a national centre for industry, services, logistics, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and cultural-ecological tourism."

The province also aims to become a prominent host for national and international events, with high economic growth driven by science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, and the private sector.

Experts agree that the recent achievements of Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, and Hoa Binh, especially during the 2020-2025 term, have reached a point where a broader development space is essential for progress.

The transition to a two-tier local government model, accompanied by administrative streamlining, is expected to pave the way for a more dynamic growth trajectory in this new era.

Diverse practical recommendations were presented at a series of expert workshops on the provincial merger, held in Viet Tri city (Phu Tho province) in April and June.

Expert Nguyen Hoang Ha from the Institute of Financial Strategy and Policy noted that post-merger, Phu Tho’s socioeconomic status will see substantial shifts, with its regional GDP ranking sixth nationally and first in the northern midland and mountainous region.

Bordering seven provinces, Phu Tho is now also the one with the most neighbouring localities in Vietnam, giving it a strategic advantage as a central hub connecting major markets, particularly Hanoi.

The neighbouring localities include Lao Cai, Ninh Binh, Son La, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Tuyen Quang and Hanoi.

"Phu Tho should be planned as a multi-centre economic growth region, integrating the advantages of plains, midlands, and mountainous areas. Its growth model should pursue investment while maintaining control to avoid economic and social overburden," said Ha.

Echoing this perspective, Ngo Doan Vinh, former director of the Institute for Development Strategy, emphasised that the merger presents a historic opportunity to redesign Phu Tho’s development space towards modernity, sustainability, and competitiveness.

With over 935,000 hectares of natural area, 80 per cent of which is agricultural and forestry land, Phu Tho possesses an enormous land advantage.

"Phu Tho should capitalise on its vast land resources to establish distinctive, large-scale, and concentrated commodity agricultural zones. As a gateway linking northern localities with Hanoi and the Red River delta, and with potential connectivity to the Chinese market, Phu Tho is well-positioned to develop a large-scale logistics sector," said Vinh.

Providing additional insights into spatial planning, Hoang Vinh Hung, director of the National Institute of Urban and Rural Planning, emphasised that one of the key post-merger strategies is to develop urban clusters, growth poles, and economic corridors while enhancing regional connectivity.

Accordingly, the province should focus on establishing three major growth areas: Viet Tri in Phu Tho province, Vinh Yen-Phuc Yen in the former Vinh Phuc province, and Hoa Binh – Luong Son in the former Hoa Binh province.

"These zones will serve as centres for industrial processing and manufacturing, urban development, and as leaders in science, technology, innovation, and high-quality modern services," said Hung.

An increasing number of businesses have considered Phu Tho the place to invest. Source: Phu Tho portal

At the same time, four major economic corridors would be developed to interconnect these growth areas, aiming to generate spillover effects and support sustainable economic expansion.

During a mid-June conference on setting development orientations for the new Phu Tho province, chairman Tran Duy Dong highlighted eight priority tasks that form the foundation for the province’s economic and social breakthroughs by 2030.

Under the new vision, Phu Tho shall be developed into one of Vietnam’s leading industrial hubs, with a focus on high-tech industries, electronics, and the auto and motorcycle sectors.

A high-tech industrial park will be established to attract emerging industries with high added value, such as semiconductors, chip production, and AI. The former Vinh Phuc province area is designated as the province’s key industrial hub.

In terms of logistics and trade, the province will leverage its geographical advantage as a gateway connecting Hanoi to the northwest, and being close to Noi Bai International Airport, to position itself as a major logistics centre for the region.

For tourism, Phu Tho aims to become a top-tier destination with strong domestic and international competitiveness in ecological, wellness, cultural, historical, festival, and sports tourism.

Agricultural development will follow a sustainable, efficient, and ecological approach, based on high-tech, organic, circular, and high-value agriculture, aligned with the goal of building a modern and civilised new rural area.

Simultaneously, the province will continue to develop key growth zones, economic corridors, and regional linkages to best avail of the expanded development space unlocked by the merger.

The long-term vision for Phu Tho underscores that this merger is not merely an administrative reorganisation, but a strategic integration of the strengths, potential, and identities of three distinct localities.

With a sound strategy, decisive action, and strong consensus, the new Phu Tho is progressively redefining its position on the national development map, on course to becoming a leading socioeconomic growth engine of northern Vietnam.

VIR