Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks during a working session with An Giang province's leaders. (Photo: VNA) An Giang (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh onJuneౠ 17 asked the Mekong Delta province of An Giang to mobilise resources tod🌱evelop infrastructure for cross-border trade.
During his working session with provincial leaders,Chinh said that An Giang shares a 104-km borderline with Cambodia and has two international border gates, which are favourable conditions fordeveloping border trade with Cambodia and connecting with ASEAN. "An Giang must build a border of peace, friendship anddevelopment, develop a solid defensive area in terms of national security, and promote economic cooperation," Chinh said. Provincial leaders must drastically andsynchronously implement solutions to promote the three growth drivers - export,consumption, and investment, as well as focus on infrastructure planning anddevelopment, he added.PM Chinh also noted that An Giang province should focus ondeveloping digital infrastructure, digital transformation, and aninnovation ecosystem; continue to effectively implement the strategy for sustainable agriculture and rural development and the strategy for cultivation, animal husbandry, fisheries, and forestry; accelerate industrial restructuringtowards increasing the proportion of processing and manufacturing industries;continue to develop industrial production and gradually create more brandedcompetitive products.
An Giang must promote import and export activities anddiversify tourism products to meet new market trends, he went on.
PM Chinh asked the province to strengthen the management ofnatural resources, environmental protection, and climate change responses.
Besides further investment in healthcare, education, andtraining, the province needs to effectively implement the National Target Programme on socio-economic development and social welfare for people of ethnic groups, he said, requesting the province to improve its governance and public administrationperformance indicators (PAPI) and administrative reform index (PAR Index), andstrengthen anti-corruption work.
Earlier the same day, PM Chinh ordered simultaneously beginning the construction offour components projects of the first phase of the 188km Chau Doc-Can Tho-SocTrang expressway.
Crossing the Mekong Delta region, the expressway begins inSoc Trang province’s Tran De port, runs through Hau Giang province and Can Thocity, and ends in An Giang province’s Chau Doc city. It is designed to be32.25m wide and have six lanes, with its total cost exceeding 44.69 trillionVND (1.89 billion USD) sourced from the central and local budgets.
The project is divided into four sub-projects, whoseinvestment management agencies are the People's Committees of Soc Trang, HauGiang, and An Giang provinces and Can Tho city. The expressway is expected tobe completed in 2026 and the entire project in 2027.
Addressing the ceremony, PM Chinh said the expressway wouldbe the first horizontal axis one in the Mekong Delta, connecting the regionwith the national expressway system. It was expected to be one of sixexpressways that change the Mekong Delta as well as connect many economiccentres, international border gates and seaports, he added.
The Government leader said that the implementation of theproject was a step to realise the Resolution of the 13th National PartyCongress as well as the guidelines and policies of the Party and State oninfrastructure and social-economic development, and on ensuring nationaldefence and security in the region.
He also highlighted the need to build the Mekong Delta intoa key economic region with high and sustainable growth, adding that the regionhas abundant potential but its transport infrastructure remains limited at themoment.
The PM affirmed that the Government always paid attentionand worked drastically so that the project and other infrastructure developmentprojects are completed on schedule and with quality, meeting the requirementsof socio-economic development and improving people's living standards.
He ordered the construction of the expressway to ♉be donequick⛎ly, efficiently, safely and without waste.
PM Pham Minh Chinh visits An Giang Ethnic Minority Boarding High School. (Photo: VNA) 
