The government will provide as much support as possible for the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan to help it eradicate poverty and develop agriculture, industry and services. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made the pledge while working with provincial leaders during his visit to the province on June 20. He said the government would help the province to build the Thanh Binh industrial park among other infrastructure projects and map out a tourism development plan for Ba Be Lake. However, to escape out of poverty and develop those economic sectors soon, the PM reckoned that the province should tap its strong potentials of natural resources, including land, forests and minerals. He asked the province to review its plan to develop its forestry and survey its mineral reserves to draw up appropriate exploitation plans. Also, Bac Kan should introduce scientific and technological achievements into its agricultural production, especially high-yield varieties, said the government leader. After being re-established 13 years ago, Bac Kan has achieved an annual economic growth rate of 11 percent. All communes have built asphalted roads and installed telephone networks. Its annual per capita income increased considerably from just 1 million VND in 1997 to more than 8 million VND last year. The number of poor households also fell rapidly from 60 percent in 2005 to 25 percent in 2009.
