Vietnam's lawmaking National Assembly (NA) passed a resolution on Thursday, setting the target of a 6-6.5 percent GDP growth rate for next year.

Before the NA approved the target, some NA deputies said the target was ambitious, proposing five to six percent instead.

However, the NA Standing Committee explained that the country might reach a GDP growth rate of five percent this year.

The 6-6.5-percent target was set based on the analysis and forecasts of the local and international markets, taking into account advantages and disadvantages.

Chairman of the NA Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said the high target showed the government’s determination and ensured harmony and flexibility in achieving targets.

The legislature also eyed the proportion of processing and manufacturing in GDP at 24.1-24.2 percent and the labor productivity growth at 4.8-5.3 percent, lower than the targets for 2023, at 25.4-25.8 percent and five-six percent, respectively.

To reach these targets, the lawmaking body asked the government to boost economic growth, stabilize the macro-economy, keep inflation under control, and ensure economic balances.

The NA also required the lowering of lending rates, simplifying administrative procedures, and focusing on priority sectors and growth driving forces.

At the beginning of 2024, the government must accelerate the disbursement and use of public investment for key projects and national programs.

Unnecessary projects must be removed to avoid investment wastage, according to the NA’s resolution.

The NA ordered the removal of bottlenecks and solutions for ensuring materials for key infrastructure projects, especially traffic infrastructure.

The government was assigned to speed up and ensure the quality of expressway projects to have more than 3,000 kilometers of expressways by 2025.

The legislature also required accelerating the construction of important railways as well as completing a plan to develop a trans-country express railway before considering the approval of the plan next year.

Another important job is to develop human resources, specifically 50,000-100,000 high-skilled laborers for semiconductor research and production by 2025 and 2030, respectively.

Vietnam’s GDP expanded 4.24 percent in the January-September period, according to the General Statistics Office.

At a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh last month, the government chose the growth target of six percent as the best-case scenario for this year.

Dr. Huynh The Du, a Vietnamese economic expert, said the target was a big challenge to Vietnam as the country needs to achieve an economic expansion of 10.4 percent in the last quarter of the year although it is lower than the 6.3 percent set early this year.

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