Bac Lieu (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Mekong Delta provinceof Bac Lieu to promote green development based on fishing, aquaculture andseafood processing, with a focus on high-tech shrimp farming.

The PM met with leadersof Bac Lieu province, the country’s second largest shrimp producer, on January29 ahead of the investment promotion conference in Bac Lieu on January 30.

Bac Lieu shouldbecome the country’s industrial centre of shrimp in terms of both shrimp fryand processed shrimp, he said, suggesting the locality employ methodicalplanning for the sector.

Despitelimitations and challenges, with the biggest being the adverse impacts of climatechange and sea level rises, Bac Lieu still has better conditions thanmountainous localities to grow, PM Phuc said.

“As one of the largestshrimp producers nationwide, Bac Lieu should not be a “low-lying area” of theMekong Delta,” he stressed, adding that with its advantages in shrimp breeding,renewable energy and agriculture, the province needs to swiftly balance itsbudget.

Apart from settingforth planning on shrimp farming, solar and wind power development, Bac Lieushould promote its tourism strength by organising package tours, completing thetourism ecosystem, diversifying products and connecting with major tourismprojects, he said.

The leader alsoasked Bac Lieu to enhance its connectivity with the Mekong Delta and Ho ChiMinh City.

Applauding BacLieu’s achievements in 2017, PM Phuc urged the province to improve the ethicsof public servants, prevent group interests, and strive to fulfill itssocio-economic targets for 2018.

Bac Lieu has anaquaculture area of 1,290 sq.km. With a coastline of 56 km, three seaports andan economic exclusive zone of 20,742 sq.km, the province has favourableconditions to develop agriculture, fishing and fishery logistics.

Agricultureaccounts for 43.14 percent of the province’s gross regional domestic product.Each year, the locality harvests about 210,000 tonnes of aquatic products, ofwhich 115,000 tonnes are shrimp, with shrimp export turnover exceeding 527million USD.

Last year, theprovince’s economy grew by 6.5 percent and per capita income reached 37.5million VND (1,650 USD). The locality contributed more than 2.8 trillion VND(132.2 million USD) to the State budget.

However, climatechange and sea level rises caused great losses to local agriculture in recentyears.-VNA