Hanoi (VNA) – The northern province of Bac Giang is exerting all-out efforts to increase its service industry by an average 10 – 11 percentannually from 2021 – 2030, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

The province aims for services to occupy some 23.6percent to the economy this year alone.

In 2022, Bac Giang plans to focus efforts on developsupporting services and those it has potential and advantages. The province isaccelerating the construction of Tan Tien and Dong Son Ports and a rest station atthe international logistics centre in the provincial capital Bac Giang City.

It also intends to make the most of free trade agreements Vietnamis a signatory to and ramp up trade promotion with major corporations as wellas neighbouring provinces and large cities, such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City,to boost the sale of agricultural products.

It will build multiple inter-district wholesale goods andservices centres at gateways and in urban areas and those where there areindustrial parks and clusters.

By 2030, Bac Giang expects to have 46 supermarkets, 14shopping malls and 142 wet markets. Its capital, Bac Giang City, will be developed as theprovince’s main hub for trade and services while Thang Township (Hiep Hoa) andChu Township (Luc Ngan) will become that in the west and the east,respectively.

The province wants to build a regional centre for foreigntrade and promotion of its signature products while making more local goodsavailable on e-commerce sites. It will also facilitate the development ofshopping tourism to attract more visitors.

Last year, Bac Giang started promoting and selling its renownedspecialty, litchi, on various online marketplaces, including Voso.vn,Postmart.vn, Sendo.vn, San24h.vn, Shopee.vn, Lazada.vn… and internationalplatform Alibaba.com.

It was the first time that Bac Giang had sold more than 8,000 tonnes of litchi throughonline distribution channels, of which more than eight tonnes were exported toEuropean countries.

Additionally, the province will lure more investment intodeveloping logistics, warehousing, transport, product preservation, repair andmaintenance services, among others; and expand the network of banks andcredit institutions.

Notably, the province will further bolster the growth oftourism. Bac Giang aims to develop eco-tourism and leisure tourism andorganise cultural, entertainment and sports events to boost the smoke-freeindustry between now and 2030, in the hope of not only serving local residentsbut also visitors from Hanoi and nearby regions.

Furthermore, Bac Giang is planning to develop three localdestinations into national tourist sites, namely West Yen Tu complex whichlinks to a host of pagodas – Vinh Nghiem, Bat Nha, Ham Long, Am Vai, and TayYen Tu; and Luc Ngan and Nham Bien eco-tourism, leisure, sports andentertainment complexes.

Despite many COVID-19 impacts, the province’s servicesector rose by 3.8 percent in 2021, with its value reaching 42.73 trillion VND(1.87 billion USD).

The province has been improving infrastructure for trade andcommerce to provide local customers and sellers with more modern and sustainableplatforms. Total retail sales of goods and services exceeded 34.03 trillion VNDlast year, up 9.2 percent from the same period of 2020.

Revenue from foreign trade hit about 30.7 billion USD lastyear. Its largest importers included China, the Republic of Korea, the US, India and Spain. The province mainly shipped abroad textile and garment,computers, electronics, phones and parts, and electric devices.

Total outstanding loans hit over 75.71 trillion VND.Turnover from postal, Internet and telecommunication services totalled some  2.55 trillion VND while that from tourism wasestimated at around 137 billion VND./.