From the August Revolution to the revolution of streamlining apparatus (Part 7)

PART 7:

STEADY STRIDE TOWARDS AN ERA OF PROSPERITY AND PROGRESS

The August Revolution of 1945 marked a brilliant milestone in the historical journey of nation-building and defense for the Vietnamese people. Eighty years since that historic autumn, under the leadership of the Party and through immense hardships and challenges, Dong Nai has made extraordinary strides, rising to assert its role as a leading industrial center with the fourth-largest economy in the country. Today, Dong Nai possesses both the momentum and capacity to join the nation in entering a new era of national resurgence.

Workers on the production line at Toshiba Asia Industrial Products Co., Ltd., located in Amata Industrial Park, Long Binh Ward, Dong Nai Province. Photo: Pham Tung

From hardship to national economic leadership

On June 12, 2025, the National Assembly passed Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15 on the reorganization of provincial-level administrative units. Under this resolution, the former provinces of Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai were merged to form the new Dong Nai Province. Following the merger, Dong Nai not only ranked fourth nationwide in terms of economic scale but also became the fifth most populous province and the ninth largest by area.

These achievements are the result of relentless efforts by the Party committees, government authorities, mass organizations, and the people of the province. Each stage of development bears its own distinct imprint.

September 30, 1989, stands out as one of Dong Nai’s key milestones in post-reunification economic development. On this day, the province licensed its first foreign direct investment (FDI) project in the transport services sector. Five years later, a wave of FDI began flowing into the province, triggering a significant breakthrough in industrial and broader economic development. This milestone marked a crucial turning point, helping to establish Dong Nai as the nation’s industrial development "capital".

“In the first six months of 2025, Dong Nai attracted over VND 64 trillion in domestic investment and USD 1.8 billion in FDI, reaffirming its appeal to international investors.”

Comrade Vo Tan Duc, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Dong Nai People's Committee

As for Binh Phuoc, a province once heavily destroyed by war, it started from an extremely low economic base after liberation. In the early post-war years, the province implemented various strategies such as resettling people in new economic zones, encouraging land reclamation to expand cultivation, and developing key fruit and industrial crops. Over time, this laid the foundation for the emergence of agricultural production zones and long-term industrial crop areas, including cashew, rubber, and coffee, paving the way for Binh Phuoc to become the country’s leading cashew and rubber producer.

Rewinding history, following the success of the August Revolution in 1945, Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc, together with the rest of the country, embarked on a 30-year-long campaign of resistance against foreign invasion to achieve national independence.

On April 30, 1975, with the victory of the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign and the reunification of the country, Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc began their economic development journeys.

Master Tran Quang Toai, Chairman of the Dong Nai Historical Science Association, shared: At that time, Dong Nai’s economy was primarily agricultural. Industry and handicrafts consisted mostly of rice milling and woodworking-mainly concentrated in Tan Mai and Ho Nai of Bien Hoa. Meanwhile, modern industry was centralized in Bien Hoa City, with the Bien Hoa Industrial Zone, established in 1963, as its focal point. However, throughout the following decade, economic development in Dong Nai and the nation faced numerous difficulties due to the heavy toll of war, U.S. embargoes, and increased sabotage efforts by hostile forces. These challenges were compounded by the inefficiencies of a centrally planned, bureaucratic, and subsidized economic model that was slow to reform.

In 1986, renovative thinking was concretized in the development direction outlined at the 6th National Party Congress, opening up new opportunities for the entire country, including Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc, to enter a new phase of renewal.

Earlier, in late October 1986, at the 4th Dong Nai Provincial Party Congress, the province had already begun to embrace the Party’s new reformist ideology.

At that time, compared to other provinces in the Southeast region, Binh Phuoc remained largely agricultural, with little industrial activity and a backward economic structure. Thanks to strategic orientation from the central government, favorable mechanisms, and substantial budget support, Binh Phuoc continuously pursued its aspiration to rise and affirm its regional role.

After nearly 40 years of renovation, Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc have transformed from war-torn lands filled with craters and artillery shells into comprehensively developed regions.

Dong Nai now boasts a vibrant industrial sector, a well-invested infrastructure system, numerous modern factories and industrial parks, all of which serve as major drivers of economic growth. Beyond industry, Dong Nai has also led the nation in implementing the National Target Program on New Rural Development (NRD). Since 2019, the province has completed the NRD goals and has taken the lead in advancing toward enhanced and model NRD standards. Moreover, the province has vigorously implemented national target programs, particularly focusing on multidimensional and sustainable poverty reduction, with the aim of improving people’s quality of life.

Binh Phuoc has also advanced with impressive socio-economic achievements, emerging as a land of great potential and opportunity. In 2024, its economic growth rate (GRDP) ranked first in the Southeast region and 11th nationwide, reaching 9.32%. The province's economic scale reached VND 115.357 trillion, 92 times larger than in 1997, the year of its reestablishment. Notably, in 2023, Binh Phuoc ranked among the top 10 provinces nationwide in attracting FDI, with registered capital exceeding USD 739 million, 277% of the annual target.

Affirming its role as a national growth leader

Following the merger, the new Dong Nai Province now boasts an economic scale exceeding VND 609 trillion, ranking fourth nationwide. Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee Vo Tan Duc emphasized that the merger presents new opportunities and momentum for socio-economic development.

"Dong Nai is determined to become a powerful economic growth engine, a comprehensively developed, civilized, and modern locality-and a model of developmental cooperation across the country," stated Chairman Vo Tan Duc.

Prof. Dr. Vo Xuan Vinh, Director of the Institute for Business Research at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, noted that the new, enlarged Dong Nai - with its vast area and population - holds significant advantages for socio-economic development.

As it enters a new era of national resurgence, Dong Nai is not only maintaining its industrial leadership and advancing toward high-tech industries, but also aiming to become a major national hub for manufacturing, services, and logistics. In 2020, construction officially began on the Phan Thiet – Dau Giay Expressway, with approximately 51 kilometers running through the province. Less than a year later, Phase 1 of the Long Thanh International Airport project, a nationally strategic endeavor, was launched. Following these, a series of other key national infrastructure projects have also broken ground in the province, including the Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway and Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3.

During a working session with provincial leaders, Politburo Member and Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc remarked: "Dong Nai holds a strategic position with immense potential and advantages for development. The province is home to Long Thanh International Airport, multiple seaports, industrial zones, expressways, and upcoming railway lines. Once completed, Long Thanh Airport will become one of the six largest airports in the world. These are synergistic factors, closely linked in driving socio-economic growth. Dong Nai is poised for a development breakthrough."

"I believe Dong Nai will soon rise to the top ranks nationwide in economic growth," Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc emphasized.

By: Pham Tung - Thanh Thuy

Translated: Thuc Oanh - Minho