The appearance of mountainous areas has changed from infrastructure investment
Cao Bang is a mountainous border province, with more than 94% of the population being ethnic minorities. For many consecutive years, the locality has faced challenges due to harsh natural conditions, unsynchronized infrastructure, and many difficulties in people's lives.
In that context, the National Target Programs for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority Areas have created a clear shift in socio-economic development implemented throughout the province, focusing on giving priority to communes and villages in particular difficulty - accounting for more than 80% of the total number of administrative units at the village and commune level of the locality.
In the period of 2021 - 2025, despite having just experienced the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cao Bang has maintained a positive economic recovery rate thanks to appropriate policies in ethnic minority areas.
The average GRDP growth rate of the whole province is 4.46%/year; in 2025 alone, it is expected to reach 8%, the highest in many recent years. GRDP per capita in 2025 is estimated at 50.73 million VND, an increase of 1.4 times compared to 2020.
This result shows the clear impacts of the program on people's lives. The electricity, domestic water systems, schools, and health stations have been invested synchronously, with 913 projects completed. The rate of people participating in health insurance is over 98%; about 88,000 people are beneficiaries of social assistance policies, creating a sustainable social security foundation.
In many villages and hamlets far from the center, previous muddy roads have been replaced with flat concrete roads, making travel smooth all year round. The spacious houses are gradually replacing the makeshift thatched roofs, creating a new look in the highlands.
In Bao Lac commune, the Ban Piay - Na Ten concrete road, completed at the end of 2023, has helped people more easily access the center. Mr. Trieu Ban Quay (Bao Lac commune) shared: "When the road is not yet built, it is very difficult for people to travel, especially during the slippery rainy season. Now that there is a new road, freight transportation is much more convenient. Raising pigs or growing a bunch of vegetables is easy for me to transport to sell.
The route is more than 1.3km long, starting at National Highway 34 and ending at the expressway connecting to Na Ten hamlet, designed at a speed of 20km/h. The project has a total investment of over 3.4 billion VND, serving 98 households with 503 people. The completion of the road not only removes the "bottleneck" in traffic but also opens up opportunities for economic development for people in the two hamlets.
Traffic infrastructure - the foundation to promote livelihoods
The National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority Areas has created a clear change in socio-economic development. Transportation opens the way for people to produce, creates conditions for connecting goods, and at the same time helps people access medical and educational services more conveniently.
From 2021 to present, in Bao Lac commune alone (including communes in the former Bao Lac district), capital has been combined to invest more than 550 billion VND to build, renovate and upgrade 105 rural road works with a total length of over 400km. Of which, the district will open 25 new inter-commune and inter-hamlet roads with a length of 50km; renovate and upgrade 350km of district and inter-hamlet roads, ensuring smooth traffic.
Along with traffic, many centralized domestic water projects, schools, and health stations are invested synchronously. Thanks to that, people in mountainous areas have more convenient access to essential services. The rate of children going to school at the right age has improved; the grassroots health system ensures the need for medical examination and treatment and primary health care for people.
In parallel with infrastructure investment, Cao Bang also focuses on improving the quality of human resources in ethnic minority areas. Many training courses and training courses are organized on agricultural production skills, application of technology in livestock farming, cultivation and household economic management.
Orienting the next phase, Cao Bang continues to identify the National Target Program as a key, long-term task, closely linked to the goal of sustainable poverty reduction and narrowing regional gaps; developing raw material areas associated with agricultural processing; encouraging businesses to invest in mountainous areas.
