HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s National Assembly will on Wednesday vote to approve a new economic growth target for this year and adopt resolutions supporting major infrastructure projects, including nuclear power plants and a rail link to China.
The government has sought approval from lawmakers to revise up the gross domestic product growth target for this year to at least 8.0% from 6.5% to 7.0%.
Parliament will also vote to pass a resolution supporting construction of a new railway linking a major seaport in northern Vietnam with China, with a price tag of $8.3 billion, part of which to be funded by loans from the Chinese government.
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Vietnam, a regional manufacturing hub heavily reliant on exports to drive its economy, has been seeking to ramp up its investment in infrastructure as one of its key measures to boost growth.
Lawmakers will on Wednesday vote to pass policies for the development of nuclear power plants, the first of which is set to be built by the end of 2031.
They will also vote to adopt rules that would allow Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide satellite internet services in the country while maintaining full ownership of any local subsidiary.
On Tuesday, the assembly approved a bold bureaucratic reform plan that will slash up to a fifth of government bodies, as it tries to cut costs and improve administrative efficiency.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Martin Petty)