The northern province of Quang Ninh aims to bring its 22 extremely disadvantaged communes and 11 hamlets out of poverty by 2020, according to the provincial Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs.

The province will mobilise 1.653 trillion VND (nearly 72 million USD) to accomplish the goals under Government Programme 135, designed for the extremely disadvantaged communes from 2016 to 2020.

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Each commune will receive six billion VND (260,000 USD), four times higher than current support, to implement projects under Programme 135.

Government Programme 135, launched in 1999 under the Prime Minister's Decision 135/1998/QD-TTg on July 31, 1998, aims to improve living conditions for rural residents in the most disadvantaged communes across the country with a focus on ethnic communities.

In 2015, Quang Ninh posted a growth rate of 11 percent, the fastest pace in four years, and average per capita income of nearly 4,000 USD. The rate of impoverished families dropped to 1.33 percent.

The province welcomed more than 7.7 million tourists and earned 6.5 trillion VND (291 million USD) in tourism revenue last year, an annual rise of 19 percent.

Quang Ninh aims to become a tourism hub and a growth engine of Vietnam by 2020.

Source: VNA