Geographic location: bounded by Cao Bang province to the North, by Lang Son province to the East, by Thai Nguyen province to the South and by Tuyen Quang province to the West.
Area: 486,841 km2
Topographic features: diversified but mainly mountainous and midland features with dense river and stream system. There are many high mountains (more than 1,300m high) such as Nam Khieu Thuong mountain chain, Hoa Son mountain, etc.
Administrative units: include Bac Kan town and 7 districts: Pac Nam, Cho Don, Cho Moi, Bach Thong, Ngan Son, Na Ri, Ba Be.
Population: 301,500 (statistics of Year 2006)
Natural resource
Land and mineral natural resources: own fertile land resource especially area raised yearly the level by alluvia that is suitable for cultivating food crops, cash-crops, short-term industrial crop, tropical specialty fruit bearing trees. Accordingly, the city has full conditions to develop comprehensive agriculture. To be a newly formed plain, Can Tho has not abundant mineral natural resources but clay (material made brick and tile), plastic clay, peat, and river sand. Clay is grey but not rich that mainly focuses on underlying earth-surface lay of 1 -2 m and distributes broad. Besides, plastic clay locates 1 – 2 m from the ground surface and 5 – 6 m of thick which is fine and contains many minerals, used in handicrafts. The city possesses large reserve of peat with many small mines; its seam is more than one metres of thick and 15 – 30 m of width, 30 km of length with reserve totaling 30,000 – 150,000 tonnes. Animal and plant resources: floristic composition in Can Tho gather in freshwater alluvia area including grass, seaweed, linden tree, fig, nipa, pennywort, amaranth, purslain, water-fern, morass-weed, custard-apple-tree, and so on. In alum earth, there are major cajeput, water-date palm, water-rattan, lygodium, custard-apple-tree, cork, lotus, water-lily, etc. With regard to fauna, animals on land consist of aquaticus, teal, common snipe, python, snake, tortoise, and so on. Water living animals are murrel, anabas, striped gourami, catfish, goby, carp, hypophthalmichthys, hemibagrus, blue-legged prawn, different small shrimps, etc.
Land: Types of soils are here diversified including yellow, red yellow and red brown feralit, etc. Bac Kan has 420,990.5 hectares of forestry, which is not only an economic strength but also of great significance in term of science and environmental protection. There are 826 species of plants including more than 300 timbers, hundreds of medical plants, more than 50 species listed in the Red Book. Mineral resources are diversified here with lead-zinc mine in Cho Dien – Cho Don district, gold mine in Ac Lang in Ngan Son district, tin mine in Yen Cu- Cho Moi, Na Ri districts, etc, iron-mangan in Ngan Son, Cho Don district, etc.
Human resources: Workforce is abundant. There are approx. 200,000 employees including 6,000 College degree holders, 3,000 bachelor degree holders, approx. 100 master’s degree holders and 5 doctor degree holders working in the province. 160,025 employees are working in economic sectors.
Tourism: Bac Kan has great potentiality for developing nature tourism like tours to Ba Be Lake which is the largest lake of the North of Vietnam, it is surrounded by limestone and schist; tours to Ba Be national park with an area of 23,340 hectares with 417 species of plants and 299 species of vertebrate animals, tours to Kim Hy Nature reserve, etc
Transportation: The inner road system (road from the town to districts) has been improved and covered with tar. Road No. 256 has been upgraded to national highway. Roads from the town to communes have been improved. Bridges have been newly built. There is 1 provincial station in Bac Kan town, 1 district level station in Cho Don district and 1 port in Ba Be.
Water system: clean water production and supply is still limited. Household water is mainly exploited from drilled wells along Cau river. Besides, Bac Kan has a topographic feature of a deep hollow causing pollution to several water sources.
Power supply system: quite widespread coverage to 110/122 communes (90%), annual growth rate of power productivity is of 30%. Power productivity was 24.4 million kWh in 2002, nearly 5 times more than that of 1997. 90% of communes/wards are consuming national network electricity.
System of industrial zones: Bac Kan has Thanh Binh Industrial Zone with an area of 500 hectares built in Cho Moi District including factories producing pulp, planks and construction materials.”
“DEVELOPMENT GOALS TOWARDS 2010
GDP growth rate: planned to reach 20%
Sectors’ development plan:
+ Service: planned to reach the rate of 24% yearly in the period 2006-2010
+ Agriculture-Forestry-Fishery: planned to reach the rate of 6.5% yearly in the period 2006-2010; apply new technology in growing high productivity plants such as tomato, water melon, clean vegetables in Bac Kan town as well as implement big projects in developing cow, buffalo breeding. Bac Kan is good at pig, chicken, goat breeding & salmon breeding for domestic consumption and export.
+ Industry: planned to reach the rate of 33% yearly in the period 2006-2010; Give priorities to mineral, construction material exploitation and processing. With its mineral deposits, Bac Kan has potentiality for investing in small and medium scales to raise the value of exploited mineral for better serving domestic industry and for export.
+ Service: planned to reach the rate of 24% yearly in the period 2006-2010″
