New 'Wave' for Welsh economy

Cardiff Bay is booming, but not all of Wales shares economic success

A new economic strategy for Wales is to be launched as the assembly government updates plans to deal with change at home and abroad.

The document to be published on Wednesday by ministers is called Wales - A Vibrant Economy, or Wave.

It will be the new version of proposals published almost four years ago.

Much has changed since, with key economic quangos like the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) due to be taken over by the assembly government.

The document will be unveiled by Economic Development Minister Andrew Davies and Education Minister Jane Davidson.

The assembly government said it would "revisit" the earlier version, A Winning Wales, in the light of "a changing world" and with the forthcoming mergers of WDA, Wales Tourist Board and the education body ELWa.

BBC Wales business editor Gareth Jones said some of the targets set out in 2002 still appeared realistic, but others less so.

According to Jones, the assembly government is on target to create 135,000 jobs by 2010. But there appeared to be a failure to boost overall Welsh wealth, he said.

Opposition politicians are likely to focus on the 2002 aim to raise average gross domestic product (GDP) - also known as gross value added (GVA) from 80% of the UK average to 90% over the next decade.