Ha Giang city completes new-style rural area building

Ha Giang city of the northernmost province of Ha Giang has been recognised as a new-style rural area, which was announced at a ceremony on August 3.

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ha Giang city Nguyen Danh Hung said his city is the political, economic, cultural, social and defence-security centre as well as the economic driving force of Ha Giang province.

After 10 years of building a new-style countryside, the city has obtained relatively comprehensive outcomes, he said, elaborating that agriculture has been developed towards higher productivity, quality and effectiveness and ensured food security; the proportions of industry and services have increased, helping to create jobs and raise income for residents; rural socio-economic infrastructure has been improved, giving a facelift to rural areas; while cultural, educational, healthcare and environmental aspects have met standards, helping to improve both material and spiritual lives of the local people.

People’s income from agriculture, industry, handicraft and rural services has been growing, thus contributing to poverty eradication, he noted.

With the viewpoint that building new-style rural areas has a starting point but never ends, Ha Giang city will step up the work in Phuong Do, Phuong Thien and Ngoc Duong communes so that these three localities will become advanced and model new-style rural areas by 2025, according to Hung.

On this occasion, the city’s Party organisation, administration and people were honoured with a third-class Labour Order in recognition of their outstanding achievements in building new-style rural areas between 2016 and 2020.

As a mountainous border locality with numerous socio-economic difficulties, Ha Giang province had a very low starting point in implementing the national target programme on building new-style countryside. In 2011, when the programme began, each commune in the province met just 3.5 out of 19 criteria for a new-style rural area.

However, thanks to efforts of the whole local political system and support from people, the programme has been carried out strongly in Ha Giang province over the last 10 years.

The national target programme on building new-styled rural areas, initiated by the Government in 2010, aims to develop rural regions across Vietnam. Its 19 criteria cover infrastructure, production, living standards, income and culture, among others.

Statistics unveiled at a conference in late May showed that more than 5,170 communes, or 58.2 percent of total communes nationwide, met standards for new-style rural areas.

The country aims to have at least 80 percent of all communes recognised as new-style rural areas by 2025, and the remaining communes should achieve at least 15 criteria.