Van Ninh District::

Striving to meet class IV urban area standards

Van Ninh District, Khanh Hoa Province is mobilizing resources to meet the criteria and standards of a class IV urban area by 2025.

Concentrating resources on infrastructure investment

According to the roadmap to 2025, the urbanization rate of Van Ninh District will reach about 60%, focusing on building Van Gia urban area as an administrative, political, cultural and scientific and technical center of the district, a part of Van Phong Economic Zone; and Dai Lanh as a tourist and service urban gateway to the north of the district; till 2030, the locality will achieve an urbanization rate of 70% 9 wards, including Van Gia as an administrative, political and urban construction center ward; and Dai Lanh as a class IV urban area.

A corner of Van NInh District.

To implement this roadmap, the District People's Committee has drastically implemented many synchronous solutions, focusing on investment in technical infrastructures. The total capital required for projects in the public investment portfolio serving urban development is more than VND16,800 billion.

15 important projects completed and underway in the district with a total investment of about VND2,300 billion include relocation and resettlement in eastern ​​Tran Hung Dao Street; District Bridge from Van Gia to Van Thang; a road from National Highway 1 to Dam Mon; Le Loi Street; Breakwater in Phu Hoi 2 residential area; Quang Hoi fishing wharf; Van Gia Town coastal embankment; Upgrading and expanding Van Gia General Port, etc. In addition, the total capital needed for projects from other funds is more than VND67,300 billion, but the projects in the portfolio have not been implemented.

According to Nguyen Thanh Son, Vice-Chairman of Van Ninh District People's Committee, the district is expected to basically meet the criteria and standards of class IV urban areas by 2025; be eligible to be proposed for recognition as a class IV urban area by 2026; and upgraded into a town by 2030.

Focus on meeting criteria

Currently, 15 standards not yet achieved to be a class IV urban include average economic growth rate in the last 3 years, population density, non-agricultural labor rate, Urban-level medical facilities per 1,000 people on average; percentage of permanent housing, etc.

According to Dam Ngoc Quang, Chairman of the District People's Committee, the district has developed a specific plan to implement the roadmap for building a class IV urban area. The district will focus on improving inner-city technical infrastructure and connecting roads; building an urban development program with urban planning as a priority task. Urban development tasks will be implemented after the general planning of Van Ninh new urban area is approved.

Reportedly, the district has included the list of 12 priority infrastructure projects funded by the budget with a total cost of more than VND24,000 billion. There are 13 off-budget projects implemented in the area with a total investment of more than VND724,000 billion. In addition, the locality is also implementing some projects under the public investment portfolio for the period 2021 - 2025 with a total capital of more than VND1,600 billion.

Currently, the need for capital to implement urban development and urban upgrading programs is very large while the capital budget is still limited. The locality recommends that the Provincial People's Committee soon implement framework infrastructure projects to create momentum for urban development such as the projects of Nguyen Hue Street and a new urban area of Van Ninh.

At a recent meeting with Van Ninh District People's Committee on the urban development and urban upgrading program, Nguyen Tan Tuan, Deputy Secretary of Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee requested the district to urgently achieve the standards for a class IV urban area and be upgraded from district to town by 2030. The locality also needs to soon complete its planning to call for investors; and coordinate closely with relevant departments and agencies to propose investments in river embankments and important traffic axes for public investment fund supplements in the next period.

T.N

Translated by N.T