Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi plans to spend morethan 6.74 trillion VND (297.3 million USD) on building new-style rural areas in2017, according to the municipal Party Committee’s steering board foragricultural development and new countryside building.
Covered by the city’s budget, about 2.24trillion VND (98.8 million USD) of the sum is earmarked for supportingproduction activities and building and upgrading transport and irrigationfacilities, schools, cultural establishments, clinics, and markets.
The capital city is aiming to have an additional22 communes and two districts recognised as new-style rural areas in 2017.
It hopes the average per capita income in ruralareas will increase to 38 million VND (over 1,670 USD) this year while the rateof agricultural labourers in training will rise to 46-52 percent.
Hanoi also aims to have 91 percent of waste inrural areas collected and treated in accordance with Vietnam’s environmentalstandards.
Building new-style rural areas is a nationaltarget programme initiated by the Vietnamese Government in 2010. The programmesets up 19 criteria with specific targets in planning, socio-economicinfrastructure, economy and production, as well as politics, culture, societyand environment.
According to the Hanoi Department of Agricultureand Rural Development, as of September 2016, the city had 212 new-style ruralcommunes, an increase of 11 from 2015.
Under a decision issued by the Prime Minister inApril 2016, a district must have all communes meeting all of the criteria to bedesignated a new-style rural district. Previously, those with 75 percent ofcommunes satisfying the 19 criteria were eligible.
As of September 2016, 2,045 communes, accountingfor 23 percent of nationwide communes, were recognised as new-style ruralareas, along with 24 district-level localities. Vietnam aims to have 50 percentof all communes meet all the requirements by the end of 2020.-VNA