At a teleconference with the 63provinces and cities on July 6, the Deputy PM hailed efforts over thepast five years to mobilise social resources for the national targetprogramme on building new-style rural areas, especially regarding theconstruction of rural traffic facilities, in the context of limitedfunding from the State budget.
He said suchendeavours must be maintained as numerous difficulties still exist whilethe goals set for the next five years are ambitious.
He also requested ministries and sectors, particularly the Ministryof Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance, to seek waysaugmenting finances for the work, for example by sourcing capital fromrelevant national target programmes.
Between2010 and 2015, the length of rural roads was expanded by 217,433 km fromthe pre-2010 period while 186.19 trillion VND (8.66 billion USD) wasmobilised, equivalent to 183 percent of the total sum during theprevious ten years, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thereported.
More than 103,390 km of roads wererepaired and upgraded, increasing by 54 percent annually, from 2010 to2015. Meanwhile, 15,474 bridges were constructed and 11,503 others wererepaired.
Up to 44.68 percent of rural roads, or220,246 km out of the total 492,982 km, were paved with concrete. Therate of paved roads in midland, mountainous, central and CentralHighlands areas is much lower than in other areas, the official added.
He noted that the traffic sector aims to cover all communal-level roads with asphalt or concrete by 2020.
The national target programme on building new-style rural areas,initiated by the Government, set 19 criteria, aiming to boost ruralregions nationwide.
The list includes thedevelopment of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity,environmental protection, and the promotion of cultural values.-VNA