Dien Thanh (Dien Chau): Investing in infrastructure development.

(Baonghean)In recent years, Dien Thanh commune (Dien Chau district, Nghe An province) has focused on investing in rural transportation and irrigation canals, reducing flooding and facilitating travel during the rainy season.

Mr. Le Xuan Tien, from Hamlet 11, Dien Thanh Commune, said: "Before the irrigation canals were built, it was very difficult during the rainy season. The water drained very slowly, and the village roads were flooded up to ankle-deep for an entire day before the water receded. Now, we no longer have to worry about flooding. Even the recent Typhoon No. 3, with its heavy rain, didn't cause any problems."

Mr. Vuong Kinh, head of Hamlet 11, happily said: "The biggest advantage is the high level of consensus among the villagers, so everything goes smoothly when we implement any projects. For example, mobilizing resources for the construction of concrete rural roads, irrigation canals, and collecting various funds... all went very smoothly, with most people supporting it. Currently, rural roads in the hamlet are fully covered, with funding from the State and the commune budget (30%), and the rest from contributions mobilized from the people."

In Hamlet 4, during the first six months of 2011 alone, each family contributed an additional 3 million VND to repair dilapidated roads and build some new ones. Ms. Ngo Thi Nga from Hamlet 4 said: "We participated in meetings, discussed how to proceed, and then the hamlet leader assigned responsibilities to each member. Income and expenditure were always transparent and clear, so most people agreed wholeheartedly."

Many inter-hamlet roads in Dien Thanh have recently been newly constructed.

Ms. Le Thi Huong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dien Thanh commune, said: Dien Thanh is a locality developing tourism, so the commune always prioritizes investment in rural transportation. Currently, the entire commune has nearly 60 km of concrete roads, reaching 70%, with 30% funded by the State and the commune budget, and the rest contributed by the people. For example, in hamlets 4, 11, 9, 10, etc., the village canals have also been concreted, mainly through the contributions of the people. Regarding inter-commune roads and irrigation canals, the commune budget covers 100%. To date, Dien Thanh has concrete-paved irrigation canals, 18 km of inter-commune rural roads, and several more sections are under construction.

Ms. Huong added: "Every year, the commune committee holds a meeting with all the village heads to discuss the matter. The villages then meet with members of the self-governing groups (on average, each self-governing group has at least 25 households or more) to discuss the design based on the committee's budget. After that, a public meeting is held where people can discuss, give their opinions, and vote..."

Dien Thanh commune is striving to complete the rural transportation criteria by 2012 and achieve the new rural development criteria by 2015. To achieve these targets, the commune is focusing on constructing the remaining roads. It continues to mobilize resources, with 50% contributed by the people and the remaining 50% from the commune's budget.

Thu Huong