A term marked by many achievements.

(Baonghean) - After four years of implementing the Resolution of the 4th Party Congress of Cua Lo town, the Cua Lo Town Party Committee has marked its success with the Prime Minister's Decision recognizing the town as a "Coastal Tourism City" and achieving many targets one year ahead of schedule...

Leaders of Cua Lo town inspect key tourism projects. Photo: Xuan Nhuong.

Cua Lo is one of the province's three key tourist destinations, possessing unique potential and advantages to develop the "non-polluting" industry into a leading economic sector. The Resolution of the 4th Party Congress of Cua Lo town, for the 2010-2015 term, set the goal of "striving to build the town into a green, clean, beautiful, prosperous, and civilized coastal tourist city by 2015." To achieve this goal, with the support of the central government and the province, comprehensive and holistic tasks and solutions have been implemented by the town's Party committee, government, and political system. Planning has been carried out systematically, meeting the requirements of a civilized and modern city with a convenient transportation system. National Highway 46, the Lam River - Cua Hoi - Nam Dan road, the road from Vinh city center to Cua Lo, and Provincial Road 535 (Vinh - Cua Hoi) have been upgraded. The urban road system, comprising 35 completed and named routes, includes major thoroughfares such as Binh Minh, Mai Thuc Loan, Nguyen Hue, Phan Sao Nam, and Nguyen Sinh Cung, which are 7-21 meters wide and paved with asphalt. The hotel and guesthouse system boasts nearly 265 establishments with 7,500 rooms, including dozens of 2-star to 4-star hotels and over 300 kiosks offering tourism services. Notably, the 5-star Muong Thanh – Cua Lo Hotel, currently under rapid completion and scheduled for operation during the 2015 tourist season, will be a highlight in the urban landscape of Cua Lo.

Alongside infrastructure development, Cua Lo Town focuses on innovating its communication, promotion, and advertising efforts to attract domestic and international tourists to Cua Lo. In 2014, the Standing Committee and the Executive Committee of the Cua Lo Town Party Committee successfully organized a meeting to promote and introduce Cua Lo beach in Hanoi; strengthened linkages with travel agencies and localities to develop tours, routes, and destinations within the province and nationwide; diversified tourism types and promotion; paid attention to improving the quality of tourism, cultural behavior, and communication in tourism through the public display of prices at kiosks and the effective implementation of the town's "5 no's" policy; and linked this with the development of Cua Lo branded products such as fish sauce, dried seafood, and souvenirs.

Through decisive and innovative solutions, Cua Lo tourism has made remarkable progress in the four years of the 2010-2015 term, continuing to expand its "brand" among domestic and international friends and tourists. In 2014, Cua Lo town attracted over 2.3 million visitors, making tourism a driving force and a key economic sector, accounting for 62% of the total production value. With these achievements, Cua Lo town met the conditions for the Prime Minister to sign Decision No. 2355/QD-TTg recognizing it as a "Cua Lo coastal tourism city" on December 25, 2014. This achievement bears the strong imprint of the 2010-2015 term, reaching the goal of the Resolution of the 4th Party Congress of Cua Lo town one year ahead of schedule: "Striving to build Cua Lo town into a green, clean, beautiful, prosperous, and civilized coastal tourist city by 2015" and Resolution No. 05/NQ-TU, dated September 26, 2006, of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee on building and developing Cua Lo town into a tourist city by 2015, with consideration to 2020.

Tourists visiting Ngư Island. Photo: Trần Hải

It can be said that, after four years of implementing the Resolution of the 4th Party Congress of Cua Lo Town, term 2010-2015, Cua Lo Town has achieved many targets one year ahead of schedule. The economic structure has moved in the right direction and met the congress's targets, with services and tourism accounting for 62%; industry and construction 31.5%; and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries 6.5%. The development of education and training has been a key focus of the Cua Lo Town Party Committee's leadership and guidance throughout the term. A notable achievement is the construction of schools meeting national standards, with 21 out of 22 schools across four levels (95.5%) achieving this standard (only one high school has yet to meet it). According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung, Deputy Head of the Education and Training Department of Cua Lo Town: Building and achieving the title of National Standard School is the most accurate measure, meeting the highest requirements for comprehensive standards in schools, from management to the quality of the teaching staff, the quality of education, and the facilities and pedagogical environment; contributing to improving the overall quality of education at all levels in the town. In 2014, the results of the 9th grade student excellence competition ranked 3rd, and the entrance exam to 10th grade high school ranked 2nd out of 21 districts, cities, and towns in the province. For many consecutive years, the Education and Training sector of Cua Lo Town has been rated excellent in all fields by the Department of Education and Training. Along with that, the town has also taken care of protecting the health of its people, with 100% of its wards meeting national standards for healthcare. The cultural and spiritual life of the people has improved significantly. One ward has achieved the title of "Cultural Ward". 81.7% of the blocks achieved the title of "Cultural Block"; 92% of families met the "Cultural Block" standard....

Another significant achievement during the 4th term was the town's successful reduction of the poverty rate to 3.9%, exceeding the target of 3-4% by 2015. To achieve this goal, the Town Party Committee assigned the Town People's Committee to concretize it into programs and projects, focusing on boosting economic development, with tourism and services as the spearhead, to create jobs; increasing labor export; and effectively implementing poverty reduction programs such as supporting the elimination of temporary housing and providing preferential loans to poor households. In addition, the town also focused on boosting economic development, with a focus on service, tourism, and trade within the town, creating conditions to increase income and improve the living standards of the people. At the beginning of the term, the average per capita income in Cua Lo Town was only 31.3 million VND/year, but by the end of 2014, it had reached 52 million VND/year, higher than the provincial average (34 million VND/year). Party building and the development of the political system were prioritized. Cua Lo Town fulfilled its congress targets, and annually, the town's government, Fatherland Front, and mass organizations at all levels achieved excellent ratings. The town's Party Committee maintained its "Strong" title. A breakthrough for Cua Lo Town during the 2010-2015 term was focusing on improving the quality of cadres within the political system. Deputy Head of the City Party Committee's Organization Department, Hoang Thanh Son, added: "Up to this point, the staff of officials and civil servants in the Party, State, Fatherland Front, and mass organizations at the city level total 149 people, including 17 with master's degrees; and 108 with bachelor's degrees. Regarding political qualifications, 71 have advanced and bachelor's degrees; and 67 have intermediate qualifications."

Comrade Phan Cong Luu, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Cua Lo Town Party Committee, affirmed: Over the past four years of implementing the Resolution of the 4th Town Party Congress, term 2010-2015, the town has basically completed the set goals and targets. 2014 marked the town's 20th anniversary, and Cua Lo Town received the First-Class Labor Medal from the President and the Decision recognizing it as a "Cua Lo Coastal Tourism City" from the Prime Minister. This serves as a great motivation for the Cua Lo Town Party Committee to continue leading and directing the completion of tasks in 2015, achieving even higher results than the goals and targets of the 4th Town Party Congress, term 2010-2015; successfully organizing Party Congresses at all levels; and creating a solid foundation for the successful implementation of the Resolution of the 5th Town Party Congress, term 2015-2020.

Minh Chi