Solutions to "pave the way" for the development of Vinh City.

(Baonghean) - The overall goal for the next term (2015-2020) of the Vinh City Party Committee has been stated in the Political Report: “To enhance the leadership capacity of the Party Committee, build a strong political system, ensure social order and safety, promote the combined strength, and build Vinh City into a rapidly developing, sustainable, modern, and civilized city, soon becoming the center of the North Central region in 10 fields: finance, trade, tourism, science and technology, information technology, high-tech industry, health, culture, sports, and education and training.”

That overall objective is concretized in the 5-year socio-economic development plan (2016-2020) of Vinh City with 5 key tasks, 48 ​​specific targets, and 7 main solutions. From these 7 main solutions, focus must be placed on breakthrough solutions to accelerate the socio-economic development of Vinh City.

Steel sheet production at Nghi Phu Industrial Park (Vinh City). Photo: SM

A groundbreaking and pioneering solution is to effectively mobilize and utilize resources for socio-economic development. Vinh City has many advantages to attract and generate resources; it has great potential for economic development, especially in trade and services. In particular, Vinh City has an abundant human resource base, being home to large enterprises, universities, training centers, and research institutions at the provincial, central, and regional levels. The team of engineers, experts, scientists, managers, and technical workers operating in Vinh City in various fields will create a significant resource for the city's development by harnessing the potential of this workforce.

The exploitation and utilization of resources must be based on restructuring the city's economy towards industrialization and modernization, linked to the urbanization process. Resolution 26 of the Politburo has identified the need to develop Vinh City into a center of the North Central region in 10 areas, along with Cua Lo, to become an economic growth pole and a leading growth engine of the province. To achieve this goal, a strong shift in economic structure across all sectors is necessary. By 2020, the city's economy must achieve the following targets: a growth rate of 12.5-13.5%, a 33% share of industry and construction, 66% of services, and only 1% of agriculture. In the following years, the economic structure must continue to shift so that Vinh City becomes a regional center for industry, trade, and services. Economic restructuring towards modernization is essential for attracting and utilizing resources effectively.

To effectively exploit and utilize resources, synchronized mechanisms and policies are needed, the most important of which are social mobilization mechanisms and policies. In recent years, the city has implemented very effective mechanisms and policies to mobilize resources from the people, such as policies to encourage people to contribute to infrastructure development, urban beautification, and new rural construction. The requirement for the future is that mechanisms and policies to attract resources must focus on economic development as the central priority. Mechanisms and policies are needed to attract resources on a broader scale, not only within the city but also mobilizing resources from various sectors and localities in the province, the country, and the region. Specific mechanisms and policies are also needed to attract the city's abundant human resources working in many fields, especially science and technology.

Another crucial breakthrough solution is to strengthen domestic and international cooperation, leveraging the advantages of a central urban area in regional linkages. In particular, close cooperation with provinces experienced in attracting investment, such as Binh Duong and others, is essential. Linking with Type I urban cities is also necessary to learn from their experiences and cooperate in resource exploitation. Regional linkages aim to maximize the potential and strengths of each urban area in the North Central region for collaborative development. Effective foreign relations and information dissemination are crucial to attract foreign investment and create resources for the city's development. Attracting resources for the development of Vinh City should extend beyond its current boundaries to include the expanded area as approved by the Prime Minister.

The effective exploitation and utilization of resources is crucial for enhancing the leadership and management capacity of the administrative apparatus. Therefore, administrative reform is one of the breakthrough solutions for the city to develop in proportion to its potential. Implementing Resolution No. 03 of the City Party Committee (22nd term) on "Strengthening administrative reform in the city from 2011 to 2015," administrative reform has achieved significant results, but many issues still need to be addressed. In the near future, the city must effectively implement the administrative reform program for the period 2016-2020, focusing on building a team of officials and civil servants with sufficient professional capacity and public service ethics, and promoting a high sense of responsibility in performing their duties. The application of a set of indicators for monitoring and evaluating administrative reform at the City People's Committee and the wards and communes should also be implemented. Promote the application of information technology in state management, especially in the implementation of public administrative processes and procedures.

The upgrading of Vinh City to a Class I urban area has created fundamental favorable conditions for its development into an economic and cultural center of the North Central region. However, administratively, Vinh City remains a district-level administrative unit. This reality has created a conflict between the requirement to develop the city to the level of a Class I urban area and the constraints of mechanisms and policies applicable to district-level administrative units. Consequently, two types of specific mechanisms and policies have been proposed: those submitted to the Prime Minister for decision and those issued by the Provincial People's Committee. To date, the mechanisms and policies submitted to the Prime Minister have not yet been decided because they are awaiting the development of general mechanisms and policies for Class I urban areas by central ministries and agencies. The enactment of the Law on Local Government is necessary to establish a legal basis for resolving this issue.

Regarding local policies, the Provincial People's Committee has issued several mechanisms and policies on planning management, construction, investment, and financial and budgetary management to create favorable conditions for the development of Vinh City. However, to date, obstacles related to these mechanisms and policies have not been fundamentally resolved. For Vinh City to develop rapidly and soon become the economic and cultural center of the North Central region, it is necessary to continue requesting the province and the central government to issue specific mechanisms and policies for a Type I urban area. Most importantly, it is crucial to create a mechanism for the city's autonomy, ensuring its proactive approach in managing and implementing socio-economic development tasks.

The Prime Minister issued Decision No. 52/QD-TTg on January 14, 2015, approving the adjustment of the general planning of Vinh City, Nghe An province, until 2030 with a vision to 2050. This provides a very favorable basis for Vinh City to develop faster and more comprehensively. Based on this general plan, many other plans need to be developed and adjusted, such as: zoning plans according to 5 functional zones, detailed plans for 25 wards and communes at a scale of 1/500, urban spatial development plan for Vinh, infrastructure construction plans, transportation projects, parks and green spaces, etc. Effective management of these plans is a crucial solution to ensure the rapid and sustainable development of Vinh City.

NGUYEN XUAN SINH

(Chairman of the People's Committee of Vinh City)