Actively building a civilized urban area in Thai Hoa town.

A view of the new urban area in Long Son ward, Thai Hoa town. Photo: Quang Huy

Building a "Ward that meets urban civilization standards"

Returning to Long Son ward today, we are amazed by the modern urban space with new, wide, and beautiful transportation routes, along with many urban and commercial projects that have been and are being completed. Sharing about the local development, Comrade Nguyen Van Phuc – Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Long Son ward – said that in the development planning orientation, Long Son ward is identified as one of the important "core" urban areas of Thai Hoa.

Therefore, in recent times, the town has prioritized attracting investment in a number of urban, commercial, and transportation infrastructure projects associated with greening projects. Among these, several projects have become highlights of urban development, such as: the Shophouse commercial and supermarket complex; the Truong Thang commercial and service area, car and motorbike showroom; the Toyota product introduction and repair/warranty service center; the Tay Nghe An Honda car dealership; and the Hung Cuong commercial, service, restaurant, and event complex…

Simultaneously, there are investment projects in production, contributing to job creation and facilitating the development of trades and commercial services for the people, aiming to increase the proportion of the service economy from 33% to 43% in the economic structure of Long Son ward. Long Son ward has two areas: the outer area (formerly Long Son ward), where people mainly work in services and are gradually becoming accustomed to urban life; and the inner area (formerly Nghia Hoa commune), where people mainly engage in agricultural production, maintain a rural lifestyle, and have a sparsely populated population.

The center of Thai Hoa town. Photo: Quang Huy

Based on this reality, the entire political system mobilized to conduct propaganda and organize the signing of commitments with households not to encroach on the corridors and sidewalks of the streets. Urban beautification was assigned to the Fatherland Front and other mass organizations, who directly mobilized members, citizens, and residents to renovate houses, gardens, gates, and alleyways, in conjunction with building self-managed streets, creating a civilized urban lifestyle in each household and each alleyway.

Through review and self-assessment, the ward has currently achieved 50 out of 52 criteria under the nine standards for "Urban Civilization Standard Ward" as stipulated in Decision No. 04/2022/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister (the criteria for average per capita income and the percentage of people participating in health insurance have not yet been met). Long Son Ward is determined to complete all criteria for "Urban Civilization Standard Ward" by 2023.

For Hoa Hieu ward, which was recognized as achieving urban civilization standards in 2016, the task is to continue consolidating and improving the quality of the criteria. Hoa Hieu ward actively promotes public awareness campaigns to encourage residents to strive for common benefits in maintaining a civilized urban environment, from voluntarily removing awnings and clearing traffic safety corridors to contributing money to build flag-lined streets, planting trees, creating flowerbeds, eliminating garbage dumps, building civilized streets, and developing infrastructure and cultural and sports facilities.

In particular, Hoa Hieu focuses on building cultured individuals through emulation movements such as "All people unite to build a cultured life," "All people protect national security," and "Prevent crime and drug abuse"; building cultured people in Hoa Hieu in their behavior, business practices, and adherence to the law...

Thai Hoa street at night. Photo: Quang Huy

Currently, two other wards, Quang Tien and Quang Phong, are also decisively directing appropriate steps and methods to complete the criteria for urban civilization. Quang Tien ward is strengthening land management and construction management to ensure compliance with planning; mobilizing resources to repair and improve the market, upgrade internal ward roads; and installing a community camera system. Quang Tien ward is also implementing and replicating several effective economic models to increase income for residents...

Sustainable implementation of criteria

The development orientation for Thai Hoa town by 2025 is to become a type III urban area that is "green, clean, beautiful, and safe".central urban area of ​​Northwest Nghe An provinceTherefore, one of the key tasks that the town's Party Committee and government have focused on recently is building urban civilization. Alongside directing the four wards to build "Wards meeting urban civilization standards," the town is also implementing nine criteria for achieving urban civilization standards at the town level.

Thai Hoa has received approval from the Provincial People's Committee for the adjustment of the town's general planning and a construction planning project; and the town's land use planning until 2030. The town is also coordinating the preparation of construction planning projects for the existing urban center (including Hoa Hieu, Long Son, and Quang Phong wards); the expanded urban development area (including Quang Tien ward and Tay Hieu and Nghia Tien communes); the Dong Hieu urban area within Thai Hoa town; and the planning for the ecological zone on both sides of the Hieu River…

The mixed-use urban and commercial development project in Long Son ward, Thai Hoa town, is gradually nearing completion. Photo: Mai Hoa

Sharing his views on the town's planning, Mr. Pham Chi Kien, Chairman of the Town People's Committee, stated that the strategy and vision are clearly defined and have a basis for implementation, meeting the requirements of urban development as a central hub in the Northwest region and a city directly under the provincial administration. The town is also promoting investment attraction, creating favorable conditions and supporting investors in implementing projects and creating jobs; while simultaneously directing the shift in crop and livestock structure; developing high-tech and clean agricultural production; and promoting labor export to increase people's income.

Besides the efforts and achievements, through monthly and quarterly assessments, the Standing Committee of the Thai Hoa Town Party Committee also frankly pointed out many difficulties and limitations, requiring the Party Committee, the government, and the entire political system to take more decisive action. In particular, they demanded that there be no cases of encroachment or illegal use of public land and public works; no encroachment on roads and sidewalks for business and trading, and no violations of traffic safety regulations; an increase in the percentage of households using clean water; an increase in people's income; and the creation of "green, clean, beautiful, and civilized" urban spaces…

Leaders of Thai Hoa town inspect the progress of urban development projects. Photo: Mai Hoa

A major challenge currently is the limited resources available for building a civilized urban area, coupled with a restricted budget. This leads to slow progress in urban planning and infrastructure investment; urban planning lacks uniformity; illegal private housing construction continues; and some roads remain unnamed. These issues were analyzed by the Standing Committee of the Thai Hoa Town Party Committee, which discussed proactive solutions based on mobilizing all available resources from the budget.attracting investmentSocialization and citizen participation are essential. Based on this, we strive to successfully implement the contents of building a civilized urban environment while ensuring sustainability.