Administration reforms have significantly contributed to the city's socio-economic development over the last decade, HCM City officials said at a conference on Oct. 26.

The conference aimed to review progress made in the reform process over the last 10 years and set out orientations and tasks for the next ten years.

"Administrative reforms that have been taking place in the city has contributed partly to the sharp GDP growth in recent years," said Nguyen Thanh Tai, deputy head of the HCM City People's Committee.

As many as 4,712 documents have been checked and 2,566 considered obsolete have been removed, said Dang Cong Luan, a municipal administrator. As of now, 17 of 24 districts have finished cancelling 2,940 of 8,488 documents issued at the district level, he added.

Luan said during the period under review, about 1,762 administrative procedures were streamlined, accounting for more than 72 percent which was about 30 percent higher than the set target.

All departments and districts have efficiently implemented the one-stop shop policy, to facilitate the work of citizens as well as enterprises, he said.

The conference also focused on modernising the city's administrative apparatus. In the coming decade, the city will increasingly apply information technology in its administrative management processes, and building up e-government while effecting significant cuts in red tape, officials said.

It was disclosed at the conference that during the 2001-10 period, the city sent 195,071 officials to attend in-country training courses in administrative management. Another 2,479 officials were sent abroad to hone their administrative skills in short-term courses, while 716 others were sent to pursue Masters and Docterage programmes in foreign universities./.