The southern province of Dong Nai is among the localities leading the national programme on new-style rural area building with 52 out of 136 selected communes satisfying all the 19 criteria so far, said Vo Van Chanh, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

Thanks to the programme, the living standards of rural people have much improved. Notably, the 2014 per capita income reached 37.6 million VND (1,790 USD) and 38.6 million VND (1,830 USD) in Xuan Loc district and Long Khanh town, respectively, making them recognised as district-level new style rural areas, Chanh said.

Last year , as many as 785 communes were estimated to become new-style rural areas. In addition, 1,285 communes were expected to meet 15-18 out of the 19 criteria for new rural development, and 2,836 others to satisfy 10-14 criteria, according to the programme’s steering committee.

More than 157.8 trillion VND (8.5 billion USD) sourced from the State budget, credits, and the community, was spent on implementing the programme.

Building infrastructure, improving production capacity, constructing public works, protecting the landscape and environment, and promoting local traditions and cultural identities are among the criteria of the programme, initiated by the Government in 2010.-VNA