Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi established an ambitious goal for the city’s entire political system to have at least 70 percent of all communes recognised as new-style rural area by 2020.

According to reports at the committee’s February 7 conference reviewing rural area modernization, thus far 109 communes in the city have met all 19 criteria required to be named a new-style area, equal to 28.23 percent of the total number.

Another 156 communes have fulfilled 14-18 criteria, 115 communes satisfying 10-13 criteria and six communes completing 5-9 criteria. On an average basis, each commune has met 15 criteria, a great improvement from 2010 when the rate was only two.

Addressing the conference, Pham Quang Nghi, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, said the building of new-style rural areas is a great cause of the city and it carries a long-term and important significance.

While appreciating the achievements the city has achieved over the past four years, he urged more mechanisms to allow the public’s greater involvement in the cause, from plan making to implementing and monitoring, so that they voluntarily contribute resources to building new rural areas.

Nghi also emphasised on infrastructure improvement, the application of technology to production, environment protection and vocational training, adding that the city aims to raise per capita income to between 40-45 million VND (around 2,000 USD) each year by 2020.-VNA