Phu Quy island district, the central province of Binh Thuan, is mobilising all of its internal sources to complete building new-style rural areas by the end of 2015, according to Chairman of the Phu Quy People’s Committee Huynh Van Hung.

The official said to carry out the programme, which was started in 2011, authorities first imparted criteria of new-style rural areas to locals in order to raise their awareness and call for joint efforts.

While other districts of Binh Thuan began building new-style rural areas by constructing transport facilities, Phu Quy embarked on the work by providing houses for low-income earners.

To that end, a drive was launched to call for financial support from the public, and it has received enthusiastic response, Hung said.

The district has been given a facelift with more upgraded schools, hospitals and roads as well as larger forest coverage.

All people in Phu Quy have gained access to drinking water while almost all households have been equipped with standard sanitation facilities.

A number of cultivation models have also been piloted to help farmers expand their animal husbandry, thus ensuring adequate supply of food for islanders and reducing dependence on goods transported from the mainland, the chairman noted.

Hung said Long Hai and Tam Thanh communes have met 13 out of the 19 criteria and the remaining one, Ngu Phung, 14 standards.

In 2014, authorities will set up teams to supervise the building of its rural areas, further communication drives to raise public awareness of the programme, and concentrate efforts on criteria with high feasibility, the official added.

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 building new-style rural areas initiated by the Government in 2010.

As one of the 11 insular districts of Vietnam, Phu Quy is about 56 nautical miles southeast of Binh Thuan’s Phan Thiet city.

With a total area of over 16 square kilometres, it groups 10 islands, the largest of which is Phu Quy Island – the only one inhabited.-VNA