Following the restructuring of 34 provinces and centrally-governed cities, the number of commune-level administrative units has fallen by 67%, from 10,035 to 3,321. Communes and wards that do not yet meet prescribed standards could be reorganised in the coming period.
As many as 604 out of total 1,424 communes, or 42.4 percent, in the south central coastal and Central Highlands regions have been recognised as new-style rural areas, according to the Central Coordination Office on New Rural Development.
As many as 5,458 communes across the country have been recogised as new-style rural areas so far this year, up 620 compared to the end of 2018, according to the Central Coordination Office on New Rural Development.
Lang Son city in northern Lang Son province, and Sa Dec city in southern Dong Thap province have been recognised for completing their 2017 new-style rural area building tasks.
The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho aims to complete building new-style rural areas by 2020, according to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Anh Thuy.
All the communes in the Central Highlands have been linked with the national power grid, according to the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands.
Experts say poverty reduction programmes have had positive impacts on the living standards of ethnic people, but the challenge of sustaining the gains remains.
Authorities of the central province of Quang Tri granted certificates recognising another 15 communes as new-style rural areas at a local ceremony on March 17.
The southern province of Soc Trang reported that 19 out of 80 communes in the province have completed all 19 criteria to be considered as new rural areas, equal to 23.75 percent.
Nearly 100 localities and organisations were honoured for remarkable achievements in the rural modernisation drive at a ceremony in Hanoi on December 6.
