First six communes in the southern province of Tay Ninh were recognised as new-style rural areas on February 2.

The qualified communes, which met all 19 criteria for new rural areas, are Phuoc Trach, An Tinh, Ben Cui, Binh Minh, Long Thanh Trung, and Thanh Binh.

In 2015, Tay Ninh plans to spend over 900 billion VND (42.8 million USD) to implement the national programme on building new rural areas across the locality.

The province hopes to have seven more communes that become new-style rural areas this year.

The National Target Programme on New Rural Development, launched in 2010, sets 19 criteria for new rural areas, covering infrastructure, production, living standards, income and culture, among others.-VNA