Hanoi has set a goal to complete the construction of new-style rural areas in a sustainable and effective way by 2025, according to the Municipal People's Committee program on new-style rural area development in association with agricultural restructuring and rural economic development for 2021-2025.

According to the program, between 2023 and 2025, Hanoi will focus on accelerating progress in the restructuring of the agricultural sector and renewing its growth model through the promotion of clean, organic, and ecological agriculture.

Dan Phuong, a suburb of Hanoi, is getting a facelift after the National Target Program for the Construction of New-Style Rural Areas was implemented here. Photo: Trong Tung/The Hanoi Times

The municipal government will also prioritize resources and push forward efforts to speed up the construction of new-style rural districts and towns, which are among the 14 major tasks and measures set by the Municipal Party Committee for the year 2025.

Nguyen Xuan Dai, Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, told The Hanoi Times that the city's progress in building new-style rural areas is positive.

"The program has 33 criteria, and we have achieved 23. By the end of 2023, all communes in the capital met the standards for new-style rural areas, fulfilling the targets set by the program for 2021-2025," he said. Last year, the city recognized 61 more communes as advanced rural areas, bringing the total number of such communes in Hanoi to 172, exceeding the set target of 16 communes for the period to 2025," Dai said.

He stressed that to achieve the 2025 goal, all districts will have to meet the standards for new-style rural areas, and 20% of them will have to be advanced new-style rural areas. "To qualify as a new-style rural area, a place must meet 19 criteria related to infrastructure, irrigation, electricity, environment, income, education, health care, social security, and culture," Dai added.

Hanoi also aims to build a modern, democratic, and civilized countryside with socio-economic infrastructure synchronized with urban standards, a clean and green environment, and a healthy and rich cultural life with national identity, he said, noting that the city is committed to promoting the modernization of rural areas to narrow the development gap with urban areas.

In the roadmap to the end of 2025, the city will qualify Ba Vi and My Duc districts as new-style rural areas this year. These are the capital's two most backward localities, especially in terms of socio-economic infrastructure, the director noted. 

Thuan Quang Village, Duong Xa Commune in Hanoi's Gia Lam District, is a model of new-style rural construction. Photo: VGP

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan told Hanoimoi that agriculture and new-style rural construction in the capital need to be different from other provinces and cities.

Hanoi's cultural value, historical identity, and imprint should be translated into local products, Hoan said, adding that these features seem invisible but are important to build brands and increase the value of local goods.

According to Nguyen Van Chi, deputy head of the Hanoi Coordination Office of the New Rural Area Construction Program, Hanoi will focus on developing rural agricultural infrastructure, speeding up agricultural mechanization, and fostering ancillary industries and logistics services, while promoting rural tourism and handicraft village tourism in connection with the construction of new-style rural areas.

"Hanoi's rural areas are home to a large number of handicraft villages, where large-scale, high-tech agriculture and concentrated agricultural zones could be created for the city to cement its position as an important center in this field," Chi told The Hanoi Times. He noted that Hanoi would focus on accelerating the restructuring of the agricultural sector and renewing the growth model in conjunction with the development of clean, organic, and ecological agriculture.

The city also aims to have at least 2,000 One Commune One Product (OCOP) products. Other goals are to have over 95% of workers with regular jobs, 75-80% of workers with education, and 55-60% of workers with degrees and certificates. In principle, there will be no poor households according to the city's standards. The coverage of health insurance will be more than 95%.

A consumer shops at the Hanoi Farm Produce Fair 2023 in Ung Hoa District. Photo: Hoai Nam/The Hanoi Times

The city will also ensure that 100% of the communes meet national standards for health care. All villages will have cultural houses and sports fields. 3G/4G/5G or broadband internet will be available in all communes. The percentage of households with access to clean water and food safety will reach 100%.

Hanoi's moves align with the National Target Program on Building New Style Rural Areas, launched by the Vietnamese government in 2010 to promote rural development nationwide. In March 2022, a new set of criteria for new-style rural communes and another for advanced rural communes were issued for 2021-2025.

According to the decision, a new-style commune must meet 19 criteria in planning, socio-economic infrastructure, economy and production, socio-culture and environment, among others. The criteria are specified for different regions.

Meanwhile, an advanced new-style rural commune must meet all criteria of a basic new-style rural area and higher standards across all 19 criteria, according to the decision.

Vietnam now has more than 6,000 communes out of nearly 8,200 that meet the standards of new-style rural areas, reaching 73%, while more than 1,300 communes have been recognized as advanced new-style rural communes and 176 others have met the standards of model new-style rural areas. More than 260 communes in 58 sub-national provinces and cities have completed the construction of new-style rural areas.