Dinh Tien Dung (center), Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, inspects the implementation of the Ring Road No.4 Capital Region Project. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Hanoi is a highlight of Vietnam's economic growth. The capital city's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) grew by 2.9% in 2021 and 8.9% in 2022, higher than the national average. Hanoi's GRDP grew 6.5% in Q3. The nine-month State budget revenue is estimated at VND305.3 trillion (US$12.5 billion), fulfilling 86.5% of the full-year plan and up one-quarter year-on-year.

In addition to regular annual tasks, Hanoi is also tackling long-term strategic tasks. Most notably, on May 5, 2022, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong signed Resolution 15-NQ/TW on behalf of the Politburo, guiding Hanoi's future growth through 2045. To concretize it, the Hanoi Party Committee issued Action Plan 16-CTr/TU on August 26, 2022, detailing a number of key projects.

For the past year, Politburo Resolution 15 has been the root of the capital's growth. Under the guidelines, Hanoi is improving the quality of urban planning and regulatory structure to become a modern, cultured and civilized metropolis as expected.

From now until 2065, Hanoi will develop two satellite cities: the Northern Red River City, covering parts of Me Linh, Soc Son and Dong Anh districts, and the Western City, covering the areas of  Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park and Xuan Mai Town. The two sub-municipal cities will become the new socio-economic centers and reduce the population density in urban districts. The city and local authorities will also build five growth axes with the Red River as the green space center. Hanoi's development plan until 2050 will focus on and highlight the diversity of local relics that have contributed to the city's thousand-year history.

Thanks to the efforts of the Government, Hanoi authorities and ministries, the amended Capital Law was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on September 20 and is expected to bring practical values to the city. According to it, Hanoi has the authority to make its own decisions, remove all bottlenecks, and find new driving factors for its own and the nation's growth. The city should take responsibility for public investment projects, public-private partnership (PPP) projects, and key national infrastructure projects with a total investment of more than VND10 trillion (US$408 million), such as the Red River bridges and 10 urban railway lines. In particular, we need a mechanism that allows the capital city authorities to raise an ODA funding package to ensure the completion of all 10 railway projects and their simultaneous operation. The city authorities must also be responsible for selecting and clearing sites for the relocation of hospitals and universities, rather than letting them work on their own plans.

Eliminating bottlenecks will definitely provide opportunities for Hanoi, neighboring localities, and relevant units to achieve better results.

Culture as a new core

Implementing the resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Party Committee, the authorities and the people of Hanoi have carried out tasks by taking socio-economic growth as the center, culture as the spiritual attribute, and national defense as the cardinal task.

A dragon dance performance on October 1 during the Hanoi Autumn Carnival. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Hanoi is known as one of the few capital cities with a long history of more than 1,000 years. On February 22, 2022, the Hanoi Party Committee issued a resolution to regulate the development of cultural industry until 2045, based on the conclusion of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the National Cultural Conference a year earlier. The city has set three priorities for 2022-2025 and the following years: health, education and culture. Accordingly, Hanoi will spend a total of more than VND90 trillion ($3.7 billion) on the three priority sectors. The package includes VND14 trillion ($572.6 million) to renovate and preserve nearly 580 relics in poor condition. Funds are also earmarked for several key projects, such as the restoration of Kinh Thien Palace, the reconstruction of King Ngo Quyen Temple, and the preservation of the ancient village of Duong Lam and the ancient citadel of Son Tay.

The Hanoi government also received approval from the Party Central Committee and the National Assembly to build the Ring Road No.4 – Capital Region. Work on the project started on June 25, and now nearly 90% of the required land has been cleared and 14 sub-projects are underway. Once completed, the Ring Road will not only propel Hanoi forward but also lift other provinces and cities in the north and throughout the country.

The authorities have also adopted many decisive solutions to solve urgent problems and meet people's expectations, such as approving the Public Asset Management Program, tackling more than 700 backlogged projects, strengthening power decentralization to district and commune authorities, and speeding up the renovation of downgraded residential buildings.

In addition to socio-economic development and national defense and security, the city has made good progress in social welfare activities under the principle of leaving no one behind. By 2025, we hope there will be no more poor households in the city.

With great authority comes great responsibility

There will be challenges and difficulties for Hanoi in the near future. Among them is the fulfillment of socio-economic growth tasks in 2023 and beyond.

To accomplish these tasks, the City Party Committee must reform the way Party members and government officials perform their duties and stay closely connected to the people. We must take the people as the root and center of all activities, and develop the city's transparent, capable, and efficient Party organizations. Authorities at all levels must remain disciplined, highly responsible, proactive, creative, and progressive. In particular, we must implement Directive 24-CT/TU issued by the Standing Committee of the Hanoi Party Committee on August 7, 2023, which tightens the internal rules for the fulfillment of tasks in all Party organizations. The directive reshapes the mindset and awareness of all Party members and government officials about their professionalism and spirit. Based on the guidelines, these people can no longer ignore their duties and responsibilities. More importantly, the directive makes each and every Party member, government official, and staff member take a step forward and accept the challenges and the results that come with them.

Government agencies at all levels must follow General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's directive in this year's Lunar New Year message. Officials must strive to build a cultured, modern, and civilized capital city and show more patriotism, dignity, determination, and creativity to overcome difficulties and challenges and accomplish tasks.

We will celebrate the 70th anniversary of Hanoi Liberation Day on October 10, 2024. This is the milestone that marks Hanoi's long road of development from wartime to economic reform, global integration, and remarkable achievements. We must continue to make better efforts and achieve good results for this occasion. Achieving the goals, indicators, and tasks and creating new values to improve people's living conditions and economic performance will be the most meaningful gift for all of us.