Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (centre) at the ceremony for completing the Nam Cầu Bính intersection in Hải Phòng City on Sunday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HẢI PHÒNG — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Sunday agreed there should be a special mechanism for the northern port city of Hải Phòng to further its development.
At a working session with leading officials in the city, he assigned ministries and authorities to study and help the Government work out such plans at the earliest possible date.
The PM highlighted that Hải Phòng achieved the highest Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth in Việt Nam with 14.9 per cent while that of the whole country was only 3.82 per cent. He also spoke highly of the city’s creative and resolute measures in the COVID-19 fight.
The leader also stressed authorities must not lax in the fight which must be carried out along with the socio-economic development.
About strategic development strategies, PM Phúc pointed out that sea-based economy, high-level industry and tourism must be the three strategic pillars of the city from now to 2045, adding that it must become a smart and modern city.
As for the tasks for  the rest of this year, the leader said the city must shoulder the heavy responsibility of the pioneer and an important growth leader of the country. The city’s development goals had not changed even in the context of the pandemic, he stressed.
PM Phúc recommended that Hải Phòng implement concerted measures so as to create a more favourable business environment and push up the private economic sector. He also expressed his belief that with its firm determination and creativeness, the city would achieve the goal of fighting the COVID-19 and boosting socio-economic development at the same time.
The city should also pay attention to the organisation of the Party congresses at various levels towards the 13th National Congress of the Party, the leader concluded.

Road opening

Earlier the same day, PM Phúc attended a ceremony held to officially open the Nam Cầu Bính intersection in Hải Phòng City. The key project aims to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Hải Phòng Liberation Day (May 13, 1955-May 13, 2020).

The construction began in September, 2018 with a total investment of VNĐ1.5 trillion (US$64.3 million).

It included the construction of a 190m-long tunnel connecting Bạch Đằng road and Hồng Bàng road with two lanes. Each lane is 0.75m wide.

The same day, PM Phúc attended a launch ceremony for a project to preserve an historical relic in Cao Quỳ Village, Liên Khê Commune, Thuỷ Nguyên District in Hải Phòng.

The project, which also includes the construction of a 3.5-km road linking a highway to the 30,700-sq.m relic site, costs VNĐ427 billion (US$18.6 million). The site will house an exhibition centre with many historical objects locally unearthed to be put on show.
Speaking at the ceremony, PM Phúc recalled the three glorious military victories against foreign invaders on the Bạch Đằng river section which runs through the locality. He described the one in 1288 against the Yuan-Mongol army as representing the power of the people’s war, heroism, staunch will and solidarity of the Vietnamese nation.
The Cao Quỳ relic, together with others related to the Trần Dynasty (1225-1400) in nearby Quảng Ninh and Hải Dương provinces, serves as a source of invaluable material for deeper research into Việt Nam’s history, the leader said.
He also spoke highly of the important role and work by historians and archaeologists for their discovery of the site and studies into the part of history which it relates to.
The site was recently discovered with many trunks planted on the bed inclined to the upper reaches of the river. Historians believe this is the tactic of the Trần Dynasty using iron-headed poles to defeat the fleet of the invading Yuan-Mongol army. — VNS