Party General Secretary Tô Lâm (seventh from right), Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (seventh from left) and other high-ranking officials attend the ceremony at the new National Exhibition Centre in Hà Nội on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — A nationwide inauguration and ground-breaking ceremony for 250 construction projects was held on Tuesday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2), with total investment reaching VNĐ1.28 quadrillion (US$48.7 billion).

Held simultaneously at 80 locations across all 34 cities and provinces, the ceremony was attended by Party General Secretary Tô Lâm, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, along with other high-ranking officials.

Addressing the event, the PM expressed confidence that the inauguration will provide momentum for this year's 8 per cent GDP growth target, as well as double-digit growth in the future.

Several other major projects are set to be launched on National Resistance Day on December 19.

Recalling the spirit of the historic August Revolution, the Government leader called for boldness in completing strategic projects, particularly high-speed railway, nuclear power plants, and science-tech centres to bring the nation to the pinnacle of glory alongside the world powers as President Hồ Chí Minh desired.

A total of 89 projects were inaugurated and 161 others were launched at Tuesday’s ceremony. They cover a wide range of sectors, including transport, technical infrastructure, urban and social housing, agricultural and rural development, culture, sports, education, healthcare, national defence and industry.

Among them, 129 were funded by the State budget at VNĐ478 trillion ($18.2 billion), while 121 others were financed by other sources (including foreign direct investment, or FDI) at VNĐ802 trillion ($30.5 billion).

Notable inaugurated works include the 900sq.m National Exhibition Centre in Đông Anh, Hà Nội, the largest exhibition centre in Southeast Asia and among the world’s 10 largest, which was completed after only 10 months of construction.

They also include the Saigon Marina Tower in HCM City, a precursor to the development of an international financial hub in Việt Nam, the Rạch Miễu 2 Bridge linking Đồng Tháp and Vĩnh Long provinces, and Nghệ An Province’s Oncology Hospital.

Nghệ An Province’s Oncology Hospital will be the largest and most modern medical facility for cancer treatment in the north-central region. — VNA/VNS Photo Trịnh Duy Hưng

Other prominent projects include Viettel’s Research and Development Centre, focusing on high-tech equipment; the Gia Bình International Airport in Bắc Ninh Province; a resettlement area in Ninh Bình Province serving the North–South high-speed railway project; and various other traffic infrastructure nationwide.

Construction will also begin on 22 social housing projects with tens of thousands of apartments launched as part of the event. In addition, the nationwide campaign to eliminate substandard housing has already completed over 334,000 homes, reaching its target five years ahead of schedule as set by Resolution 42-NQ/TW (November 24, 2023) of the 13th Party Central Committee.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Construction Trần Hồng Minh said that over the past five years, investment in infrastructure development has received special attention from the Party and the State, and has been identified as one of the strategic breakthroughs to promote socio-economic development and strengthen national defence and security.

The inauguration and ground-breaking of projects on Tuesday is of particular significance, laying a solid foundation for the country to enter a new stage of development, said Minh.

PM Chính noted that Việt Nam is undertaking bold, decisive actions to achieve the targets set by the 13th National Party Congress and outlined in the 2021–25 socio-economic development plan, with an ultimate aim of realising the two centenary strategic goals of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2045.

Following the directions of the Party Central Committee and the National Assembly, the Government has directed ministries, departments and localities to carry out national strategies, including administrative restructuring, the two-tier local governance model, as well as important economic policies and infrastructure projects.

Rạch Miễu 2 Bridge linking the southern provinces of Đồng Tháp and Vĩnh Long. — VNA/VNS Photo Đức Tâm

Infrastructure is seen as a key to the country’s development progress, with 3,000km of expressways and 1,000km of coastal roads planned to be completed by the end of 2025. Other major transport projects also aim to increase regional connectivity.

The Government leader expressed gratitude for not only the country’s leadership, but also for the determination of public servants and officials, international partners, contractors, workers and the people to swiftly bring these projects to completion.

He urged the continuation of these efforts in upcoming projects, saying that “the earlier projects are implemented, the more effective they are at reducing the incremental capital-output ratio, avoiding cost overruns and delays, and bringing joy to the people, enthusiasm to society and development to localities and the country.”

At the ceremony, Party chief Lâm and PM Chính also presented the official recognition of the Party, State and Government for organisations and individuals with outstanding achievements in infrastructure development and preventing wastefulness, contributing to promoting socialism and national protection. — VNS

Party General Secretary Tô Lâm, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and a high-level delegation viewed a robot showcase at the opening of the new National Exhibition Centre in Hà Nội on August 19. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất