ĐÀ NẴNG — The Party Central Committee named Minister of Transport, Trương Quang Nghĩa, as secretary of the Đà Nẵng City’s Party Committee to replace Nguyễn Xuân Anh whom it dismissed last week as part of its public campaign against corruption.

Nghĩa, 59, who was born in Hội An City, Quảng Nam Province, held the post of deputy secretary of Đà Nẵng City’s Party Committee from 2008-10. Prior to that he served as general director of the Việt Nam Construction and Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation (VINACONEX). Nghĩa has also been Secretary of the Sơn La Province’s Party Committee, assuming the post of transport minister in 2016.

Anh’s firing less than two years after he took office comes just one month prior to an international summit of 21 heads of economies scheduled to take place in the central coastal city starting November 5.

The Central Inspection Committee found that Anh had made multiple decisions without consulting others, set a bad example by accepting a car and two houses as gifts from businesses, and displayed signs of nepotism, the Politburo said.

The Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission also issued a disciplinary reprimand against the chairman of the Đà Nẵng People’s Committee and Vice Chairman of Đà Nẵng People’s Council, Huỳnh Đức Thơ, over violations related to land and urban management.

On Friday, at the Central Committee’s sixth plenary meeting in Hà Nội, Poliburo member Phạm Minh Chính, secretary of the Party Central Committee (PCC) and head of the PCC Organisation Commission, said he hoped Anh’s successor would carry on with the city’s achievements over the past 20 years, and prepare it to host the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Summit.

Nghĩa also said he and the city would assign top priority to the APEC events and focus on the city’s socio-economic development. — VNS