Hà Nội Highway in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY —  Authorities have proposed to name part of Hà Nội Highway, from the Sài Gòn Bridge to Thủ Đức intersection, Võ Nguyên Giáp Street. 

The section is nearly 7.8km long.

The reason why the city authority proposed renaming the street was in recognition of the great merits of General Võ Nguyên Giáp for the cause of national liberation and reunification.

At the same time, it shows the gratitude of the Party Committee, the city's government and People's Committee to the legendary general who made great contributions to the nation.

After the renaming, the road will be Hà Nội Highway – Võ Nguyên Giáp – Điện Biên Phủ, creating a connection between historical events and historical figures – the Điện Biên Phủ campaign and General Võ Nguyên Giáp.

So far, the process of naming and changing the names of streets has been carried out in line with the Government’s Decree 91, which rules that only the People’s Council, the legislative unit in each city and province, has the authority to decide the names of streets and public works.

Meanwhile, the executive unit of the People’s Committee is in charge of consulting related units on coming up with suggestions for those names.

Võ Nguyên Giáp, the first four-star general and the former commander-in-chief of the Vietnamese Army, died on October 4, 2013 at the 108 Army Hospital in Hà Nội. 

He started his career as a history teacher before joining the army to become a legendary general who led the Vietnamese Army to defeat the French and US invaders in 1954 and 1975, respectively. — VNS