The 2024 Óoc Om Bóc Festival's boat race, in what is now part of the new Cần Thơ City. VNA/VNS Photo

Officials across different departments of the newly enlarged Cần Thơ City, born from the merging of Cần Thơ City and the provinces of Hậu Giang and Sóc Trăng, have been highlighting their new tasks to facilitate the city’s growth not just in economy, but also in culture.

During a recent meeting with the Cần Thơ City People’s Committee [Administration], Nguyễn Văn Bảy, director of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that his department would continue to improve its organisational structure and examine its facilities and equipment, especially when it comes to the former provinces.

He also asked for city leaders to pay more attention to upgrading and repairing facilities.

The department would strengthen interdisciplinary coordination to best implement comprehensive programmes related to the development of culture, sports and tourism.

“The department will focus on planning activities to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and the National Day (September 2, 1945 - 2025) as well as organising the Óoc Om Bóc Festival - Ngo Boat Race in Cần Thơ in 2025 and other major festivals in the area.”

The city’s planning and projects in the areas of culture and art would be closely assessed and implemented in the coming time.

Nguyễn Văn Khởi, deputy chairman of Cần Thơ City People’s Committee. - VNA/VNS Photo

​Meanwhile, Nguyễn Văn Khởi, deputy chairman of Cần Thơ City People’s Committee, highlighted the importance of the Cần Thơ Institute for Socio-economic Development Studies in regional-level scientific researches and advising policies to strengthen the city’s comprehensive development in both economy and culture.

The merging of Sóc Trăng, Hậu Giang and Cần Thơ allowed the enlarged Cần Thơ City to be elevated to a new height, but with that should come measurable progress, Khởi said.

In the near future, the institute should focus more on surveying and listening to local businesses, in order to become a bridge between businesses and the authorities, and advise policies that would foster a healthy and developed business ecosystem for the city, he said.

The institute’s researches and assessments also needed to cover the former provinces of Sóc Trăng and Hậu Giang, and in the last quarter of the year it should work closely with related parties to organise the city’s annual economic forum.

Nguyễn Khánh Tùng, head of the Cần Thơ Institute for Socio-economic Development Studies, said that the institute would focus on carrying out research on Cần Thơ’s ease of access to land and how to improve that to draw in more investors, and how to enhance the management capability and public services of the city, among other issues.

It is estimated the enlarged Cần Thơ City will attract around 9 million tourists per year. VNA/VNS Photo

In another meeting with the People’s Committee on the city’s economic growth, Hà Vũ Sơn, director of the Department of Industry and Finance, said that his department would help Cần Thơ City quickly implement important projects that would contribute to the city’s growth, including the Ô Môn 4 thermal power plant and the Ô Môn gas pipeline Lot B project, as well as other biomass and wind power plants.

If these projects could run at full capacity, they would contribute greatly to the city’s development, he said.

Sơn also forecast that while the former Cần Thơ City welcomed around 6 million tourists every year, the new city could attract around 9 million.

Meanwhile, Dương Văn Ngoảnh, deputy director of the Department of Finance, said that the city would continue to implement its socio-economic development plan for 2025, leveraging its new efficiency from the streamlined government apparatus and two-tier local administration model.

It would cut and reform administrative procedures, create new advantages for investors and businesses and speed up the completion of key national projects, fully disbursing its public investment funding by the end of the year.

He added that the city was going to assist investors of key infrastructure, industrial clusters, housing and energy projects to make sure that they are completed on time, as well as dealing with lagging, wasteful projects.

It would also carry out solutions to stimulate demands and help businesses connect to export markets, with a focus on the city’s key products, in addition to exploiting the city’s high-quality workforce. VNS