HÀ NÔI – Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc described new-style rural area building in Hà Nội as comprehensive and impressive while addressing a conference reviewing the 10-year efforts by the capital on Saturday.

The national target programme on building new-style rural areas, initiated by the Government in 2010, has 19 criteria in different aspects, aiming to boost the development of rural regions.

According to Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyễn Đức Chung, six outlying districts have met all the criteria and earned new-style rural area recognition, namely Đan Phượng, Đông Anh, Thanh Trì, Hoài Đức, Gia Lâm and Quốc Oai.

A total 325, or 84.2 per cent of the city’s total 386 communes, have gained the status, surpassing the target of 80 per cent set for the end of 2020. Notably, Đan Phượng, Song Phượng and Liên Trung communes of Đan Phượng District have satisfied advanced criteria.

Over the last 10 years, municipal authorities have involved thousands of collectives, individuals, businesses and households in contributing to the building of new-style rural areas with more than VNĐ14.74 trillion (US$633.7 million) raised. In particular, some local residents have made donations worth more than VNĐ7.2 trillion in total to the programme.

However, Chung also admitted shortcomings, noting that Hà Nội hadn’t succeeded in attracting more investment into agricultural production, especially hi-tech farming and connectivity in production chains. There remained a gap in building new-style countryside among districts, while funding for the programme in the city was still mainly sourced from the State budget.

At the conference, PM Phúc applauded efforts by the city, where the new-style rural area building programme is carried out on the largest scale among all localities, with 17 outlying districts that consist of 386 communes covering more than 2,230 sq.km. and having a population of 4.1 million.

Requirements for new-style rural areas were very high, in terms of both quantity and quality, he noted, stressing the ultimate goal of the programme would be to improve people's lives.

Living standards of rural residents in the city had improved considerably and were higher than the national average, the Government leader said.

The PM said Hà Nội’s rural areas should lead in applying the achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He called on the city to develop satellite urban areas and associate new-style rural area building with urban development.

Additionally, rural areas needed to preserve the traditional culture of the millennium-old capital city, PM Phúc said.

He requested Ha Noi pay heed to environmental protection while building new-style countryside, noting it should use new technologies in waste and wastewater treatment, say no to plastic bags and disposable plastic products, ensure the reuse of agricultural waste, and form green belts around the capital’s central zone.

The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of the new-style rural area building programme, saying it has “the stature of a long-term strategic revolution".

As part of the conference, a fair was opened the same day to introduce agricultural products, handicrafts and other goods under the 'One Commune – One Product' programme of Hà Nội

The fair, featuring 170 booths, is a chance to popularise outstanding products of the city’s agriculture. It is also a platform for local businesses, associations and production facilities to step up partnerships in production, processing and sale of farm produce.

On the occasion, the municipal People’s Committee opened an exhibition on Hà Nội’s achievements in building new-style rural areas.

The fair and exhibition at the Cultural Friendship Palace ended yesterday.--VNS