Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has signed decisions recognising two districts of Quoc Oai and Gia Lam in the capital city of Hanoi as new-style rural areas.

Newly-build Dang Xa kindergarten in Gia Lam district

During the past eight years, Quoc Oai district has upgraded more than 766 km of rural roads and 80 km of irrigation canals. It has also built new schools and communal houses, along with setting up 15 garbage collection points and two garbage and wastewater treatment facilities.

In 2018, total agro-forestry-fishery production value of the district reached over 1.46 trillion VND (about 62.75 million USD), accounting for 15.2 percent of the district’s economic structure.

Notably, all rural families have access to clean water and health insurance coverage hits 86.56 percent. The rate of poor households has been reduced to 0.46 percent.

Meanwhile, Gia Lam district recorded an average growth rate of 12.7 percent in the 2017-2018 period.

Annual per capita income of the district increased to 48.9 million VND in 2018 from just 17.9 million VND in 2010.

In nearly nine years, the district spent more than 5.01 trillion VND on building new-style rural areas, including 550 billion VND mobilised from social sources. About 227 km of rural roads, 68 km of canals and 151 education establishments were built and repaired in the period.

The National Target Programme on New-style Rural Area Building, initiated by the Government in 2010, sets 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics, and defence, aiming to boost rural regions of Vietnam.

The list of criteria includes the development of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmental protection, and the promotion of cultural values.