Part 1: Building up the foundation of a first-class city
Over the past years, Binh Duong mobilized all resources for infrastructure development and urban rejuvenation. Thanks to this effort, the province has so far basically fulfilled overall targets of the urban development program for the 2011-2015 period, contributing to creating the foundation for it to become a first-class city and a centrally-controlled city by 2020.
Achievements
As of 2015, Binh Duong had 1 city, 4 towns and 4 districts with 91 wards, communes and townships, in which there were 1 second-class city and 4 fourth-class cities in the southern region. The province’s density of population was 695 people/km2, mainly in the southern region. The whole province had a total of over 1.97million people with the ratio of urbanization reaching 76.9%. The province’s economic structure was developed towards industry-services and agriculture with respective proportions of 60.3%, 37% and 2.7%.
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Over the past time, Binh Duong obtained achievements in urban development. In picture: TDM city
The province also basically completed its construction planning and issued regulations on urban planning and architecture management. TDM city reached criteria of a first-class city while Thuan An and Di An towns were recognized as third-class cities. Meanwhile, provincial Industrial-Service and Urban Complex was built with modern and synchronous infrastructure, ensuring uninterrupted connection with the region and the southern key economic zone. The formation of provincial Integrated Administration Center in TDM city’s 2 wards of Hoa Phu and Phu Tan also step by step affirmed the role of a central city and it together with district-level administration centers contributed to modernizing the local administration.
Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of Di An town’s People’s Committee said that over the past years, the town bent on traffic infrastructure investment at locals’ demand for traveling and goods transport, contributing to making the urban image of Di An get more specious and modern. With results in terms of infrastructure, the town is carrying out procedures suggesting the Ministry of Construction to recognize it as a third-class city.
Defining that traffic infrastructure development must get ahead of other fields, the province over the past time attached special importance to this task at the local demand for development in general and for urban development in particular. As a result, the province’s traffic infrastructure has so far reached synchronous development with the regional connection. For example, the My Phuoc-Tan Van expressway connects with the National Highway 1A, HCM city and Binh Phuoc; DT744 street connecting Binh Duong with Tay Ninh; DT741 connecting with Binh Phuoc…
Such these apart, the province focused on upgrading and developing synchronous and modern power, water and telecommunication infrastructure systems; boosted socialization of education and healthcare, contributing to raising their quality at locals’ needs.
Well solving shortcomings
Along with results done, Binh Duong’s urban development has still faced shortcomings on regional connection for development, new urban development in association with urban rejuvenation and urban development speed.
Difficulties in site clearance and compensation were one of restrictions leading to the slow implementation of investment projects in the province. Besides, the province has not lured many investors in infrastructure for trade-services and hi-tech agricultural production yet. The province has still encountered a lot of shortcomings in terms of traffic, water drainage and logistics infrastructure for change.
For a civilized, prosperous and beautiful city, Binh Duong needs to better uphold achievements done while making more efforts in the coming time.
Over the past time, the province also paid attention to the housing issue for low-income laborers. The province’s per capital average housing area has to date reached 23.5 square meters. Especially, the province’s social housing development program has absorbed the participation of economic sectors at demand for housing of locals in general and low-income earners in particular.
Reported by Phuong Le-Translated by K.T
