Mobilising all resources and pushing forward with comprehensive and synchronous reform, industrialization and modernization will be the guiding principle for the next term from 2015-2020, Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi said ahead of the upcoming 16th Congress of the Hanoi Party Organisation. The city’s Party leader wrote in an article on the occasion that the congress will discuss and approve the goals and tasks for the development of the capital city in the 2015-2020 term, based on the general guideline of enhancing the municipality Party organisation’s leadership and combating capacity; upholding the city’s cultural values and heroic traditions; making the most of the strength of the national unity bloc; mobilizing all resources, accelerating the comprehensive and synchronous renovation, industrialization and modernization; building a prosperous, civilized and modern capital city. In the 2010-2015 tenure of the municipal Party Committee, Hanoi has overcome many difficulties and challenges to record many achievements. The city’s GDP grew at an average 9.23 percent per year, 1.58 times the national rate. The Gross Regional Domestic Products (GRDP) reached an estimated 27.6 billion USD in 2015 and per capita income 3,600 USD at current exchange rate, up 1.8 times from the level in 2010. During the past tenure, Hanoi has paid special attention to urban development and management, mobilizing all resources to invest in building modern technical and social infrastructure. Some major projects in this field can be named such as the T2 terminal of the Noi Bai International Airport, the elevated ring road No.3, the Nhat Tan-Noi Bai highway, the extended National Highway No.5, key bridges across the Red River including Nhat Tan and Vinh Tuy, and seven flyovers inside the city to ease traffic jams. Work has also started on the construction of two urban railway routes – the Ha Dong-Cat Linh and the Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station, while survey is being underway for the Nam Thang Long-Tran Hung Dao route. Many new urban areas and trading centres have sprouted across the city. Rural areas in the city also received substantial investment, with an average 5.8 trillion VND a year. As results of the new-style rural area building programme, per capital income in rural areas doubled from 2011 to 33 million VND a year in 2015, and the poverty rate dropped to under 2 percent among all rural households from 11.2 per cent in 2011. The city expects 166 out of its 386 rural communes will meet new rural areas standards by the end of this year, a rate of 43 percent compared to the national rate of 20 percent. At the same time, Hanoi has made strides in socio-cultural development, remarkably improving the cultural and spiritual live of people of all walks of life. Hanoi leads the country in terms of the human development index and the scale and quality of education and training. The city has always maintained security and political stability as well as social order, ensuring a safe environment for its residents and visitors. The city has also bolstered ties with other localities in the country, while establishing friendly and cooperative relations with more than 100 foreign cities and with many international organisations. Regarding Party building work, the municipality Party Organisation was commended by the Party Central Committee as an exemplary organisation which has many initiatives in carrying out the Resolution of the 4th Plenum of the 11th Party Central Committee on studying and following the moral example of President Ho Chi Minh. Hanoi was the first locality in the country to hold confidence voting on persons holding leading and managerial positions. The leader of the city’s Party Organisation attributed the achievements and progress he mentioned above to the fact that the city has kept close to the policies and instructions of the Party Central Committee while taking flexible and creative measures. The city has also received effective assistance and coordination from ministries, sectors and organisations. The high consensus among the Party Organisation and among the people is another important factor, Nghi said, adding that the efforts to renew the leadership and working style of Party Committees at all levels are also worth mentioning. Secretary Nghi pointed to outstanding weaknesses and shortcomings that need to be addressed in the time to come. The city’s economic growth does not match its potential, and growth quality and competitiveness remain low. Hanoi has yet to make full use of its strengths in capital, science and technology, human resource and labour market. Enterprises operating in the city, particularly private ones, still face many difficulties. Planning work and the management of construction, urban development, land use and the environment are below expectations. He explained that insufficient resources and inadequate legal regulations and mechanisms have hindered the city’s efforts. On the other hand, the municipal administration is also to be blamed for failing to act strongly and resolutely. A number of officials and public workers do not fulfill their responsibilities, while the punishment of those who commit mistakes is not strict enough. Those problems must be dealt with promptly and effectively, Secretary Nghi said. He noted that more opportunities will open up for the capital city in the next five years as the city and the country as a whole accelerate the international integration process, but new challenges and difficulties will also arise. “In order to lead the city in successfully implementing the set targets and tasks, the most decisive factor for the municipal Party Organisation is to promote the unity and consensus within the Party, the trust and consensus of all officials, Party members and citizens,” the Secretary emphasized as conclusion of the article.-VNA