Establishment of Hoa Lu city creates breakthrough for Ninh Binh’s socio-economic development

Efforts and high determination

This event is of important significance and a decisive milestone for the province’s socio-economic development and upholding cultural and historical values as well as meeting the aspirations of the Party organisation, administration and local people of Ninh Binh province.

Ninh Binh is situated in the southern part of the Red River Delta and serves as a southern gate of the Red River Delta Civilization. It holds a crucial position in the country’s security and defence with special characteristics in terms of geography, history, culture and natural conditions. Ninh Binh was selected by pre-historic people to live in over 30,000 years ago.

In the 10^th century, Hoa Lu was chosen as the capital of the first feudal state of Dai Co Viet. To date, Ninh Binh has been the only locality in Vietnam as well as Southeast Asia that owns the double World Cultural and Natural Heritage – the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex.

Throughout thousands of years of national construction and protection, Ninh Binh has always been a strategic location in the struggles against foreign invades.

After nearly 40 years of implementing the “Doi Moi” process and over 32 years of reestablishing, Ninh Binh has carried out long term strategies to overcome difficulties and reaped significant achievements in all fields.

The province’s economy has enjoyed sound growth in the past few years with positive changes in the economic structure. 2022 marked the first year Ninh Binh balanced its state budget collection and spending itself, and partially contributed to the central budget. In 2023, the province’s per capita income was ranked 11th out of 63 centrally-run cities and provinces nationwide.

Ninh Binh has been developing a green and sustainable economy, taking cultural and historical values of Hoa Lu ancient capital as momentum for the province’s growth, ensuring the harmony between economic growth and environmental protection as well as caring for local people’s lives.

Opening up new aspirations

Entering the new era – the era of the nation’s rise, implementing a “revolution” in rearranging and streamlining the state apparatus is a leading political task drastically directed by Party General Secretary To Lam.

Carrying out this task, Ninh Binh built a plan on re-arranging administrative units at the district and commune levels of Ninh Binh province in the period of 2023-2025 and submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee for approval.

According to the plan, seven out of eight administrative units at the district level, and 32 out of 143 administrative units at the commune level will be rearranged and merged. The redudant number of civil servants at the commune level accounts for nearly 15% of the total number of commune-level civil servants.

The re-arrangment of administrative units has met new political tasks set in the provincial master planning scheme for the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050, under which Ninh Binh is expected to become a comprehensively developed province in the Red River Delta; develop urban and rural areas in a modern and civilised manner with characteristics of a millennium heritage and creative city, and rank among national tourism hubs.

The master planning scheme also defines clearly that re-arrangment of administrative units at the district and commune levels will be completed in 2025.

Accordingly, Hoa Lu district and Ninh Binh city will be merged to establish Hoa Lu city.

The NA Standing Committee’s approval of the Resolution is of important significance and a decisive milestone for the province’s socio-economic development and upholding cultural and historical values as well as meeting the aspirations of the Party organisation, administration and local people of Ninh Binh province.

After the re-arrangement, Ninh Binh will reduce one administrative unit at the district level and 18 administrative units at the commune level.

The mergence of Ninh Binh city and Hoa Lu district shows the consensus and determination of the provincial Party organisation, administration and people over the past tenures.

The event is expected to create momentum for Ninh Binh to develop and become a centrally-run city with characteristics of a millennium heritage and creative city by 2035.