On the occasion of the New Year, Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the Ha Noi Municipal People's Committee talks about the city's plan to make Ha Noi richer and more beautiful.

What did Ha Noi Municipal authorities achieve in 2015?

Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung

In 2015, Ha Noi recorded a high growth rate of 9.24 per cent. This success should be attributed to the great efforts made by both political and economic systems.

This success was a firm pre-requisite for the city to implement its 2016 socio-economic plan. However, I have to concede in 2015, Ha Noi faced a lot of difficulties and challenges, particularly in the export sector. This sector failed to meet annual targets.

In addition, in the construction industry, serious accidents were reported on some major construction sites.

We hope 2016 will be a better year for Ha Noi.

What will Ha Noi do to attract more resources, including capital investment in 2016?

I have to concede that attracting capital investment is a tough task. It needs concerted efforts from all sectors in the city.

In 2016, Ha Noi vows to create open and simplified administrative procedures for the public and investors. In 2015, the city achieved almost VND353 trillion ($15.7 billion) in social capital. We hope, this year we'll be able to raise the city's social capital higher than that of the previous year in order to improve the living conditions of Hanoians.

What will be the focus for the Ha Noi Municipal People's Committee in 2016?

"The Year of Order and Civilisation" was observed by Ha Noi Capital City over the last two years. And this year is the third year in a row that Ha Noi will implement the initiative.

The idea of urban order and civilisation is not confined only in the areas of transport, construction or city management. It should embrace other fields, including the people's daily life and administrations at all levels, be it in urban or rural areas.

Does the city adopt measures to promote enterprises' development?

The city has given a top priority to promoting enterprises' development as it is important for the city's economic health. People's Committees at all levels in Ha Noi have vowed to do their best to help solve any difficulties or challenges that enterprises are facing.

At the recent Ha Noi Municipal Party's Congress, all participants agreed on the three most important three important breakthroughs that the city should strive to achieve in the next five years. They include administrative reform; improvement of the investment climate; and raising the efficiency in investment, business and production.

We plan to organise several dialogues with enterprises to hear their suggestions for improvement. In addition, we have decided to increase capital funding for investment and trade promotion in major international markets.

To implement the government's programme on social housing, Ha Noi has set aside billions of dong to help low income people buy their own homes or to rehabilitate their dilapidated houses.

Construction and urban transport were identified as weak sectors in Ha Noi in 2015. Does the Ha Noi People's Committee have any plan to improve this?

2015 was the year that many construction projects, including housing and road construction projects were completed and put into use. The completion of several big bridges and free-ways have shortened travel time and saved money for many people.

However, during the implementation of some programmes we committed some mistakes, particularly the project to replace trees in the inner city or the construction of the building 8B in Le Truc Street. These are expensive lessons for people in power to think twice before making their final decisions.

With experiences learned in 2015, we see the importance of holding consultations with people before making any decisions which might affect people's lives.

On the occasion of the new year, on behalf of the Ha Noi Municipal authorities, I wish you all happy new year.

I hope in 2016 we'll receive further support from people throughout the country, particularly those who live in Ha Noi in the endeavour to turn Ha Noi into a civilised and polite capital city; a modern and friendly city worthy of its title "the City of Peace" – capital of Viet Nam.

VNS