Nguyen Su, Party chief of Hoi An City in Quang Nam Province, has tendered his resignation although his office term still has two years to go, saying he wants to create opportunities for younger people.

He has held different senior positions in the ancient town of Hoi An over the past 21 years.

Su is now 57 years old, so he can still work for three more years before his retirement. He was quoted by local media as saying that he had planned for retirement many times since 2013 but his earlier tender for resignation was not approved.

The Party committee of Hoi An plans to organize an extraordinary meeting this Saturday to elect a new secretary to replace Su, Thanh Nien cited Su as saying.

Explaining his decision, Su said his early retirement will give other senior leaders of Hoi An a chance to breathe new life into the World Heritage-listed city.

Su served as chairman of the town since 1994, he became secretary of the Hoi An’s Party committee when the town was upgraded to the city status.

Su was known for his contributions to the development of Hoi An, a popular tourist city in central Vietnam.