Bac Kan town has a rich history. In 1997, Bac Kan province was re-established and Bac Kan town became the provincial capital – the centre of politics, economy, culture and society. The town has eight administrative units, including four urban wards, namely Duc Xuan, Song Cau, Phung Chi Kien and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, and four countryside communes, namely Nong Thuong, Duong Quang, Huyen Tung and Xuat Hoa. Its total natural area is 13,688 ha.
The town’s annual economic growth averages 19 percent. Per capita income was VND18.2 million (US$900) in 2012 (5.32 times higher than that in 1999). Total State budget revenue in 2012 was VND65 billion, an increase of 115 percent over 2008. The economic structure has been transformed in a positive pattern, characterised by an increasing proportion of trade, service, industry and construction and a declining contribution percentage of agriculture and forestry. Poverty rate fell from 13.8 percent in 2008 to 4.05 percent in 2012. The face of the town has been significantly lifted thanks to many construction projects built, such as three markets (Duc Xuan, Bac Kan and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai), sports centres, supermarkets (Hapromark and Lan Kim) and hotels (Bac Kan and Nui Hoa). The town currently has 22 roads and 86 alleys, including many beautifully decorated boulevards like Hung Vuong, Tran Hung Dao and Truong Chinh. Many residential zones, schools and hospitals have been built and upgraded. Many residential units and wards/communes are recognised as cultural units.
In response to people’s expectations, the Bac Kan Provincial Party Committee issued the Resolution No. 24 – NQ/TU dated July 15, 2013 on construction and development of Bac Kan town into a provincial city by 2015.
Comparing to standards and criteria of provincial city stipulated in the Government’s Decree No. 62/2011/ND-CP dated July 26, 2011, Bac Kan town has three disqualified criteria, namely population size, employment structure and urban infrastructure.
To solve urban population scale criterion and administrative boundary, the town added Xuat Hoa and Huyen Tung communes, increasing its natural area to 13,688 ha, its population to nearly 55,000 people, and its administrative units to eight, including six urban wards (Duc Xuan, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Phung Chi Kien, Song Cau, Xuat Hoa and Huyen Tung) and two suburban communes (Duong Quang and Nong Thuong).
As for employment structure, to increase the proportion of non-farming labourers, Bac Kan town is stepping up vocational training. From now till 2015, the town will take some agricultural land to build urban infrastructure and build Huyen Tung and Xuat Hoa industrial complexes. Residents affected by this move will be guided to live on retailing, trading and service provision. The prospective city will also build and upgrade infrastructure to facilitate citizens to change their careers to trading and retailing to lower the percentage of farming workers.
The third issue is urban infrastructure construction. This is the most important issue as it requires resources and efforts of the entire society. The town has worked out infrastructure construction plans for 2013, 2014 and 2015, focusing on traffic routes, public utilities and urban residences.
In addition, the town will accelerate the socialisation of urban infrastructure construction investment. Specifically, it will complete technical infrastructure projects for Phia Nam Urban Zone and Duc Xuan Resettlement Zone, plan functional areas in the northern bank of Cau River, upgrade Duc Xuan and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai markets, build Duc Xuan secondary school and Bac Kan Continuing Education Centre.
Xuan Thu
Đăng ký: VietNam News