Boulevard Nguyen Tat Thanh, Quy Nhon city. Photo H.K

In the past 5 years, Quy Nhon has been strongly turning over and rising up with its newly built works such as Quy Nhon – Nhon Hoi road,  Thi Nai Bridge, Xuan Dieu road, extension of Nguyen Tat Thanh Boulevard, Nhon Hai – Nhon Hoi inter-commune road, the main road system in Nhon Hoi Economic Zone, newly-established residential areas of Bac Ha Thanh, Vo Thi Sau, Dien Bien Phu.

These key works have been invested by the municipal authority with many billions of VND. In addition, Quy Nhon also sees other services, commercial and public works. It is found that Quy Nhon has become fresher, greener and prettier with its gradually upgraded and improved green parks, flower gardens and street light system.

All of the above-mentioned factors contributively give impetus to the city’s economic development, the city dwellers’ living standard improvement and urban changes towards civilized and modernized urbanization.

With its more and more rapid urbanization, Quy Nhon now looks like a city of industry, services and sea ports more than ever. If it were a young man who grows up every day, its changes would be the new larger clothes.

The city’s recent achievements should include the basic construction, urban planning and renovation and land management. Under the Action Plan on Quy Nhon City urban management and renovation for the 2006-2010 period by the municipal Party Committee, the city leaders direct to comprehensively build, upgrade and renovate the urban infrastructure.

Most of the urban traffic system and main roads in the city are upgraded or expanded. At present, 90 percent of the inner-city roads are tarred while 95 percent backstreet alleys are cementized. 170.000 sq.m of sidewalks along main roads are newly paved with block bricks. Besides the city budget, city dwellers covers part of the total nearly 29-billion-VND worth cost of paving the sidewalks.

In term of the city’s urban renovation and environment protection, a waste processing factory with capacity of 250 tonnes per day and night was put into operation, increasing the inner-city waste collection and treatment rate up to 98 percent; Bui Thi Xuan Cemetery and other cemeteries for reburial were built or enlarged; an over 100-km long water waste collection system was built; a solid waste treatment station at Long My is going to be built; the WB-funded Quy Nhon City environment and sanitation pilot project is being put into implementation.

A total of nearly 14 trillion VND has been poured into the city planning in the past five years of which the city directly contributed 566.8 billion VND, making up 35. 6 percent of the city’s total spending, accounting for 43 percent of the local GDP and double in comparison to the 2000-2005 period.

However, many things must be done in future to make Quy Nhon deserve to the recognition as the first-grade city of Binh Dinh Province (according to Vietnam city classification table).

Addressing the required breakthroughs in the fields of the basic construction, the urban planning and management in the next five years, Standing Vice Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee Le Minh Tuan said there would be 3 issues needing to be addressed, that is, the melioration and renovation of the old residential areas, urban renovation in harmony with the traffic system improvement, enlargement or new establishment, and the adjustment of the urban expansion planning.

“The implementation of these tasks will consume resources and time. It is a must to use the investment in concentrative manner. In the short term, the city should focus on the land use planning, the construction planning, tighten up its urban land, construction and housing management,” he said.

• Nguyen Suong