Ha Nam's "Great Ambition"

As a southern gateway province of the capital, located entirely in the economic development "quadrilateral" of the North: Quang Ninh - Hai Phong - Hanoi - Thanh Hoa, enjoying the full advantage of connecting major routes; Ha Nam is oriented to become a satellite city, with an increasingly high growth rate forecast.

Possessing a synchronous traffic infrastructure connecting with National Highway 1A, Phap Van - Cau Gie - Ninh Binh Expressway, the North - South high-speed railway running through, and the 3-level Phu Thu intersection connecting the 5th ring road of the Capital region under construction...; in the future, the travel time from Ha Nam to Hanoi or key northern provinces will be significantly shortened.

In terms of internal development indicators, Ha Nam's current urban growth rate is among the top in the Northern Delta region, ranking 4th out of 11 provinces in the Red River Delta in terms of urbanization rate. With the available foundation, Ha Nam has set a goal of turning Phu Ly into a class 1 urban area by 2030. In particular, the Ha Nam Provincial Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister, has set a major goal: upgrading the province to a centrally-run city by 2050, striving to become the industrial - commercial - service center of the region.

According to the criteria of the centrally-run city, the average annual income per capita is 1.75 times higher than the national average. The proportion of industry, construction and services in the economic structure and the proportion of non-agricultural labor in the inner city, inner town, town, district and ward reaches 90%.

Statistics show that Ha Nam's current per capita income is 5.8 million VND/month - about 1.2 times higher than the national average. Meanwhile, the proportion of industry, construction and services in the province's general economic structure only accounts for 64% and 23% respectively; the proportion of non-agricultural labor is about 80%.

According to analysts, to reach the standards of a centrally-governed city, in addition to increasing per capita income, Ha Nam needs to continue shifting its agricultural economy to industry, construction and especially services.

Currently, the province is orienting to expand urban space, build a synchronous infrastructure system, develop urban areas associated with trade, services, and tourism in a sustainable and modern direction. And one of the most practical directions for Ha Nam's economy to develop rapidly, according to Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien - Former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, is to attract worthy enterprises.

“If we want advantages to become competitive capabilities, we must invite businesses of the right caliber to come, create large “magnets” to attract other investors, and create a new driving force to bring Ha Nam up,” Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Thien commented.

The momentum from large-scale urban projects

With its available advantages, Ha Nam can also develop bustlingly and prosperously if there is a “leading factor” which is the presence of “big eagles”. One of the big enterprises that has recently made its mark in Ha Nam is Sun Group with the “Modern City” project Sun Urban City, which is expected to become an infrastructure “boost” for Ha Nam to transform.

With a scale of up to 420 hectares, a total investment of 35,000 billion VND, 1,001 utilities, the Sun Urban City project - a future suburban resort in the south of Hanoi promises to bring a new look to Phu Ly City. This place is built with the goal of: building a civilized, modern urban area, bringing a multi-utility life to people; increasing service and tourism infrastructure.

“Sun Urban City will be a project that will “change the face” of Phu Ly City, and at the same time create momentum for Ha Nam to gradually rise to become a land worth visiting and living in the whole country,” Mr. Truong Quoc Huy - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Nam province expected.

As the largest urban project in Ha Nam to date, Sun Urban City includes a complex of 5 large parks: festival park, cultural park, Sun World park, sports park and ecological park; creating a "huge" demand for human resources, creating more job opportunities, bringing stable income to local people and neighboring provinces.

In addition, sustainable revenue from Sun Urban City will also contribute significantly to the provincial budget. According to Mr. Truong Quoc Huy - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Nam province, this budget will be allocated to invest in transport infrastructure, schools, hospitals and other social facilities to bring a better quality of life to local people.

It can be seen that the formation of modern urban areas such as Sun Urban City will create more living space worthy of the standards, attracting talented people and high-income people to live and invest. Thereby, contributing to increasing the quality of intellectual resources and average income per capita for the locality. As analyzed by the Telegraph (UK), urban development and construction means creating more jobs, increasing the demand for highly skilled labor, and a more stable cash flow, opening up economic growth opportunities for the whole region.

Ngoc Minh