Social Consensus: The Power to Create Miracles

According to Mr. Vo Cong Tri, Chairman of the Union of Science and Technology Associations of Da Nang City, former Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, since 1997, Da Nang has been united, proactive, and creative in implementing development solutions, opening a new period of prosperity. The strategic vision of the City Party Committee and major breakthrough policies have brought Da Nang to remarkable achievements.

One of the important decisions is to focus on upgrading traffic infrastructure, especially the main roads, building many new bridges across the Han River, eliminating the "houses on stilts" along the Han River and Man Quang Bay, improving the technical infrastructure of old neighborhoods, moving towards implementing the "major urban renovation" project, taking traffic as a breakthrough, going one step ahead.

Projects such as the Hai Van tunnel, the Da Nang - Quang Ngai expressway and the coastal routes Nguyen Tat Thanh, Vo Nguyen Giap - Hoang Sa - Truong Sa not only help improve traffic but also expand development space, promoting Da Nang's integration into the national economy.

Along with that, key projects in health, education, culture and sports were born, creating synchronization in economic and social infrastructure, improving the quality of life of all classes of people, creating a new, harmonious and livable appearance for the city.

Chairman of the Union of Science and Technology Associations of Da Nang City, former Standing Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee Vo Cong Tri spoke at the Workshop.

In 1997, when the province was divided, the city had only nearly 100 roads, with a total length of less than 300 km, but 20 years later, the city had more than 2,000 roads, many of which were landscape axes worthy of a modern urban area, with a total length of more than 1,300 km.

The functional areas of the urban area are planned and developed methodically and in the right direction; the urban boundary is expanded 4 times, the inner city area is expanded from 5,600 hectares to more than 21,000 hectares.

The city has carried out land acquisition, land allocation and land lease to implement more than 1,500 projects, with a total area of ​​more than 17,000 hectares; 120,000 households out of a total of 200,000 households were relocated and cleared to create new neighborhoods and new residential areas; more than 110,000 households were resettled. The urbanization process was accelerated, only 6 years after the separation of the province, Da Nang was recognized as a type I urban area.

Thanks to the support of the people, the city has successfully implemented urban planning and development projects in a creative way, quickly changing the city's stature, scale and appearance. Da Nang's approach has become a model of dynamic and creative development, highly appreciated by public opinion nationwide.

“The image of the Han River Bridge represents the power of consensus, the power of the people when more than 30% of the construction cost (out of more than 100 billion VND) was contributed by the people of the city,” said Mr. Tri.

Han River Bridge - the embodiment of the power of consensus, the power of the people

Along with that, taking care of social security and improving people's quality of life is always the focus of the city Party Committee's policies, the source of sustainable development of Da Nang.

“Arousing people’s strength and creating social consensus is the resource and strength that helps Da Nang transform its strong aspirations into development motivation, creating great miracles to have a comprehensively developed Da Nang like today,” Mr. Tri expressed.

Mr. Tri said that after 6 congresses, the Da Nang City Party Committee has continuously innovated, improved its leadership capacity and fighting strength, meeting the development requirements in the new period. The close coordination between Party committees, authorities, and organizations, along with creative approaches, has helped Da Nang make strong progress in building and developing the city.

“Looking back at nearly 30 years of development, it is not difficult to see that the achievements in building and developing the city are the crystallization of the intelligence, efforts, enthusiasm and tireless efforts of generations of cadres, party members and people of the city. The policies and strategies that are in line with the people's wishes have gathered forces, multiplied strength, and ignited confidence in the future development of the city. The Party Committee is the nucleus of solidarity, creating consensus, exploiting potentials and advantages, mobilizing internal resources, and taking advantage of external resources to build and develop the city,” Mr. Tri emphasized.

New opportunities are opening up for Da Nang

According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, 50 years ago (1975), Da Nang was liberated. From then on, along with the whole country, Da Nang began the process of "revival" after the war and developed in peace, struggle, ups and downs and breakthroughs - in its true sense.

Mr. Thien commented that at that time, Da Nang had two outstanding assets. One was unique natural resources, combined with rich historical and cultural heritage and the strong identity of the Quang people - honest, straightforward and decent.

Second, it is a small and weak economy with a low level of development, where the majority of people are still poor and dependent on the "ask-give" mechanism, instead of the market mechanism that has existed for a long time in history.

Now, Da Nang has grown strongly, gradually becoming the political, economic and social center of the Central Highlands region. That result includes two main factors: the Central government opened the way and Da Nang itself made efforts to build an airport.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, spoke at the Workshop.

Mr. Thien cited the fact that Da Nang separated from Quang Nam in 1997, becoming a city directly under the Central Government, creating an important turning point. The policy of innovation, openness, and integration helped Da Nang take advantage of development opportunities, escaping the "ask - give" mechanism of the 1990s. Along with that, the Central Government invested in many large-scale programs and projects, creating a driving force for strategic development for the city.

And Da Nang itself has made extraordinary efforts through the city establishing a development strategy that is in line with the trend of the times. The approach to development is fast, drastic, and based on competitive advantages to make a breakthrough. Da Nang has strongly reformed the administrative apparatus, creating a favorable environment for businesses and improving international competitiveness.

In particular, Da Nang has positioned itself as the development center of the Central region, affirming its position through international events such as APEC 2017.

“From a city with a low starting point, Da Nang has become a modern urban area, developing in a “distinctive and distinctive” direction, with a long-term and sustainable strategy,” said Mr. Thien.

Mr. Thien believes that at present, Da Nang is facing a more important mission than ever: to surpass itself, "transform" to progress with the times and develop sustainably.

The Lien Chieu Port project is built in Hoa Hiep Bac ward, Lien Chieu district, Da Nang city. Of which, the shared infrastructure part has a total investment of 3,426 billion VND, of which the central budget for the 2021-2025 period is 2,994.59 billion VND, the rest is from the city budget. Photo: Project construction area seen from above

Accordingly, Da Nang has new, strategically reliable and feasible options. Among them are the special mechanism “granted” to the city by the Central Government, special support and incentives from the Central Government, “superior mechanisms” and the right to propose and test “new development models”.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien said that currently, in the trend of strong development change taking place across the country, Da Nang is actively implementing - realizing development orientations and new opportunities into development routes, specifically: High-tech Park, Modern Semiconductor Chip Design Research Center, International - Regional Financial Center, Lien Chieu International Seaport, Free Trade Center,...

“The city’s leaders need to know how to “seize the opportunity” with unprecedented determination. Therefore, Da Nang needs new development capabilities, a new and corresponding institutional system, and a talented operating system and management apparatus. This is the set goal, the historical mission that Da Nang must carry out and complete,” Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien shared.

THANH HAI - NGUYET ANH