Unlocking resources in disadvantaged areas

Although the state resources allocated to rural, mountainous, and ethnic minority areas are considerable, the previous separate operating mechanisms resulted in fragmented and scattered capital flows. This bottleneck was only truly resolved when the three national target programs were integrated into one, bringing concentrated resources and creating a solid foundation and strength for particularly disadvantaged localities to achieve breakthroughs.

Báo Tuyên Quang•04/06/2026

The Tan Tien village cultural center in Minh Thanh commune was funded by the national target program for building new rural areas.

From stories from the grassroots level…

Tan Thanh commune (formed by the merger of Hop Hoa, Tan Thanh, and Khang Nhat communes) simultaneously benefits from all three National Target Programs (NTPs). Comrade Vu Van Thu, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, frankly stated: Although the total capital allocated amounts to hundreds of billions of dong, due to a lack of centralized mechanisms, the capital is fragmented into portions ranging from a few hundred million to a few billion dong for each item. This fragmentation makes it difficult for the locality to create a large-scale infrastructure or livelihood boost. In reality, many essential public works projects in Tan Thanh are still waiting for funding. For example, Highway 08 (11.5 km connecting National Highway 2C to Dong Tho) and Highway 16 (passing through Hop Hoa, Khang Nhat, and Hop Thanh communes, 9.2 km long) are both severely degraded and damaged, but there is no funding for upgrading. Educational infrastructure is in a similar situation. The old Khang Nhat Kindergarten (built in 1980, a single-story building) is now dilapidated, and the reconstruction has to be put on hold due to lack of funds.

In the bordering commune of Son Thuy (formed by the merger of Ninh Lai, Thien Ke, and Son Nam communes), a similar situation of scaling projects down to meet limited resources is also occurring. Comrade Tran Van But, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, shared: "The capital is fragmented, and the regulatory framework is too narrow, so projects are forced to be scaled down to fit within the budget."

While in the southern part of the province, limited capital and small-scale projects slow down development, in the northern highland communes, where the terrain is rugged, large investments and fragmented resource allocation are like a drop in the ocean.

In its report on the progress of national target programs for the 2021-2025 period, the People's Committee of Thang Mo commune frankly acknowledged: Due to the fragmented terrain, a sustainable rural clean water project here requires tens of billions of VND. However, the low allocation prevents the commune from completing the project, forcing it to be phased or shifted to smaller, more individual items to suit the available capital. This fragmentation of resources leads to a lack of coordinated investment, stifling opportunities for socio -economic breakthroughs for the locality.

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Focus resources on key areas.

Recognizing the bottleneck of resource dispersion, the Government and localities have resolutely implemented the integration and consolidation of funding from all three national target programs. This is not simply a technical accounting operation or a mechanical summation of numbers, but a revolution in management thinking and development creation.

During a field survey and assessment in Tuyen Quang, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep, head of the Central Steering Committee for the National Target Program, stated: This "3-in-1" integration represents a fundamental shift, completely ending the previous fragmented and scattered investment situation. Instead of approving dozens of small, individual projects, localities can now pool capital to invest in strategic infrastructure projects that connect regions and communes.

According to the latest information from the Standing Committee of the Fatherland Front Program for the period 2026-2030, Tuyen Quang is the locality that will benefit the most from the capital nationwide, with approximately 6,000 billion VND. The government's policy of focusing resources on key areas has prioritized allocation to core poverty regions and particularly disadvantaged communes; definitively addressing the most pressing needs such as transportation infrastructure, clean water, electricity grids, and healthcare facilities. This maximizes the dual benefits: Integrated capital opens a path that helps communes achieve New Rural Area criteria, facilitates the consumption of agricultural products to reduce poverty, and shortens the gap in access to public services for ethnic minorities.

Integrating resources is the right approach, but for the breakthrough expectations of localities to become a reality sooner, this journey needs more substantial and decisive steps. Comrade Pham Manh Duyet, Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, stated: The Department has advised the Provincial People's Committee to develop a plan for implementing the National Target Program for the period 2026-2030. In this plan, the province is promoting decentralization and delegation of authority, giving the grassroots level – the closest to the people and the one who best understands their needs – the power to proactively select investment targets. This will be based on simplifying administrative procedures, building a unified management, supervision, and settlement mechanism for integrated funding sources, and removing the burden of paperwork for frontline workers. At the same time, community supervision will be strengthened, promoting the role of the people in checking the quality of projects, ensuring that every dollar invested directly benefits the community.

Integrating capital will become a cornerstone for disadvantaged regions. When capital flows are unlocked and concentrated in the right places, new roads will continue to open, schools will be more modern, and people's livelihoods will become more secure.