Expectations for a "lever" in the night-time economy.

With its central economic, political , cultural, and social location within the province, Thanh Hoa City possesses significant potential and ideal conditions for "lighting up" its night-time economy. The city's investment in constructing and organizing the Phan Chu Trinh pedestrian street and night market, as well as the Lam Son Square cultural space, aims to promote cultural values ​​and create new tourism products linked to the development of Thanh Hoa City's night-time economy.

The Phan Chu Trinh pedestrian street and the Lam Son Square cultural space were put into trial operation on the evening of June 22, 2024.

With its large population and well-developed, modern urban infrastructure, Thanh Hoa City has ideal conditions for developing its night-time economy . Currently, night-time entertainment and service activities in the city are still limited, monotonous, and lack systematic planning and organization. Surveys show that streets such as Le Loi and Le Hoan in Lam Son ward; Truong Thi and Ben Ngu in Truong Thi ward; and Phan Chu Trinh and Nguyen Du in Dien Bien ward have established chains of beverage and entertainment businesses. While not yet considered a full-fledged night-time economy, these activities are becoming increasingly vibrant, attracting a significant number of people, especially young people, and generating income for a segment of the city's population. This reality necessitates a strategic approach by the city to develop its night-time economy and create new opportunities for economic growth.

On July 27, 2020, the Prime Minister signed Decision No. 1129/QD-TTg approving the Project "Developing the Nighttime Economy in Vietnam". This is an important legal framework for developing the Project "Organizing Phan Chu Trinh Pedestrian Street and Lam Son Square Cultural Space", aiming to open up opportunities for the city to effectively exploit its potential for nighttime economic development. Following the direction of the Provincial People's Committee regarding the organization of Phan Chu Trinh pedestrian street in Dien Bien Ward, Thanh Hoa City, as stated in Official Letter No. 14254/UBND-KTTC dated October 22, 2019, Thanh Hoa City has developed the Project "Organizing Phan Chu Trinh Pedestrian Street and Lam Son Square Cultural Space".

Based on the plan approved by the City People's Council in March 2020, since 2023, the Thanh Hoa City People's Committee has implemented the procedures and processes in accordance with the law to deploy the Project to complete the infrastructure and facilities of the pedestrian street and night market on Phan Chu Trinh Street, with a total investment of 12.745 billion VND; and the Project to invest in decorative items for the Phan Chu Trinh pedestrian street, with a total investment of over 14.603 billion VND.

As a project commemorating the 220th anniversary of the provincial capital's urban status, the 30th anniversary of the city's establishment, and the 10th anniversary of its Class I urban status, from the very beginning of 2024, the Thanh Hoa City Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee directed relevant departments and agencies to urge contractors to concentrate resources and personnel to accelerate the construction progress of the projects. Specifically, for the project to complete the infrastructure and facilities of the pedestrian street and night market along Phan Chu Trinh Street, after 6 months of construction, the contractor has completed the renovation and repair of technical infrastructure items including sidewalks, trees, and drainage systems; installed equipment for the management building behind the monument in Lam Son Square; installed traffic signs, barrier fences, and painted road markings; and built new power supply, clean water, cameras, and wifi systems to serve the people.

For the Phan Chu Trinh pedestrian street decoration project, the contractor has completed the installation of two mobile archways at the beginning and end of a section of Phan Chu Trinh street within the pedestrian zone; installed three stylized mobile archways on Ly Nhan Tong, Nguyen Don Tiet, and Ho Xuan Huong streets. Simultaneously, they have decorated trees along Phan Chu Trinh street with LED lights; installed LED-lit frames for check-in areas; decorated Ly Nhan Tong street with a conical hat theme; decorated Ho Xuan Huong street with a Hoi An theme; decorated Nguyen Don Tiet street with a colorful theme; installed mobile stages with sound and lighting systems in front of the monument for cultural and artistic events; purchased a sound and lighting system for the monument to serve city events; and installed additional equipment for operation.

Immediately after completing the infrastructure and facilities of the pedestrian street and night market along Phan Chu Trinh Street, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa City assigned the City's Center for Culture, Information, Sports and Tourism to coordinate with relevant departments and units to organize, review, and select business households for the Phan Chu Trinh pedestrian street and the Lam Son Square cultural space. Currently, several households have registered to do business on the Phan Chu Trinh pedestrian street and in the Lam Son Square cultural space.

To regulate business operations, Thanh Hoa City has stipulated that businesses must have stalls designed according to the mẫu and style specified by the Management Board of Phan Chu Trinh Pedestrian Street and Lam Son Square Cultural Space, including souvenir carts and fast-food carts. Each business must also have at least one trash can for waste disposal before, during, and after business hours. Furthermore, businesses must commit to complying with the regulations governing the organization and operation of the pedestrian street; selling only the registered goods and publicly displaying prices as required, and not arbitrarily changing their business lines; maintaining security and order and adhering to fire safety regulations; keeping their business premises clean; and paying all fees, charges, and contributions when conducting business within the pedestrian street area. Specifically, households are not allowed to arbitrarily transfer or sublease their business locations without the approval of the Head of the Management Board of Phan Chu Trinh pedestrian street and Lam Son Square cultural space. On the evening of June 22, 2024, Thanh Hoa City conducted a trial run of the pedestrian street and night market along Phan Chu Trinh street and Lam Son Square cultural space, and will officially open on the evening of June 28, 2024.

The construction and organization of the Phan Chu Trinh pedestrian street, night market, and Lam Son Square cultural space in Thanh Hoa City not only creates attractive new tourism products, attracting tourists to the Hac Thanh region, but also creates a space and environment for the development of cultural, artistic, commercial, and service activities associated with the development of the night economy.

Text and photos: Tran Thanh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/ky-vong-don-bay-kinh-te-dem-217583.htm