Tam Ky needs a special mechanism for urban development.

In recent years, Tam Ky City has invested heavily in urban infrastructure. Photo: XP

Positive results

According to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Tam Ky City, Mr. Nguyen Duy An, in implementing Resolution No. 08 (dated May 4, 2021) of the Provincial Party Committee on the construction and development of a Type I urban area under Quang Nam province, the city has recently called on a number of strong investors such as Sun Group and Geleximco to research and propose investment in large-scale projects in the city, such as the Nguyen Tat Thanh mixed-use urban area; the Song Dam lakeside urban, technology, and education area; the An Ha hill park urban area; the multi-functional mixed-use urban area in Hoa Huong ward; the Hoa Lang ecological urban area in Tam Ngoc commune; and the Tam Thang and Thuan Yen industrial zones…

Regarding the task of implementing key infrastructure projects, from 2021 to the present, the city has accelerated the progress of projects with provincial budget support carried over from the previous phase, such as the Bach Dang road project and the Nguyen Hoang ring road project.

Simultaneously, several important projects were implemented, such as the road connecting Residential Area No. 6 to the Tan Thanh New Urban Area; the N10 road and the residential areas on both sides of the road; and the Bach Dang road.

In addition, focus on accelerating the progress of 32 urban technical infrastructure connection projects in the area, striving to complete them substantially by the end of 2025.

The city has also completed the necessary procedures to implement several key projects starting in 2024, such as embankments, scenic roads along the Tam Ky River, and resettlement areas; an underground drainage ditch along Trung Nu Vuong Street; and the Tam Ky bus station in An Son ward.

Resolution No. 08 (dated May 4, 2021) of the Provincial Party Committee on the construction and development of Type I urban areas under the direct administration of Quang Nam province stipulates that Tam Ky should basically meet the criteria of a Type I urban area by 2025 and achieve Type I urban area status by 2030. Notably, this includes expanding urban space, establishing specific mechanisms and policies regarding investment, finance, decentralization of management, and budget support to enable Tam Ky to invest in the development of a Type I urban area.

One of the most challenging problems facing Tam Ky is urban flooding. To date, the city has proposed a project to improve flood drainage capacity, including regulating reservoirs and drainage canals in the western part of the inner city; improving the flood drainage capacity of Song Dam Lake into Truong Giang River; upgrading and renovating the inner-city drainage system; and constructing embankments and roads along the Tam Ky River, with a total budget of approximately 1,817 billion VND. Currently, the project has received approval from the province for investment from ODA funds. The scientific research project on urban flood prevention in Tam Ky has now been completed.

According to Nguyen Thi Thu Lan, Secretary of the Tam Ky City Party Committee, in implementing the Resolution of the 21st City Party Congress, the City Party Committee has issued 15 specialized resolutions in key areas to lead the implementation of political tasks, such as specialized resolutions on compensation and land clearance; administrative reform; education; urban order and the construction of civilized urban streets; and solutions for building a type I city.

Many difficulties and limitations

Despite focusing significant resources on investing in urban infrastructure to meet the criteria for a type II urban area, aiming towards a type I urban area, and achieving some initial results, Tam Ky currently faces many difficulties and limitations.

A solution to the urban flooding problem in Tam Ky has been found; all that remains is funding for the project. Photo: XP

According to Mr. Nguyen Duy An, the need for investment resources is enormous, with the group of urban infrastructure connection projects alone having a total investment of over 2,000 billion VND.

Furthermore, the regular tasks of urban development and environmental management have increased annually due to the growing scale of the city, while from 2022 to the present, only 150 billion VND has been allocated annually for urban development and 17.8 billion VND for environmental management, which is insufficient to meet the needs.

According to Mr. Tran Dinh Duc, Head of the Urban Management Department, Resolution No. 08 of the Provincial Party Committee on the construction and development of Type I urban areas under the Quang Nam province stipulates that, according to the general plan until 2030, Tam Ky has 192,000 inhabitants, which does not meet the requirements for a Type I urban area (the regulation requires 500,000 inhabitants), therefore, a proposal has been made to build a special urban area.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Nam, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee, said that Tam Ky still has 12 criteria for a Type I urban area that have not been met, the biggest of which are population size, income, and cremation. The administrative boundary plan has not been implemented, and the Tam Ky human and cultural plan is under development. The general planning project from 2014 needs to be reviewed, evaluated, and adjusted to attract large investment projects.

Due to difficulties and obstacles in the urban development process, Tam Ky City proposes that the province allocate an additional annual budget of approximately 100 billion VND per year for the city to invest in one key project.

Initially, in the two years 2024-2025, support will be provided to the locality to implement two projects, including the Tam Ky River embankment to prevent landslides, a scenic road along the riverbank, and a resettlement area (total investment of 499 billion VND, with an initial plan for provincial budget support of 200 billion VND) and the underground drainage ditch along Trung Nu Vuong Street (total investment of nearly 130 billion VND).

In addition, an additional 100 billion VND/year is targeted for urban development and environmental protection in the provincial capital, in addition to the 167.8 billion VND/year allocated under Resolution No. 36/2021 of the Provincial People's Council.

Simultaneously, prioritize the early investment in upgrading Hung Vuong road in accordance with the previous policy of the Provincial Party Standing Committee; pay attention to promoting investment from ODA sources to implement the project to improve the city's drainage capacity; and agree on the principle of establishing a detailed planning (scale 1/500) for the Quang Nam Provincial Sports Complex and Multi-functional Park in 2024 with a research area of ​​approximately 184 hectares.

Notably, the city requested the province to pay attention to unifying the policy and assigning tasks for the construction and proposing a specific mechanism for Tam Ky City to build and develop a type I urban area in accordance with the spirit of Resolution No. 08 of the Provincial Party Committee.

Establishing a specific mechanism

At a meeting between the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the Standing Committee of the Tam Ky City Party Committee in mid-September, the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Le Van Dung, stated that limited resources, insufficient support mechanisms from the province, the small scale of the urban area that does not meet the prescribed standards, and the very small budget for urban development in Tam Ky (150 billion VND/year), far behind other cities in Central Vietnam, most notably Quang Ngai (300 billion VND/year)... are obstacles for Tam Ky in its urban development process.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee noted that in the coming time, Tam Ky should focus on building a city worthy of its status, a driving force, a place everyone wants to visit. To achieve this, the locality should pay attention to completing the zoning plan, focusing on urban flood control, improving traffic junctions, and ensuring environmental protection. Tam Ky needs to mobilize resources from various sources, paying particular attention to ODA loans for development investment.

According to Luong Nguyen Minh Triet, Alternate Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, the provincial leaders and departments must recognize that investment in Tam Ky is an investment in the central hub and development of the province. Tam Ky City must be aware of its role and responsibility towards the overall development of the province.

Due to various reasons, Resolution No. 08 of the Provincial Party Committee has not been effectively implemented. Therefore, in the coming period, Tam Ky and its departments and agencies will advise on the implementation of Resolution No. 08, from specific mechanisms and policies to investment lists. The goal is to complete the construction of a Type I urban area by 2030.

“Tam Ky needs to review and adjust its master plan, along with mobilizing investment resources; it needs to identify its unique identity and highlights, because good planning will attract investors. Decisive solutions are needed to increase revenue from land. Attention should be paid to improving urban quality and aesthetics, orderliness, green spaces, sidewalk vending, and urban drainage. Administrative reform and digital transformation should be accelerated, and smart city development should be pursued,” said Provincial Party Secretary Luong Nguyen Minh Triet.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/tam-ky-can-co-che-dac-thu-xay-dung-do-thi-3142331.html