New impulse of Da Nang city

SEA SPORTS — Marine sports are the tourism strength of Da Nang City. Photo: Do Vinh

The merger

During the historical process of formation and development, Quang Nam and Da Nang merged and separated many times. The most recent separation was in 1997, Da Nang became a centrally-governed city and was then ranked as a type 1 urban area.

These days, among the thousands of cadres and civil servants who came from Da Nang to Quang Nam in 1997, many are preparing to return to Da Nang (instead of going to Da Nang as many people still call it). People with registered residence in Da Nang, living in Da Nang city, are mostly of Quang Nam origin. On the contrary, many Quang Nam leaders have families and parents living in Da Nang. It is the closely intertwined economic - cultural - historical relationship between Da Nang - Quang Nam that has formed a picture of the land imbued with the cultural nuances of Quang - Quang land.

The merger of Da Nang and Quang Nam had initial disruptions, but in general, with a long-term vision, this is a resonance and continuation of many aspects to make this land stronger; creating new momentum for development.

Looking at the map, the current urban area of Da Nang is only equal to the area of the mountainous district of Phuoc Son in Quang Nam. Not to mention, the north of Da Nang borders Hai Van Pass, leaving no room for development.

The south has also been planned, the agricultural land area of Hoa Phuoc, Hoa Chau and Hoa Quy communes is almost exhausted; the reserve land fund cannot meet the needs of large projects.

The narrow urban space of Da Nang is a barrier that reduces the dynamic role of the region. The development speed of Da Nang City has also slowed down when land revenue has decreased. The city's budget revenue ranking has been left far behind by localities such as Quang Ngai.

Compared to other centrally-run cities, Da Nang's budget revenue is among the lowest, at only about 27 trillion VND per year. Although Da Nang has a favorable geographical location and synchronous infrastructure, its remaining space is almost exhausted. Meanwhile, Quang Nam is the opposite. The merger of Quang Nam and Da Nang has overcome the limitations that Da Nang and Quang Nam are facing.

Will remove bottlenecks

For a long time, in addition to effective tourism linkages, many areas considered to create regional linkages between Da Nang and Quang Nam have been fragmented, even congested. For example, 10 years ago, the leaders of Quang Nam province and Da Nang city sat down together to discuss the solution of dredging the Co Co river to connect from Han estuary to the ancient town of Hoi An. Reviving this historic river has important environmental and tourism development implications, connecting Da Nang and Quang Nam, forming satellite cities along the river.

The coastal areas on both sides of the Thu Bon River estuary in Quang Nam still have great room for development. Photo: QUOC TUAN

The total capital provided by the Central and local governments for the regional linkage project, dredging 30km of Co Co River and building a traffic system on both banks is not less than 2,000 billion VND. After more than 5 years, Da Nang City has completed the project (10km). In Quang Nam alone, the progress has only reached more than 50% and it is unknown when it will be completed.

So the Co Co River project is stuck. It is worth mentioning that many people think that this regional connection project is actually everyone doing their own thing. Over 10km in Ngu Hanh Son district (Da Nang), there are at least 4 new bridges put into use but the clearance is only over 3m. With this height, it is difficult for tourist boats to travel on the Co Co River as the project's goal.

Also related to transportation, previously, Da Nang City wanted to open a tourist route from the Han River to Cu Lao Cham but the authorities of Quang Nam province objected. Even the bus route from Tam Ky to Da Nang currently has many shortcomings. The bus route from Hoi An to Da Nang also has to be transferred because each locality subsidizes differently.

Another obvious shortcoming is that Da Nang is using fresh water from the rivers of Quang Nam, so the authorities and the water supply company of Da Nang are very passive in coordinating water resources. Every time the dry season peaks, Da Nang people lack water for daily use, and the Da Nang government has to call for help from central ministries and branches. To bring water to the An Trach dam, Da Nang asked to build a temporary dam on the Quang Hue river, but the procedures are very complicated...

These are just a few of the hundreds of problems that Da Nang City and Quang Nam Province have been facing. After the merger, it is expected that the limitations and shortcomings in state management by locality will be eliminated. Instead, a continuous space, an open urban area with practical regional connectivity will be established.

As Mr. Truong Xuan Ty - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Quang Nam said: "For a long time, Vu Gia and Thu Bon rivers have been inter-provincial rivers managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Now that Da Nang and Quang Nam have merged, these two rivers belong to Da Nang, the right to manage water resources belongs to Da Nang, so it is much more convenient."

Locating new development space

According to experts, after the merger, Da Nang and Quang Nam need to coordinate their planning and clearly define each locality's specific areas. Even in terms of mineral planning, Da Nang should stop granting mining licenses in Hoa Vang district - west of the city center. Instead, it is necessary to plan mining sites in the midland and mountainous districts of Quang Nam today. In addition, it is necessary to connect the transport infrastructure from Da Nang seaport to national highways in the region...

HOI AN HERITAGE — Hoi An ancient town - an attractive destination for tourists. Photo: DO VINH

Expanding development space requires a systematic regional linkage strategy. Da Nang should play the role of a financial - service - innovation center. Quang Nam should focus on developing supporting industries, logistics and supplying technical labor.

Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung - former Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management Research said that Da Nang needs to expand its development space in terms of aviation, sea and road. Roads, in addition to connecting North - South, must also connect East - West, with the Central Highlands. Da Nang cannot develop without opening up space. Da Nang's development also has a spillover effect for the whole region.

In a recent meeting between leaders of Quang Nam province and Da Nang city, Mr. Vu Quang Hung - Head of the Management Board of Da Nang High-Tech Park and Industrial Parks proposed that it is necessary to develop an integrated plan, clearly assign roles to create a continuous value chain, and avoid overlapping functions between the two localities.

Next is investment in regional infrastructure, strategic traffic routes, and port - airport - highway connections to ensure smooth operation of the free trade zone.

At the same time, there should be a policy to retrain workers and connect businesses with schools to create suitable human resources. In particular, preferential policies should be expanded according to actual development space, not limited by administrative boundaries.

To take advantage of resources from Quang Nam, Da Nang needs a regional development strategy with a long-term vision, closely linking planning, infrastructure, human resources and institutions.

This is the foundation for the new land to rise up to become a new growth pole, a financial - high-tech center of the Central region and the whole country. This is also the expectation of the Central Government after the merger of Da Nang and Quang Nam...

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/xung-luc-moi-cua-do-thi-da-nang-3157060.html