Danang City with Efforts to Be Exemplary City in Asia

Danang grew from a third-grade poor city into a first-grade one within 8 years, a very short time compared with its 200-year history. Danang has become an economic hub of the central region and central highlands. At present, Danang is one of nine cities which will turn themselves into Asian exemplary cities.

 

The clear breakthrough of Danang City came after its separation from Quang Nam-Da Nang Province in 1997 to become a central city. At that time, Danang looked like an enormous construction site. Thousands of buildings rose up to beautify the growing city. Danang developed from the polluted Thac Gian-Vinh Trung Pool to quarters full of spacious high-rise buildings and urban zones such as Nguyen Van Linh, Bach Dang Dong and Lien Chieu-Thuan Phuoc.

 

In 2000, the completion of the Han River Bridge shortened the travelling distance and time between the two banks of the Han River. Its slums famous for their countless dwellings were removed. And, during the 30^th liberation anniversary in 2005, a series of building projects were inaugurated.

 

The Danang-born Nguyen Cong Phu, an overseas Vietnamese in France, extolled: “Danang has changed very quickly. The city can do the things other places cannot do, that is, a developed infrastructure.” The urban upgrading and the site clearance for construction projects are always a headache process for other localities; however, Danang can settle very quickly as its citizens understand the public benefit of the projects. This is the result of the tireless effort, consent and cooperation of the entire Danang population.

 

In the latest 8 years, Danang has erected 200 new works each year, which needed nearly 60,000 households to move to new residential areas. To provide sufficient shelters for these households, the city constructed more than 100 resettlement zones and high-rise apartment blocks.

 

The current face of the city comes as a result of the joint efforts of the Party, the municipal government and the Danang people, especially designers and planners. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Director of the Danang Construction Department, said: In the past seven years, Danang had nearly 1,000 ratified projects covering on roughly 10,000 hectares of land. Almost all projects will be completed from now until 2020, as in the overall development plan approved by the Government.

 

Danang’s achievements have made an important hallmark. The success in urban facelift and infrastructure construction are a strong basis for the city to attract domestic and international investors. This also lays a firm foundation for the city to modernise, industrialise and develop itself into a centre economic and a driving force to pull up the economic development of the entire central region.