Breakthrough in new rural construction

A corner of the center of Loc Thanh border commune, Dong Nai province. Photo: Vu Thuyen

A corner of the center of the border commune of Loc Thanh, Dong Nai province. Photo: Vu Thuyen

Although there are still many difficulties ahead, inheriting the outstanding results after more than 15 years of implementing the construction of new rural areas, the new commune after the merger will maximize its potential, advantages in space, and room to make a breakthrough in the coming period.

"Leverage" for remote communes

The new Loc Quang commune was formed on the basis of merging 3 communes: Loc Quang, Loc Phu and Loc Hiep (old). All are remote areas with a high proportion of ethnic minority households, so the commune is given priority in resources for infrastructure construction, creating an increasingly majestic and modern rural picture with many highlights and improvements.

According to the new standards, in the 2026-2030 period, Dong Nai province sets a target of 70% of communes meeting NTM standards, and 10% of communes meeting modern NTM standards.

The first highlight is the vital traffic route connecting 4 remote residential areas, remote areas, and ethnic minority areas with the commune center. The route is more than 10km long, with a 7m wide asphalt surface combined with a drainage system on both sides of the road, each side is 1m wide with a ditch cover to ensure safety, with a total investment of more than 90 billion VND. This is an inter-village and inter-hamlet residential road that is considered the most spacious, modern and high-quality in this remote area.

Along with the transportation system, Loc Quang has been interested in investing in the construction of many works and projects to serve people's lives, develop the economy , and improve people's living standards. In two particularly difficult hamlets, Bu Nom and Bu Linh, most people work in agriculture, including about 30 hectares of rice land. However, in the past, due to lack of irrigation water, people could only produce one crop per year, making income difficult. To solve this problem, from the capital source of the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas, in 2024, Loc Phu commune (old) was invested nearly 10 billion VND to build 2.5km of canals, combined with irrigation dams and cement concrete roads in the fields. From there, not only does it regularly bring irrigation water back and forth between localities, but it also helps people have an intra-field road to travel and transport agricultural products conveniently.

“Due to the lack of irrigation water, agricultural production always depends on rainwater, resulting in low productivity and output. However, since the end of 2024, the Party and State have paid attention to investing in the construction of irrigation canals combined with intra-field traffic, creating convenience for people to travel and transport agricultural products, especially rice production has increased from 1-3 crops/year” - Mr. Lam Tha May (residing in Bu Linh hamlet, Loc Quang commune) shared.

Despite receiving investment attention, due to its low starting point, Loc Quang is now one of five communes in Dong Nai province that have not yet met the NTM standards. Inheriting the achieved results, the Party Committee, government and people of Loc Quang are determined to bring the commune to the NTM finish line by the end of the 2025-2030 term.

Vice Chairman of Loc Quang Commune People's Committee Hoang Thien Son said: To meet the new rural standards, the commune will focus investment resources on criteria that have not been met such as: planning, schools, traffic, electricity; at the same time, invest to improve the quality of criteria that have been met but the quality is still low.

In addition to Loc Quang, Dong Nai province has 4 localities that have not met the NTM standards: Bu Gia Map, Phu Nghia, Nghia Trung and Tho Son for many different reasons. Determining that NTM construction has no end point, in addition to the attention and support of the State, promoting potential and strengths after the merger, local Party committees and authorities have set specific goals and action programs to strive to reach the NTM target by the end of the 2025-2030 term with the highest determination.

With the goal of improving people's living standards and enjoyment levels and moving towards civilized and modern new rural areas, along with communes that have not yet achieved the standards, localities that have met the standards still propose many breakthrough programs to invest in building rural infrastructure to create a solid foundation for development in the new stage. For example, in the border commune of Loc Thanh, right from the beginning of the 2020-2025 term, the commune has made a breakthrough in building school facilities and focusing resources on investing in traffic infrastructure. Because these are the "links" to create a breakthrough in the socio-economic development of the locality.

Breakthrough

In the old Dong Nai area, Dak Lua used to be a particularly difficult commune of the province. Thanks to the strong determination of the entire political system, the commune's New Rural Construction Program in the first phase of 2011-2020 achieved many positive results. If in 2011, the average income per capita of the commune only reached 18 million VND, then by 2016 (when it met the standards of a new rural commune), the income increased to 45 million VND. Not stopping at these achievements, Dak Lua has gradually transformed, risen, changed, and prospered each year. In the second phase of building advanced new rural areas and model new rural areas in 2021-2025, Dak Lua continues to strive to achieve the achievement of a commune meeting the standards of advanced new rural areas.

With the motto of building a new rural area without stopping, promoting potential and strengths after the merger, 72 communes of Dong Nai province will mobilize resources, continue to develop the program in a comprehensive, effective and sustainable direction in the era of growth.

“Up to now, Dak Lua commune has completed 19/19 NTM and advanced NTM criteria. Among the 19 criteria, the agricultural sector is one of the targets that has been achieved and exceeded. Promoting the achievements, in the 2025-2030 term, Dak Lua is determined to build and maintain an advanced NTM commune, in which priority is given to building high-tech agriculture, in the direction of sustainable organic agriculture” - Chairman of Dak Lua Commune People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Hien shared.

In the two key stages of building new rural areas, advanced new rural areas, and model new rural areas, the old Dong Nai area has constantly strived to achieve the set plans and goals. With the goal of maintaining a commune that meets the model new rural standards, in the 2025-2030 term, the Phu Hoa Commune Party Committee focuses on developing agriculture in a green, ecological, and circular direction, linked to the value chain. Prioritizing the development of service industries to serve production and people's needs; at the same time, mobilizing, focusing on allocating and effectively managing and using investment resources to build, upgrade, and perfect a synchronous socio-economic infrastructure system.

Before the merger, Dong Nai province (old) had 100% of communes meeting advanced NTM standards, 37% of communes meeting model NTM standards, 5 districts completing advanced NTM construction and Xuan Loc district (old) completing model NTM construction according to the Central's pilot project. All targets met and exceeded the Resolution of the Provincial Party Congress for the 2020-2025 term.

In Binh Phuoc province (old), after converting the results of building new rural areas in old communes to new communes, according to the instructions of the Central New Rural Area Coordination Office, Binh Phuoc (old) has 32 communes continuing to build new rural areas; of which 5/32 communes have not met the standards, 25/32 communes have met the new rural standards, 2 communes have met the advanced new rural standards and there is no commune that has met the model new rural standards.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, Head of the Office of New Rural Development Coordination of Dong Nai province Nguyen Van Thang said: New Rural Development in the 2026-2030 period is being implemented in the context that Dong Nai province has just completed the construction of a 2-level local government and completed 15 years of implementing the National Target Program for the 2010-2025 period. In the coming time, Dong Nai will continue to closely follow the goals and orientations of New Rural Development in the 2026-2030 period of the Central Government; focus on maintaining and upholding the achieved targets and criteria; at the same time, focus on developing production to increase people's income and consider this a key issue in building New Rural Development in a modern and sustainable direction.

Dao Dung - Vu Thuyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202509/but-pha-trong-xay-dung-nong-thon-moi-37e2d8a/