Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

The amount accounts for 32.5 percent of the country’s total investment in the programme, with funding for the second phase (2016-2019) nearly doubling that of the first (2010-2015), according to the Central Coordination Office for New-style Rural Area Building.

The office said five out of 11 cities and provinces in the Red River Delta, namely Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh and Hai Phong, have self-funded the programme.

During the second phase, these localities have prioritised the use of their own budgets to fund new-style rural area building, the office said, adding that local residents have accessed credit loans to invest in agricultural production, especially centralised production zone development and high-tech application.

In the Red River Delta, only 1.6 percent of funding for the new-style rural area building was sourced from the State budget, while the proportion in the north central region was 4.19 percent.

With a more developed economy, the Red River Delta has greater revenues to invest in new-style rural area building.

Funding from the State budget has been mainly used for constructing roads, schools, cultural establishments and clean water facilities; production value chain; and vocational training.

Currently, 2,402 out of 3,474 communes in the two regions have been recognised as new-style rural areas. As many as 41 districts in 13 cities and provinces have also met the standards of new-style rural area building.

The National Target Programme on New-style Rural Area Building, initiated by the Government in 2010, sets 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics, and defence, aiming to boost rural regions of Vietnam.

The list of criteria includes the development of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmental protection, and the promotion of cultural values./.

VNF/VNA