VND 5,000 Billion Needed for Pho Hien-Hung Yen

VND 5,000 Billion Needed for Pho Hien-Hung Yen

Once known as Pho Hien, Hung Yen town is the capital town of Hung Yen province, located in the centre of the fertile Red River delta, within the northern key economic zone. Hung Yen town is among a handful ancient towns, which were formed in the early 16^th century, alongside Hoi An ancient town, and thrived in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. There was a saying: “First is the imperial capital city, the second is Pho Hien.” This means that Pho Hien was the second busiest centre in Vietnam behind the Thang Long capital city (Hanoi today). Pho Hien-Hung Yen maintains 130 historicand cultural relic sites, including communal houses, pagodas and temples. Eighteen relic sites have been recognised as national relics, including Kim Chung Pagoda (or Pagoda of Bell), Thien Ung Pagoda (or Hien Pagoda), Thien Hau Temple, Tran Temple, Hoa Duong Linh Temple (Mau Temple), Dong Do Quang Hoi, Quan Lon, A Dao and Ba Chua Kho Temples. In particular, Hung Yen is one of few localities in Vietnam to have a Temple of Literature. The Xich Dang Temple of Literature in Hung Yen town is a school and a place to honour doctor laureates from the Red River delta. In the temple, both Confucius and the famous Vietnamese scholar Chu Van An are worshiped. Stone stelae in the temple are engraved with the names of over 100 doctor laureates.

Hung Yen town today is quite different from the ancient town of Pho Hien 300 years ago. However, the historical and cultural relic complex of the ancient Pho Hien town shows the role and position of Pho Hien in Vietnam’s economic and social development in the final half of the 20^th century. Hung Yen is also famous for being home to the most delicious longan fruit in Vietnam.

With its natural conditions and long-last tradition, Hung Yen town has great potential to become a major economic centre in the Red River delta. In particular, the town has advantages for developing cultural, historical and ecological tourism.

Hoang Van Cuu, chairman of the Hung Yen town People’s Committee, said that the town’s development orientation was to promote trade, tourism and services on a basis of its long-standing culture and history. Accordingly, the town will be built up into an attractive tourist site in Hung Yen province and Vietnam. So far, all villages and wards in the town have registered as cultural villages and wards. The town is striving to become a cultural city in 2010.

Hung Yen town has great potential to develop tourism as a spearhead economic sector in the future. Furthermore, with fertile land, the town has an advantage to develop fruit growing areas with speciality fruits of the Red River delta. It has an abundant hard-working labour force to develop village crafts and food processing. In the past few years, Hung Yen town has encouraged and created favourable conditions for enterprises to invest in services and trade. As a result, many hotels and restaurants have been formed and now operate effectively. Cultural and historical relic sites have been restored and attract Vietnamese and foreign visitors. With its great potential, the town may become an ideal attraction for visitors from Hanoi and other localities nearby.

Presently, over 650,000 longan trees produce each year 4,000 tonnes of fresh fruit, earning local farmers around VND 20 billion, equal to 30 per cent of the total value of longan fruits in the whole province.

Talking about the town’s development in the future, Cuu said that in the next ten years, the northern key economic zone was expected to gain a growth rate of over 10 per cent per year, 1.5 times higher than the average figure of the whole country. Socio-economic development of Hung Yen province in general and Hung Yen town in particular would closely combine with the development of the Red River delta and the northern key economic zone. With such a rapid development, Hung Yen town is striving to become an urban area, third class, in 2008 with an average economic growth rate of between 15 and 17 per cent. Its economic structure will be driven by industrial production (55 per cent), services (40 per cent) and agriculture (five per cent).

According to its development master plan, the town needs around VND 5,000 billion through to 2010, or around VND 1,000 billion per year. So far, many resources have been mobilised. These include capital from budget and incomes from bettering land with infrastructure facilities, official development assistance capital and foreign direct investment. To that end, Hung Yen town needs support from agencies and departments of Hung Yen province and enterprises in particular.

Therefore, in socio-economic management, policies and mechanisms in the town have been renewed and perfected. Scientific and technological application has been boosted as a driving force for the town’s industrialisation and urbanisation. Another important target is to develop its human resources to meet on-the-spot demand and supply for other localities nearby. Also, the town will mobilise resources to upgrade and restore historical and cultural relic sites.

The construction of the Yen Lenh bridge and the upgrading of the national road N⁰ 39, alongside with the Thanh Tri bridge will boost communication between the town with Hanoi.

• Kim Hiep