State budget collection

Secretary of HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen speaks at the 2nd Congress of Thu Duc City’s Party Committee for the 2020-2025 tenure. (Photo: SGG)

HCMC Party Chief praised Thu Duc City’s first achievements in arranging administrative organizational structure, allocating of buildings and office spaces, continuing to carry out remaining missions of Thu Duc, 9, 2 districts as well as strictly implementing prevention measures against Covid-19.

He noted that the city especially concentrates in the planning, management of planning and land use management. In addition, Thu Duc should plan human resource training programs and employee development activities to attract young talents.

Developing Thu Duc City into the leading area of economic growth based on science and technology and turning it into a digital and clean city with the development of social Infrastructure is also HCMC’s mission, he stressed.

Thu Duc is the first city using the city-within-city model in the country. It needs a suitable management mechanism and to be granted the higher level of authority than districts, said Vice Chairman of HCMC People’s Committee, Vo Van Hoan said at the meeting.

Secretary of the Party Committee of Thu Duc City, Nguyen Van Hieu noted that implementing the Resolution No. 26-NQ/TU on building Thu Thiem New Urban Area before 2030 of the municipal Party Organization and discussing about the solution of guidance on solving complaints and other issues in Thu Duc City are some of the important task of the city in coming time.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Thu Duc City Hoang Tung added the total State budget collection of the city in the first quarter of this year was estimated at VND 2,172 billion (US$94.16 million), fulfilling 26 percent of the yearly estimate. 100 percent of document files have been completed and returned to individuals and organizations on time.

The city has currently carried out 10 main projects and plans to complete investment procedures of seven others. The People’s Committee of Thu Duc City will solve existing problems in projects of the High-tech park, Thu Thiem New Urban Area, the urban development project in Long Binh Ward and Vietnam National University-HCMC.

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However, this region is showing signs of neglect and decline in recent times. In a talk with Saigon Investment, Dr. NGUYEN DINH CUNG, former Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, shared his view on this issue.

JOURNALIST: – Sir, there are many opinions that the Southern Economic Region is facing many bottlenecks, which are limiting its ability to accelerate in growth, such as a deteriorating infrastructure, overload of urban transport, and increasing environmental pollution. What is your opinion on this state of decline and related issues?

Dr. NGUYEN DINH CUNG: – First of all, in terms of a region, frankly speaking, it is just an accumulation of neighboring localities, with no significant links. All regional activities are just superficial. The localities have no motivation, and no need to coordinate and connect into becoming a strong economic zone.

One obvious reason is that the same socio-economic indicators are applied to all localities. Thus, local governments have to compete with each other to attract investments, to take care of their home province first, so they have no need to connect with the neighboring provinces. For example, connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Vung Tau is a number one priority for these two provinces, but may not be the number one priority for Dong Nai province. Likewise, connecting Tay Ninh with Ho Chi Minh City may be the number one priority of Tay Ninh, but Ho Chi Minh City has many other concerns that need to be addressed first.

In brief, Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces in the Southern Economic Region have not yet created organic links to become a unified entity. They have not created links with other regions and localities as well, so it is not possible to take advantage of regional relations to create a development momentum for the whole region. For example, Ho Chi Minh City is next to two major industrial and manufacturing centers, Binh Duong and Dong Nai, but the leading service industry of Ho Chi Minh City is real estate, while logistics services in Binh Duong and Dong Nai are their highlight.

– Sir, besides the need to complete twelve socio-economic targets of the region first, what are the other reasons?

– The root cause is that the retained budget ratios of the provinces in this region, including Ho Chi Minh City, are still very low, much lower than those in the North with the same economic scale. Regional budget revenues account for 40% of the national budget revenue, but only 20% of budget expenditure. The industrial provinces around Ho Chi Minh City such as Binh Duong and Dong Nai can only retain 36% and 47% of the budget revenue, respectively. The industrial provinces around Hanoi such as Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, and Hai Duong can retain budget at 53%, 83%, and 98%, respectively. Ho Chi Minh City alone is the highest budget contributor, but the retained rate is the lowest in the country, at only 18%.

Consequently, Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast region lack resources to invest in and re-invest in upgrading the internal transport infrastructure and associated transport systems. The gateway routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City with neighboring areas in the East and the South West are always severely congested, making production, services and export costs too high, thereby reducing competitiveness and attractiveness for investors.

If we look at the results of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Ho Chi Minh City, we will see that the scale of FDI projects in the area is getting smaller and smaller. Specifically, the average size of one FDI project in the Southern Economic Region is about USD 10 mn, significantly lower than the national average of USD 12.42 mn, while the average scale of one project in Ho Chi Minh City is even lower, only USD 5.56 mn. This means that Ho Chi Minh City is gradually lacking projects of large-scale, high-tech and modern corporate governance that are capable of leading development growth.

– Sir, according to you, how can localities in the region closely link and support each other in the most effective way?

– I must emphasize that there are fierce challenges facing the Southern region which require multi-sectoral and multi-local solutions that can only be resolved when localities build links and solve problems together. In order to do that, besides building a quality regional plan, it is necessary to let localities see practical benefits from joint activities and support each other. This means localities must have enough resources to solve their internal pressing problems, as well as participate in regional projects.

In my opinion, the first focus should be on traffic connectivity. If we let the provinces settle for themselves, it will be very difficult and take a very long time. This is where it is necessary to use public investment from the central government, and effectively stimulate development.

Besides, the governments of the provinces and cities must have a global view, so that each locality can bring into full play its own quintessential strengths. For example, Ho Chi Minh City should focus on high-tech projects, high value-added services, and should avoid more labor-intensive projects and production, because it will further stress the situation of infrastructure overload, while the value added is too small.

– Thank you very much.

Anh Thu (interviewer)

HCM City needs new laws to protect heritage buildings Ho Chi Minh City’s 300-year History HCM City allocates millions for preservation of historic buildings

Speakers at a recent conference on preservation of the city’s built heritage held in HCM City. VNS Photo Bo Xuan Hiep

Speaking at a conference on architectural heritage held by Thanh Niên (Youth) newspaper recently, experts said the master plan must ensure balance between urbanisation and preservation of the city’s remaining heritage.

Nguyen Quang Thong, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, emphasised the great value that architectural heritage can bring to the city’s economy. “Our architectural legacy is a symbol here and around the world. Some of these have become national brands.”

According to Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the HCM City Tourism Department, architectural heritage greatly contributes to the city’s tourism industry. However, the number of tourism heritage sites in the city is a relatively modest 258, of which only 111 are potential tourist attractions.

The city has a total of 172 historic relics but only 30 per cent of them can be promoted as tourist attractions. Among the 10 must-see landmarks in the city are all historic buildings.

Economic value

Tran Van Khai, of the HCM City University of Architecture, said that most people were unaware of the economic value of built heritage.

Many foreign tourists believe HCM City today is not considered a city of culture or heritage. For them, the city is just a stopover.

Most city tours today include only a few attractions such as the Post Office, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Independence Palace, Ben Thanh Market and the War Remnants Museum.

Architectural heritage must be credited for its potential economic value, they said.

In other countries, historic buildings are preserved for aesthetic reasons as well as for the huge economic benefits they offer.

Destruction of historic heritage could result in a drop in the number of cultural tourists who are believed to stay longer, take part in more cultural activities, and spend more money.

The number of tourists to the city has continued to increase annually, reaching 6.4 million in 2017, a rise of nearly 23 per cent over the previous year. However, the average visitor stay is only 2.6 days.

Worse still, only a small number of first-time visitors ever return to the city.

HCM City People’s Committee in District 1. VNA/VNS Photo Manh Linh

Recommendations

Nguyen Thi Hau, an archaeologist who is secretary general of HCM City History Science Association, told Việt Nam News: “The government, property developers, researchers and the entire community all play a decisive role in preserving the city’s architectural heritage.”

Architect Nguyen Hanh Nguyen, of the HCM City University of Architecture, said it was important to help the historic buildings’ owners understand the economic value of their properties so they will be willing to spend money to preserve them.

Architect Cao Thanh Nghiep, a member of the HCM City Architects Association, said that businesses can preserve and promote the value of a land lot where a built heritage is located.

Experts also recommended the city conduct a comprehensive inventory of the city’s historic buildings.

They said legal protection should be extended to all historic and architectural buildings, and that enforcement and punishment of violators should be strengthened.

In addition, the city should provide economic incentives for the conservation of privately owned historic buildings, to ensure owners have benefits when protecting the buildings.

HCM City has about 3,000 valuable old houses and villas that could be preserved properly, but are likely to be demolished, according to the Architecture Research Centre at the city’s Department of Planning and Architecture.

Of that number, nearly 1,300 houses were built before 1975. About 168 of them are under State management and receive funds from the city’s budget for repair and preservation.

However, only eight buildings remain in good conditions, according to the Urban Research and Development Centre.

Valuable old buildings, mostly built during the French colonial period, include the HCM City People’s Court (built in 1881), King’s Palace or Revolutionary Museum (1885), Majestic Hotel and Notre Dame Cathedral (1887), Sài Gòn Post Office (1886-1891), HCM City’s People’s Committee (1907), Opera House (1900) and Bến Thành Market (1912-1914).

Many colonial villas have been renovated and now house schools, restaurants and coffee shops, most of which are located in District 3 on Tu Xuong, Vo Van Tan, Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Le Quy Don and Tran Quoc Thao streets.

In recent years, however, many old houses and villas have been demolished or have fallen into disrepair.

A large number that are private properties have not been taken care of properly. Some of the villas are so dilapidated they are no longer habitable.

It is estimated that more than a third of the city’s historic buildings have been destroyed over the past two decades.

HCM City authorities are putting some 1,000 historic buildings into three classifications: class one (must be protected); class two (owner can build on the lot but cannot destroy the old building); and class three (can be demolished).

Experts say that people are not aware that when they destroy historic buildings they are in fact losing a potential economic value.

VNS

by Xuân Đăng

The Central Highlands city of Đà Lạt is famous for its cool climate, pine-scented air and mountain views. Often referred to as a “city in a forest”, “fog city” or “city of flowers”, it is also home to many old religious buildings.

Most of them were built during the French colonial period after the French founded the city as a resort town to get away from the humid, hot climate in the south.

Monasteries with arched windows and balconies with large glass doors are European in design, but are also in harmony with the gentle rhythm of the city.

Some monasteries are still places of prayer, while the rest have been assigned to state units for maintenance and repair or have been changed to become tourist attractions.

New life

The most typical of these is the Redemptorist monastery, which is now being used as a biological museum managed by the Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) Biological Institute.

The former monastery, built in 1952, is located in the middle of a pine forest on Tùng Lâm hill, seven kilometres from Đà Lạt.

The building was constructed with the typical symmetrical French architecture. At the centre of the building stands a cross with the Latin inscription “Copiosa Apud Eum Redemptio”, often translated as “With Him is plentiful Redemption”.

The monastery is built of solid stone. Each wall and brick is imprinted with time and from the back of the building, you can see a panoramic view of the city.

At the time of its construction, the monastery was only the second stone Catholic building in the country after Phát Diệm Church in the northern province of Ninh Bình.

It served as a place for Redemptorists, a Catholic congregation of missionaries, to worship and fulfill their missions.

Walking inside the monastery you can see classrooms arranged side by side along the corridors of the building.

The building consists of five floors with 120 rooms. The second floor now serves as the biology museum, which has seven display rooms and six storage rooms. Each room is divided into areas for displays of stuffed mammals, birds, reptiles, plants and others.

The collection of the museum includes 58 species of animals, including 38 rare species listed in Việt Nam’s Red Book.

Thanks to the beauty of the monastery, it imparts a nostalgic and mysterious feeling. It seems that at any angle or location in the monastery is a wonderful scene for a photo.

“This is my first time visiting this place. I’m very impressed with the architecture. I also took some great photos here with my family. It’s good to see that abandoned monasteries like this are maintained and used as a tourist destination,” Phương Thanh, 21, a tourist from Nha Trang City, told Việt Nam News.

Hidden gem

Some old monasteries in Đà Lạt with  significant architectural values have been repaired to change their purpose of use.

An abandoned monastery located between Trần Quang Diệu and Hùng Vương streets is one.

The dirt path leading to the monastery makes it quite a hidden gem. Located in the north of the city and covering more than seven hectares, the chapel and residential quarters of the Franciscan monastery sit on a hill about 7 kilometres from the city centre.

For years, the iconic chapel has been an inspiration for Vietnamese artists and photographers, appearing in countless works of art.

Lê Tú, head of Lâm Đồng Province’s Association of Architects, said that even though the monastery is not classified as a heritage, architects appreciate it for its historic architectural value.

The monastery complex was designed by French architects Alexandre Leonard and Paul Veysseyre in the late 1930s and early 1940s, marking the onset of Benedictine missionaries from the West making their way to Việt Nam.

The architectural style of the chapel has a combination of the West and East with an Eastern-style tiled roof, and windows and main door bearing the typical Western Gothic architecture.

In 1954, the missionaries left the complex in the hands of Franciscan nuns before moving to Huế in the central region to set up the Thiên An Monastery.

In the following years, the nuns enlisted the help of Vietnamese architect Phạm Khánh Chù to design additional classrooms behind the existing complex, known as the Việt Nữ Commercial School, in 1969.

In 1979, the seven-hectare complex was handed over to the government. It was eventually abandoned for several years before becoming the campus for the HCM City University of Architecture in Đà Lạt.

At one point, nearly 20 families illegally occupied the chapel but were eventually moved out by local authorities.

Restoration plan

The complex is now under restoration to become a campus of the HCM City University of Architecture.

The project, co-headed by Huy Hoàng Company and the university, started by the end of February.

A representative of HCM City University of Architecture told Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper that the university has plans to restore the site.

“We see the complex as a meaningful and valuable heritage site. Restoration costs are much more than rebuilding, but we must protect this significant landmark.”

Associate Professor Lê Văn Thương, rector of the university, said the chapel area and the dorm for monks will be preserved in their original state. Damaged parts such as doors and the roof will be repaired or replaced but will be consistent with the overall structure.

“We will keep the original architecture and materials of the building as much as possible. Only damaged and deteriorated places will be replaced with new materials. The paint will be the original colours,” Thương said.

When the work is completed, the chapel will become the university hall, while the dormitory area of ​​the monastery will remain as the residential function. The  classroom area will become a lecture hall for students, Thương said.

Ninh Việt Anh, teacher at HCM City University of Architecture, said that for works with historical architectural significance​, conservation must be carefully considered.

With conservation projects such as these, the city can keep its unique architectural features from the French colonial period and continue to be a popular tourist destination. VNS