Amidst countless challenges, Hue not only stood firm but also rose strongly, reaching a historical milestone: Becoming a centrally-governed city.

Party Central Committee member, City Party Committee Secretary, Chairman of the People's Council, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hue City Le Truong Luu (middle, front row) inspects the Thuan An seaport overpass, a key project about to reach the finish line.

Urban transformation

Remember, in the early years of the 2020 - 2025 term, the COVID-19 pandemic was still raging, many shops were closed, the streets were deserted. Along with that, natural disasters and epidemics in livestock and poultry caused heavy damage to the economy . However, with a proactive and flexible spirit, especially implementing the spirit of "both fighting the epidemic and developing the economy", the Party Committee and the People of the city have gradually overcome difficulties and challenges, achieving important socio-economic achievements. By the end of the term (end of August 2025), Hue had made a breakthrough to increase the economic scale by 1.7 times compared to 2020. The average GRDP growth rate reached 7.54%/year, higher than the national average. Average income per capita reached 3,200 USD, labor productivity increased by nearly 10%/year... Those numbers show the strong resilience of a changing city.

Few industries have been hit as hard as tourism , but with courage and creativity, they have been able to recover spectacularly. It is expected that in 2025, the city will welcome about 6 million visitors, nearly double that of 2023. The service industry grows at an average of 8.22% per year, accounting for nearly 50% of GRDP.

Hue Festival continues to be organized according to the "4 seasons" model, connecting cultural heritage, traditional and contemporary arts; promoting the value of Ao Dai, cuisine, sea and lagoon tourism... Many visitors to Hue commented: Hue is not only the ancient capital with temples and mausoleums but also a city that knows how to live with heritage and renew itself every day.

Politburo member and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man presented the Resolution recognizing Hue City as a centrally-governed city. Photo: Ngoc Hieu

In 5 years, industry - construction grew by an average of 8.1%/year, accounting for 1/3 of GRDP. A series of large projects were put into operation such as Kim Long Motors Automobile Production and Assembly Complex, Kanglongda Glove Factory. More than 140 projects in newly licensed industrial clusters created jobs for tens of thousands of workers, increasing budget revenue.

At the same time, important infrastructure projects were continuously inaugurated: Cam Lo - La Son, La Son - Tuy Loan Expressway, Thuan An seaport overpass, Terminal T2 - Phu Bai International Airport, Nguyen Hoang Bridge... Each project not only removed "infrastructure bottlenecks", but also opened up new development directions for Hue.

From the economic restructuring, the proportion of agriculture is still 9.5% of GRDP, but steadfast with "green, clean, sustainable agriculture". More than 114 OCOP products were born, many organic agriculture and smart agriculture models were replicated.

The movements “Hue - Green, clean, bright” and “Green Sunday” create Hue’s own identity. Every Sunday morning, the familiar image of cadres, soldiers, police, veterans, women, students, union members... from urban to rural areas going to the streets to sweep trash, clear grass, and plant flowers seems small but contributes to keeping Hue a fresh living space, the landscape is brighter day by day.

Commencement of construction of technical infrastructure of Loc Tien resettlement area (phase 2) to serve the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis through Hue city

Worthy of being a city directly under the Central Government

The greatest achievement of the term is that Hue officially became the 6th centrally-governed city in the country. This is not only a major step, but also the result of efforts after more than 35 years of re-establishing the province (1989 - 2025). Compared to the first day of re-establishment, the economic scale has increased 8.5 times, and the average income per capita has increased 55 times.

Reaching this milestone, Hue has gone through a challenging journey. After the Politburo issued Resolution (NQ) 54-NQ/TW, dated December 10, 2019 on building and developing Thua Thien Hue province to 2030, with a vision to 2045; including the goal of building Thua Thien Hue into a centrally-run city by 2025, the Provincial Party Committee, now a city, has urgently concretized it through programs and projects. The breakthrough decision was to expand the administrative boundaries in 2021, merging 13 more communes and towns of neighboring districts. From an area of ​​just over 70km², Hue city (old) expanded to more than 265km², creating high consensus among the people and great efforts in stabilizing the organization, management apparatus, and ensuring social security.

At the same time, we are making every effort to build the Project of a centrally-governed city. Each criterion of socio-economics, planning, infrastructure, education, healthcare, heritage conservation, etc. must be proven with convincing data. "To complete the project, there are meetings that have to be held late at night to review every detail. Without high political determination, it will be difficult to overcome," said Mr. Tran Huu Thuy Giang, Chief of Office of the City People's Committee.

Hue sparkles at night

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Bach, Secretary of the Party Committee of Thuan Hoa Ward, recalled the time when he was Chairman of the People's Committee of Phong Dien District (formerly): "Phong Dien becoming a town was a hard criterion for Hue to qualify for the Central level. At that time, many criteria had not been met, while the deadline was near. We had almost no time to rest, both running daily work and focusing on completing the criteria. Looking back, I realize that only with the high political determination of the collective and the consensus of the people could the task be completed."

The story in Phong Dien district (old) is just one of many "slices" showing the great and persistent efforts of the entire political system. The criteria on infrastructure, economy, society, urban planning... are mobilized resources to implement synchronously. In particular, expanding the administrative boundaries of Hue city 5 times the old area is an important turning point, creating conditions for integrating urban - rural space, while meeting the standards to become a city directly under the Central Government.

Dr. Phan Tien Dung, Chairman of the City Historical Science Association, said: “In the process of compiling Volume IV, History of the Party Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province (now Hue City) for the period 2001 - 2024, the 2020 - 2025 term had the most events, achievements, and highlights. It not only shows the comprehensive change of the city, but also proves the flexible leadership, direction, and determination of the Party Committee. In particular, during the pandemic period, the Hue City Party Committee was very flexible, taking full advantage of the support of the Central Government and having timely policies and solutions.”

At a recent working session with the Standing Committee of the Hue City Party Committee, Mr. Le Quang Manh, member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee, assessed: Through the process of monitoring and supervising the implementation of solutions to build Hue City into a centrally-run city, it can be seen that the city's leaders are always consistent in their viewpoint of balanced development between the economy and the preservation of heritage and culture; not sacrificing traditional values ​​for development...

(To be continued)

DUC QUANG

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/mot-nhiem-ky-ban-ron-va-khat-vong-but-pha-ky-1-tang-truong-trong-gian-kho-157589.html