Nation goes int'l to develop modern urban areas
The Vietnamese Government encourages ministries, agencies and localities to learn from other countries’ urban development models to ensure the process meets sustainable development requirements.
- Urbanization rate set at 38 percent by 2015
Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung said the process of urbanization in Vietnam has been improved and driven socio-economic development.
He said Vietnam has the highest urbanization rate in Southeast Asia. The urban population is accounting for 34 percent of the nation’s population and the figure will be 45 percent in 2020 due to an annual growth rate of 3-4 percent.
However, development should not only meet people’s spiritual and material demands, but also limit its impacts on the environment, Minister Dung said.
Meanwhile, VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said businesses, as a driving force for cities’ development, have recognized their role in cooperating with authorities and related agencies to develop urban areas in a sustainable way.
Lothar Herrmann, ASEAN-Pacific Siemens CEO said that Siemens’ services and system will offer sustainable solutions for cities, including those in Vietnam, which are confronting challenges in many fields, such as transport, housing, public street lighting, health care provision, energy, water supply and security.