Improvements in rural infrastructure development
Ha Noi, May 13 (VNA) -- Viet Nam saw marked improvements in rural infrastructure development over the past seven years, according to the results of the 2001 rural, agriculture and fishery survey.
The latest survey was conducted in 80,544 villages of 8,950 communes across the country.
Statistics showed that 7,712 communes or 86. 2 percent of the total have been linked to electricity grids. In other words, an additional 2,403 communes were provided with electricity during the seven-year interval between the last two surveys.
Regions that obtained high electricity supply growth rates in the 1994-2001 period included the northwestern highland region, up 162 percent; the northeastern highland region, up 69 percent; the central highlands of Tay Nguyen, 185 percent; and the Mekong delta, 59 percent.
Almost 10.5 million rural households or 79.3 percent of the total have access to electricity. The 1994-2001 period saw an additional 433,000 rural households provided with electricity.
The survey data indicated that the country's two largest deltas, namely the Red River delta and the Mekong delta, as well as eastern Nam Bo area (the south) have basically completed the electrification process. Twenty-six of the 61 provinces and cities across the country had 100 percent of their communes and wards linked to electricity supply networks.
However, the survey also showed that 18,317 villages of 1,238 communes with more than 2.7 million rural households have not yet gained access to electricity supply. Electricity grids have so far been expanded to only half of the total households in the northern highlands region and central highlands region of Tay Nguyen.
The country's communication networks were expanded steadily in 8,461 communes, or 94.5 percent of the total having automobile roads linking to communal people's committees. The past seven years saw an additional 731 communes accessible by automobile roads.
The Red River delta, the eastern Nam Bo area, the central highland region of Tay Nguyen, and the northeastern region had between 97 and 99.9 percent of their communes linked to automobile roads. Twenty-three provinces and cities across the country had all of their communes accessible by automobile routes.
Though registering the highest growth rate (13.6 percent) in communication development over the past seven years, the Mekong delta have the lowest percentage (78 percent) of its communes connected to the automobile road network.
Noteworthy is that almost all communes in seven northern highland provinces of Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Lang Son, Bac Giang and Hoa Binh have built automobile roads.
The 1994-2001 period saw a comprehensive development of rural school networks. As many as 99.9 percent of communes nationwide had primary schools, 84.5 percent of communes had junior high schools, 8.7 percent of communes had senior high schools and 85.6 percent of communes had kindergarten classes. The rates revealed during the 1994 survey were 99.8 percent, 76.6 percent, 7 percent and 76.8 percent, respectively.
People in 8,863 communes or 99 percent of the total can access medical workers right at their communal health care stations. In other words, in the past seven years an additional 6 percent of communes built their own communal health care stations.
Encouraging results were also seen in developing post and telecommunication networks between 1994 and 2001.
The model of post office-cum-communal culture house has taken shape in all 61 provinces and cities of the country.
The country's telephone coverage was expanded to 7,503 communes or almost 84 percent of the total. With 99.7 percent of its communes accessible by telephone service, the Mekong delta boasted the country's highest telephone coverage rate. It was followed by the Red River delta, 98.6 percent, and the eastern Nam Bo area, 97 percent.
704,400 rural households are telephone subscribers. The figure was 30 times higher than that of the 1994 survey.
The loudspeaker network was extended to 5,091 communes or 57 percent of the total. The figure for 1994 was 38.5 percent.
Cultural houses have been operating in 1,252 communes or 14 percent of the total. Meanwhile, 624 communes or 7 percent of the total, built their own libraries. The Red River delta registered the highest rates of communal cultural houses and libraries, 26 percent and 10.7 percent.
According to the survey, 5,101 communes or 57 percent of the total had markets. The central highlands of Tay Nguyen and the northern highland region had the highest numbers of new markets built in the 1994-2001 period. The figures were 56 and 94, respectively.
With more than 70 percent of communes having markets, the Mekong delta, the eastern Nam Bo area and the Red River delta were the localities that had registered the highest number of markets.--Enditem
