Party General Secretary Tô Lâm holds a working session with the Standing Boards of the Party Committees of Cần Thơ, and Sóc Trăng and Hậu Giang provinces on Wednesday. VNA/VNS Photo

CẦN THƠ – The Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ must proactively set strategic breakthroughs following the merger, paving the way for rapid and sustainable development, stated Party General Secretary Tô Lâm at a working session with the Standing Boards of the Party Committees of Cần Thơ, and Sóc Trăng and Hậu Giang provinces on Wednesday in Cần Thơ.

In his remarks, the Party chief stressed that the socio-economic development planning for the newly merged Cần Thơ City must go beyond merely combining the existing strengths of the three localities, focusing on creating new value chains based on their complementary advantages, with infrastructure connectivity, digital transformation, green economy, and circular economy serving as pillars for sustainable development.

The city should swiftly establish itself as a dynamic growth engine at the heart of the southwestern subregion, a key hub for trade and a driving force for regional development.

He stressed that the three pillars — institutional reform, comprehensive infrastructure development, and improving the quality of human resources - must be concretised with practical action programmes closely aligned with practical requirements and the spirit of recent key Resolutions issued by the Politburo.

Cần Thơ must proactively transform itself from merely a major administrative centre into a regional hub for knowledge-based economy, innovation, logistics, education, health care, and finance, becoming a magnet for new development resources by fostering flexible institutions, building modern infrastructure, and promoting a dynamic investment environment.

He urged the new city must take the lead in implementing strategic breakthroughs related to developing regional and international connectivity infrastructure, promoting comprehensive digital transformation, training and attracting high-quality human resources, as well as promoting the development of the private sector and innovative startups.

Lâm said the merger of the three localities into a new and expanded Cần Thơ City is expected to create favourable conditions for stronger linkage in economic, cultural, and social development, adding that this aims to streamline administrative apparatus, enhance the effectiveness of state governance, and capitalise on economies of scale and the unique strengths of each locality.

It will significantly expand development space and bring together the key advantages of timing, geography, and connectivity—creating the necessary momentum for the Mekong Delta region to advance, he noted.

He highlighted the distinct strengths of each locality, saying that their unification of the three localities will allow them to complement and amplify each other’s strengths, forming a more diverse, adaptive, and sustainable economic structure.

The merger also paves the way for restructuring development space based on a new growth axis —from the central urban area of Cần Thơ to the industrial and hi-tech agricultural belt in Hậu Giang, extending to coastal regions, seaports, and the sea, island and eco-cultural tourism zones in Sóc Trăng, he stressed, noting that this development axis will foster stronger internal linkages, reduce the fragmentation of resources, and enable the planning of large-scale and high-impact projects.

The Party leader ordered the Party committees and authorities of the localities, and the entire political system to thoroughly grasp the key guiding principles in implementing the merger and streamlining administrative apparatus, laying the foundation for rapid and sustainable development in the years ahead.

The merger, along with restructuring of the administrative apparatus and perfecting a two-tier governance model, presents a historic opportunity to “redesign” a more streamlined, smarter, and better-connected governance system to overcome long-standing bottlenecks caused by administrative fragmentation, scattered development, and local competition, he said. VNS