On Thursday, Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Xuan Anh and municipal People’s Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho jointly chaired a year-end press conference on some local issues of high concern.

Secretary Anh (left) and Chairman Tho at the press conference

In the spotlight at the event was the city leaders’ stance and opinions about the construction of a new tunnel under the Han River.  Secretary Anh officially refuted recent untruthful coverage by some Vietnamese media agencies regarding the Da Nang authorities making a hasty decision to deploy this project.

Secretary Anh remarked that the city authorities began developing plans for the construction work in October 2015.  Since then, 3 meetings have been organised to discuss the implementation of this important project.  By the end of this year, one more meeting will take place to hear reports from the People’s Committee on the project’s finances.  He added that all the members of the Party Committee’s Executive Board unanimously agreed to the deployment of the project.  However, the time to start construction has yet to be agreed.

Secretary Anh remarked that the city leaders always listen to constructive comments and opinions from related experts and even the mass media about any locally important policies and projects.  Any decision made by the city authorities is always based on the interests of local citizens, and for the sake of the city’s future. 

He said that Da Nang is now seeing an annual increase in the number of cars and motorcycles of 12% and 8% respectively.  Therefore, the construction of the new river crossing will help to avoid in the future the traffic congestion that other large Vietnamese cities are currently facing.

Fully concurring with Secretary Anh, Chairman Tho highlighted the importance of the project in dealing with future traffic congestion in the city centre.   He clarified that, in addition to a sharp rise in the number of local vehicles, there are upward trends in both the city’s population density and the number of tourist arrivals to the districts of Son Tra and Ngu Hanh Son.  

Chairman Tho also clarified that the tunnel, as opposed to a bridge, would allow for an ‘airier river’ and ensure safer travel for local vehicle users, especially in stormy and rainy weather.  Furthermore, it will be easier to construct a tunnel under the Han River, in terms of technical issues, than the similar one under the Sai Gon River in Ho Chi Minh City because the Sai Gon River is much deeper than the Han River.

As regards local environmental issues, the Director of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Mr Le Quang Nam, said that inspections are usually conducted twice a year on the use of plant protection substances at the Ba Na Hills golf course.  So far, there have been no reports of the operation of this golf course causing environmental pollution. 

Recently, the Dana-Italy and Dana-Australia Steel companies were asked to temporarily suspend their operations for causing environmental pollution.  In an attempt to resolve this matter, the local authorities will develop detailed plans to move these manufacturing plants out of their existing residential areas.  Director Nam added that plans have already been developed to ensure the biodiversity of the Son Tra Peninsula, with a focus on protecting the endangered red-shanked douc langurs there.

The Head of the Department of Publicity and Training, Mr Nguyen Thanh Quang, said that the selection of 20 local citizens for their remarkable achievements towards the city’s progress over the past 2 decades is proceeding well.  The outstanding citizens will be honoured at a grand ceremony on 31 December to mark the 20^th anniversary of the city’s recognition as a centrally-governed city.

Also at the press conference, the city leaders highly praised the city-based media agencies for their active involvement in widely publicising the important policies and strategies of the city, thereby securing a high level of consensus amongst local residents.