The Hanoi Party Organisation’s 16th Congress commenced on November 1, with 495 delegates representing more than 390,000 Party members in the city participating. Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Truong Tan Sang, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and other former Party and State leaders took part in the congress. Addressing the function, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong extolled Hanoi for its significant achievements. He underlined several tasks the city should pay more attention to in the 2015-2020 tenure to develop itself as a driving force in the Red River Delta, and a key economic region in the north and the country in general. The Party chief asked the municipal Party Organisation to promote the city’s civilised and heroic traditions, as well as its internal strengths, potential, dynamic spirit and creativity, while changing mindsets and leadership to create strong, inclusive change across key fields. In addition to pushing ahead with economic restructuring, Hanoi had to concentrate on adjusting the growth model. It needed to make breakthroughs in rural modernisation, administration reform and human resources improvements. Taking the lead on improving growth quality and economic competitiveness would also help. Given rapid urbanisation, it was necessary to improve planning management and infrastructure systems, and ensure construction order and traffic safety. The city also needed to deal with pressing social issues, such as accommodation, drainage, and waste treatment, he said. The capital should pay special heed to Party-building at all levels while maintaining political stability, social order and safety, and promoting local tangible and intangible cultural values, he added. The Party leader described the building and development of the capital as the responsibility of the municipal Party Organisation, authorities, people and national Government. The city should stay more proactive in utilising assistance from central departments and agencies so it could solve difficulties in policy, planning and investment resources, he suggested. He expressed his hope that with its long-standing revolutionary tradition and spirit of renovation, democracy, solidarity, and responsibility, the Hanoi Party Organisation and people would optimise opportunities and overcome challenges to build a modern, civilised and prosperous city. Municipal People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen The Thao reported that Hanoi’s economy has been growing remarkably over the past five years. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased 9.23 percent on average – 1.58 times higher than that of the country. The city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2015 was about 27.6 billion USD. Income per capita is approximately 3,600 USD, 1.8 times higher than in 2010. Services, industry-construction and agriculture make up 54 percent, 41.5 percent and 4.5 percent of the economy, respectively. The State collected about 714.5 trillion VND (32 billion USD) over the year, a yearly increase of 7.1 percent. Hanoi is leading the nation in the number of new rural communes. By the end of the year, the city will have 179 that fulfill all criteria on building new-style rural areas. These will account for one fifth of the total new rural communes in the country. The Hanoi Party Organisation’s 16th Congress will run until November 3.-VNA