(VOVWORLD) - On May 1, 2024, Ben Cat officially became Binh Duong province’s 5th city, along with Thu Dau Mot, Thuan An, Di An and Tan Uyen. This was an important event for Ben Cat and marks the remarkable development of Binh Duong province.
 A bird's eye view of Ben Cat city, the 5th city of Binh Duong province (Photo: VOV) |
Ben Cat city spans 234 square kilometers in northern Binh Duong province and has a population of 364,000 people. The city has eight commune-level administrative units. In the last 10 years, Ben Cat has become a modern urban area with a dynamic economy and the people’s standard of living improved remarkably. By the beginning of May, Ben Cat had met all the criteria to be a city.
Becoming a city opens up potentials and advantages for attracting investment, upgrading technical and social infrastructure, and better serving people’s lives, said Nguyen Trong An, Chairman of the Ben Cat municipal People's Committee.
“After becoming a city, we have continued to create favorable conditions and provide resources to upgrade transport, cultural, and social infrastructure to meet local development needs. We’ve proposed the provincial authorities to direct the deployment of key projects in Ben Cat,” An said.
Ben Cat city is in a central location between Thu Dau Một city, Tan Uyen city, North Tan Uyen district, Bau Bang district, and Dau Tieng district of Binh Duong. Ben Cat intends to become an industrial-service urban area by 2030 and an industrial-service traffic hub by 2040, with industrial development geared toward clean high tech.
Binh Duong province now has more cities than any other province in Vietnam. It’s the only Vietnamese province on the 2021 global list of communities with a smart city development strategy.
To Huynh Anh Tuan, a resident of Thu Dau Mot, proudly said, “Binh Duong province has seen great changes, especially in investment in infrastructure, services, and education. Jobs have been created and people’s standard of living has improved.”
 Tan Uyen city of Binh Duong province (Photo: VOV) |
According to the General Statistics Office, Binh Duong province, with an area of 2,700 square kilometers and a population of 2.8 million people in 2023, has the highest per capita income in Vietnam – 330 USD per month. The province is aiming for an average annual economic growth of 10% in the 2021-2030 period and a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) per capita of 15,700 USD.
According to its development plan, Binh Duong hopes to become a centrally governed city by 2030, and a dynamic industrial-service development center. By 2050, Binh Duong hopes to be a regional and global industrial-commercial-service center, and a locomotive of national economic development. Its main growth drivers will be industry, services, and innovation based on a firm and highly competitive economic foundation.
Binh Duong aims to escape the middle-income trap and become a modern, humane, harmonious, sustainable area. At a conference in September to announce Binh Duong’s planning for the 2021-2030 period, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said.
“Binh Duong has a great advantage in connecting regions. A good transportation system will create new development spaces, new industrial parks, urban areas, service areas, and new values. It will make travel more convenient, reduce logistics costs, and increase the competitiveness of goods. In this process humans are the decisive factor,” said Chinh.
Once the planning for Binh Duong province is implemented, it will create favorable conditions for the province, its cities, and administrative units at all levels to further develop socio-economic and information technology infrastructure and human resources.
Nguyen Thanh Tam, Chairman of the Thuan An municipal People’s Committee, said: “Thuan An city is the gateway of Binh Duong province and connects the province’s northern cities with Ho Chi Minh city. Based on the province’s planning, we’ll adjust the city’s planning to focus on improving transportation infrastructure, connecting development spaces, and generating momentum for Thuan An city and neighboring localities.”
Binh Duong province is ready to take off into a new development era with new directions, motivations, beliefs, and the aspiration to become a rich, civilized, modern area. It will work closely with other localities in the southern economic region to achieve joint prosperity. Home to five cities, Binh Duong has many favorable conditions and more motivation to prosper.