Industry returns to the village, rural life in Hai Duong changes

People's lives are prosperous

Having the opportunity to visit Le Xa village, Cam Phuc commune (Cam Giang), we could see the hustle and bustle of this countryside. On both sides of the road leading to the village, there are shops next to each other, full of goods, from clothes to food, drinks, household items... Here it is like a "street in the village", even more bustling than Thanh Binh market (often called the student market known by many people in Hai Duong city). Every early morning and late afternoon, when workers go to work and finish their shift, the "street" becomes much more lively.

Ms. Vu Thi Diep in Le Xa village said that before the industrial park was built, she worked as a worker on a traffic construction project. She knew that the job was unstable and hard, but for the sake of making a living, she accepted this nomadic life. “More than 20 years ago, life was difficult and backward, but looking back now, it is a big change,” Ms. Diep said.

After the establishment of Phuc Dien Industrial Park for about ten years, many businesses came to invest, attracting workers and laborers from far away to work, Ms. Diep returned to her hometown to get married and open a grocery store. Life has changed completely since then, now Ms. Diep and her husband have built a spacious 3-storey house, the ground floor sells groceries that are always crowded with customers. Ms. Diep shared that her life and income are now much more stable, she can work all day without having to go anywhere.

Wherever there is an industrial park, there is a “street”. In addition to grocery stores, the lodging business has also developed like never before. Compared to 20 years ago, the low-lying fields with unstable income, or ponds and gardens with insignificant income, have now been filled with rows of high and low lodgings. Having run a lodging business for nearly 20 years, Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan in Tu Thong area, Tu Minh ward (Hai Duong city) said that since the formation of Dai An industrial park, the lives of people here have “changed dramatically”. Previously, Mr. Tuan’s family only relied on income from a few fields of rice, a few rows of vegetables, sometimes having to help with construction everywhere when it was not yet the harvest season. Since the industrial park was established, Mr. Tuan’s family has built more than 20 rooms for rent, averaging 600,000 VND/room/month. Mr. Tuan’s family also sells groceries to serve guests. That income is enough for him and his wife to cover their living expenses, raise their children and take care of their old age.

Services that were previously unavailable in villages, hamlets, and residential areas are now closer to workers and laborers. The economic structure in these areas has shifted from agriculture to commercial services. Ms. Bui Thi Gam, a resident of Quyet Tam hamlet, Lai Vu commune (Kim Thanh), said that people's lives have become more leisurely since the Lai Vu industrial park was built. The industrial park has created jobs for about 20,000 workers and laborers. "In addition to creating jobs for workers, the industrial park also brings business opportunities and economic development to many people in the commune, and people's lives have gradually improved," Ms. Gam said.

Stability and development

Hai Duong has established 17 industrial parks, of which 12 have invested in infrastructure construction and business exploitation. The industrial parks have attracted more than 100,000 workers inside and outside the province. With a convenient transportation system, large land area, and abundant labor resources, the communes and wards located next to the industrial parks have favorable conditions for economic development in the direction of trade and services.

According to Mr. Tang Tien Trinh, Vice Chairman of Cam Phuc Commune People's Committee, the commune has 6 villages, of which the majority of people in Le Xa and Tan Co villages are engaged in service business. For newly registered households, the Commune People's Committee requires professional staff to guide people in completing procedures, and at the same time supervise the construction and business process of the households. Currently, the whole commune has 1.2% of poor households; the rate of purely agricultural workers is only about 1.3%. The majority of people aged 18-45 work in Phuc Dien and Tan Truong industrial parks with a stable income of 8-10 million VND/person/month.

People's lives are increasingly improving, so mobilizing human resources and people's strength in building new rural areas, civilized urban areas and implementing public works in communes and wards is more convenient.

However, behind that development there are many consequences. The social evils surrounding workers in boarding houses, lack of security and order, environmental pollution… still occur in some places.

To overcome these limitations, in wards and communes with a large number of workers staying in rented accommodation, where business and service activities are bustling, a model of self-management teams for security and order, and environmental sanitation service teams at "workers' markets" have been established to keep the village and residential areas clean. Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, Party Cell Secretary and Head of Tu Thong Residential Area, said that the leaders of the residential area have coordinated with the police force to review, inspect, and guide landlords, commercial and service establishments to fully equip fire extinguisher systems and operate legally, ensuring environmental sanitation.