The southern province of Ben Tre began the first stage of its housing construction and repair drive on March 5, in response to a nationwide campaign to eradicate makeshift and dilapidated houses across the country.
The launching ceremony saw the presentation of symbolic funding certificates to 20 families in Thanh Phu district. This includes financial aid for 14 newly-built houses valued at 60 million VND (2,400 USD) each, and six others earmarked for repairs, each costing 30 million VND.
Vice Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Be Muoi stressed that the provincial Party Committee, People’s Committee and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee view the effort as a critical and urgent political task.
Last year, the province successfully raised 100.5 billion VND to build 1,802 houses, including 250 for families of ex-revolutionaries and others for poor households. However, nearly 3,500 local households still grapple with housing difficulties, requiring an estimated 200 billion VND in additional support.
The first phase of this year's drive, running from January 1 to April 30, targets housing construction for 1,031 families of ex-revolutionaries, poor and near-poor households, and other disadvantaged groups meeting the Ministry of Construction's criteria.
The same day, the provincial steering committee for the elimination of temporary and dilapidated houses started construction of houses for seven families to the tune of 390 million VND in Dai Dien commune, Thanh Phu district.
This year, the province aims to phase out nearly 3,500 temporary and dilapidated houses through a four-stage plan, with the first phase from January 1 to April 30, the second from May 1 to July 27, the third until September 2 and the fourth concluding on December 31./.
