The Prime Minister has agreed to add 2,275 disadvantaged villages in 48 provinces and cities nationwide to the investment list for Programme 135 in the 2016-2020 period.

Of those, 2,240 will receive investment sourced from the State budget, while the other 35 in Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Khanh Hoa and Ba Ria – Vung Tau will be subsidised from local budgets.

A rural road in Kien Giang improved under Programme 135

The most disadvantaged communes are in Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Thanh Hoa, Lang Son, Son La and Dien Bien.

In 2015, 80 communes from 23 provinces and cities were recognised as having fulfilled targets of the programme. They included 12 each from Binh Phuoc and Thai Nguyen, eight from Soc Trang, and seven each from Lao Cai and Tra Vinh.

The programme invested in nearly 6,000 extremely disadvantaged areas including border communes and extremely disadvantaged hamlets, with total funding of nearly 7.8 trillion VND (347.77 million USD).

The Government’s Programme 135, launched in 1999 under the Prime Minister’s Decision 135/1998/QD-TTg on July 31, 1998, aims to improve living conditions for rural residents with a particular focus on ethnic minority communities.

Source: VNA