Nguyen Thanh Phong, the newly elected chairman of Ho Chi Minh, said on Friday he is committed to seeking a special mechanism to lead the southern metropolis to a breakthrough development.

The city’s leader will “try his best and never stop learning” to be able to fulfill his responsibility, he told reporters after being announced new chairman of the municipal People’s Committee in an election in the morning.

Phong, deputy secretary of the city’s Party Committee, won 85.10 percent of the vote to replace Le Hoang Quan, 62, who has held the position for two five-year terms.

The 53-year-old new leader took the helm at a time when the Ho Chi Minh City administration has previously failed to seek approval from the central government to deploy a special mechanism in search of a breakthrough development.

“We will surely continue our determination in seeking approval for a mechanism that can boost the city’s development,” Phong said.

“Such a special mechanism is essential for Ho Chi Minh City to become an economic center of the Southeast Asia.”

The new leader also expressed his resolution in resolving several problems, such as fighting corruption and improving the living standard for local residents, in the coming time.

“We will have specific and strict sanctions on those who demanding bribes from businesses and the public,” he said.

Phong added that he will seek to increase the incomes of the city’s dwellers and create better conditions for them to live or do business.

“We will work on solutions to enable the poor and low-income earners to have better life,” he pressed.

With the newly elected chairman holding a PhD in economics, many residents and businesses in Ho Chi Minh City have expressed their belief that the new leader will succeed in his bid to boost the city’s development.

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