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Social News Headlines 18/2
Second
post-Tet cold snap to hit northern region
A
strong cold front is moving southwards and is expected to hit the northern
region on February 18, the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological
Forecasting has reported.
According
to the national weather service, the second cold snap since the Lunar New
Year is expected to bring heavy rain and temperatures below 15°C to all areas
of the region.
The
cold weather should last for 3-4 days, before temperatures begin to rise.
Northeastern
winds in the
Rough
seas are also anticipated.
The
Embassy of Sweden in
At the
exhibition, enterprises and experts from
The
exhibition is one among the activities celebrating the 45th anniversary of
diplomatic ties between the two countries.
According
to Quan, there are currently 13 Swedish projects operational in HCMC with a
total investment of some US$250 million.
At a
conference held in HCMC last September, 12 Swedish enterprises introduced
technologies and solutions of renewable energy and clean technologies. Josab,
Winova, Kristianstad, Konseb, Gaia, Ecoloo, Susbiz, ED Biogas and Neozeo were
among the Swedish enterprises participating in the conference.
Many
enterprises said they would seek Vietnamese partners to conduct solar power
and biogas projects or build public toilets.
Residents
in districts 9, 1, 3 as well as Thu Duc, Binh Thanh, Go Vap and Phu Nhuan
districts will have more clean water supply with a daily capacity of 200,000
cubic meters when Thu Duc 3 plant is operational later this year.
The
operation of Thu Duc 3 plant will increase the total water capacity of Saigon
Water Corporation (Sawaco) from 1.5 million to 1.8 million cubic meters per
day. The plant is invested by Sawaco, REE Corporation, and Water Supply and
Sewerage Construction and Investment Joint Stock Company (Waseco), according
to deputy general director of Sawaco Bach Vu Hai.
Besides,
the Tan Hiep 2 water project having a capacity of 300,000 cubic meters per
day will be kicked off in the middle of this year. The VND1.2-trillion
project is scheduled for operation in early 2016.
In
related news, Le Quoc Binh, general director of HCMC Infrastructure
Investment Joint Stock Company (CII), has confirmed that CII had presented to
the HCMC government a plan to supply water for District 12, Tan Binh, Tan
Phu, Go Vap and Hoc Mon districts under the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT)
format.
Under
the plan, CII will take over all existing water supply facilities in the five
aforementioned districts managed by Tan Hoa Water Supply Company and Trung An
Water Supply Company. These two units are affiliated to Sawaco.
If the
plan gets nod from the city government, CII will buy water at a wholesale
price from Sawaco and directly distribute clean water to end-users, develop
water supply network, reduce water loss, install water meters for each
household in 15 years and then hand over them all to Sawaco.
HCMC’s
water demand is forecast to rise to nearly 2.8 million cubic meters per day
in 2015 and 3.8 million cubic meters in 2025. Water used in HCMC is exploited
from the Saigon River and Dau Tieng reservoir with an amount of 0.95 million
cubic meters per day, the Dong Nai River and Tri An reservoir with nearly 1.5
million cubic meters and groundwater with nearly 0.5 million cubic meters.
In
addition to Thu Duc 3 and Tan Hiep 2 water plants, Sawaco will start work on
Thu Duc 4, Tan Hiep 3 and Thu Duc 5 water projects in the period between 2016
and 2024.
The
U.S. Consulate General in HCMC will host the EducationUSA Spring Fair from 2
p.m. to 5 p.m. on February 19 at the
Representatives
from 25
The
fair will feature representatives that highlight the diverse range of
education options available in the
Students,
parents, and others interested in learning about study opportunities in the
The
EducationUSA fair which takes place at Level 8 of Diamond Plaza,
The
Red River Delta and the Northern key economic region would become one of the
locomotives of national economic development.
This
is part of a Prime Minister’s decision to implement Conclusion 13/KL/TW,
dated September 14, 2005 of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of
Viet Nam on socio-economic development and defense and security maintenance
in the Red River Delta up to 2010 and orientations towards 2020.
Under
the decision, the Red River Delta and the Northern key economic region would
take the lead in realizing “strategic breakthroughs,” economic restructuring,
economic growth transformation, including maritime economy and contribute to
national defense, political stability and social safety.
Based
on their competence and tasks, ministries, agencies, Governmental agencies,
and the provincial and municipal People’s Committees would build joint
mechanisms to uphold advantages of each locality.
Especially,
Ha Noi, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh would function as the key driving force for
economic growth in the region.
Research
centers on education and training and healthcare will be constructed in Ha
Noi,
The
economic restructuring would be conducted towards a green and clean
environment with low carbon emission and in response to climate change and
sea level rise.
Farmer
gives up orchard to protect night herons
A
farmer in
For
the past seven years, the 6,000-square metre longan orchard owned by Le Van
Chia of Gia Kiet Hamlet, Tra On District has been home to a flock of night
herons. In order to protect the birds, Chia was willing to lose hundreds of
million of VND in harvests.
The
birds started to come to Chia's orchard in 2007. At first, only a few dozen
herons stayed at the orchard in daytime and went to search for food at night.
When no one chased them away, the number of herons increased and Chia was
afraid that the birds might destroy his orchard. He said, "All the
flowers and fruits were ruined as soon as they bloomed. However, I didn't
dare to use toxic chemical to get them to leave. Actually, I was afraid that
the birds would leave."
Chia
eventually gave up the 6,000-square metres orchard to the birds, now only
growing longan on the remaining 8,000-square metre area outside. He also
spends a lot of time and effort to protect the herons. When hunters use
nighttime as their cover, Chia stays up most of the night to keep guard.
Due to
the huge number of birds, Chia had sought support from authorities. In 2011,
Vinh Long Province Forest Ranger Unit conducted a field survey but provided
no support. They thought it too difficult to guard the orchard and said that
the birds would leave sooner or later because of the limited food supply.
Chia
guards his orchard alone and gives fish and shrimp to the herons. "Even
though I've picked up a lot of traps set by the hunters, there are still more
and the traps have killed several of the birds. At this rate, they'll scare
off the herons from this orchard. I'm nearly 70 years old. Who will protect
the birds after I die?" Chia said.
His
wife is displeased by the loss of income from the orchard, but Chia is
determined to protect the birds. Chia hopes to place barbed wire around the
orchard and replace longan with coconut to earn some income.
"No
organisations seem willing to help me so I'll use my own money. I'm happy
when I hear the sound of the herons and watch them return food," he
said.
Farmers
in the Cuu Long (
Ho Van
Chien, director of the Southern Plant Protection Centre, said the large
difference between day and night temperatures and inclement fog in the
morning over the past days have caused unfavourable conditions for the growth
of rice that may cause the development of rice diseases.
The
delta has had more than 21,000ha of rice infected by blast diseases, 1,000ha
infected by bacterial leaf blight and more than 40,000ha infected with brown
plant hoppers, he said.
The
centre warned farmers not to use mixed pesticides to spray disease affected
rice fields but to use specific pesticide aimed at targeting specific kinds
of pests and diseases to achieve best results.
Farmers
should strictly follow integrated pest management programmes when tending to
their rice fields and fertilise the rice fields properly.
For
this winter-spring rice crop, farmers in the delta, the country's largest
rice granary, have planted about 1.6 million hectares, according to the Plant
Cultivation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development.
Several
provinces in the Delta, including Dong Thap, Vinh Long and Soc Trang
provinces, and Can Tho City planted the winter-spring crop early thanks to a
closed-dyke system that ensures water supply for the crop.
After
Tet (Lunar New Year) festival, which fell on January 31, many farmers began
harvesting their rice fields.
Lam
Tan Dat, who harvested 4 ha of rice variety PC10 with a yield of 7 tonnes per
hectare in My Tu District's Phu My Commune in
Traders
also offered a higher price than the last crop, he said.
Many
farmers in Soc Trang said they earned a profit of VND25-30 million (US$1,200-
1,400) per ha.
As of
last Saturday, farmers have harvested about 200,000ha of the winter-spring
rice crop with a total output of 1.22 million tonnes, according to the Plant Cultivation
Department.
The
delta will enter the peak harvest of the winter-spring rice crop in March.
The winter-spring rice crop is the main rice crop and has a higher yield than
the summer-autumn and autumn-winter rice crops.
The
harvest of the winter-spring rice crop is not affected by rains like other
rice crops, so it is easy for farmers to use machines to harvest their rice.
The
delta plans to increase the rate of mechanisation in the harvesting and
drying stages to 100 per cent in the winter-spring rice crop by 2020 and 80
per cent in the summer-autumn and autumn-winter rice crops, according to the
Southwest Region Steering Committee.
To
meet the target, the delta will have an additional 11,000-15,000 harvest and
drying machines, taking the number of these machines to 20,000-25,000 by
2020.
The
delta will also build 70 modern rice drying facilities, each with a capacity
of 10-30 tonnes an hour.
Can
Tho and the surrounding delta's provinces will supply farmers with more rice
varieties that have high yield and quality and low seed dropping rate during
harvest.
The
delta will encourage investors to invest in producing harvest and drying
machines that are suitable for use by farmers in the delta's fields.
The
delta will also create conditions for more farmers to borrow loans to aid
ownership of harvest and drying machines.
The
delta's mechanisation now serves about 1 million ha of rice in the
winter-spring crop, according to the steering committee.
In the
summer-autumn and autumn-winter crops, the operation of machines in rice
fields is limited because the harvest falls during the rainy season and rice
fields are often submerged in water.
The
usage rate of machines in these two crops is about 50 per cent lower than in
the winter-spring crop.
The
rate of post-harvest loss of the two crops is 10-12 per cent higher than that
of the winter-spring crop.
The
second workshop for the HCM City-Osaka Cooperation Project to Develop a
It is
part of activities under the Memorandum of Cooperation on Low-Carbon Growth
between the two countries signed in July last year.
Under
the cooperation,
The
HCM City People's Committee has approved the construction of 90 public
nursery schools with total capital of VND3.5 trillion (US$166 million).
Nguyen
Dinh Thai Chau, head of the city Department of Education and Training's
Planning and Finance Division, said the construction would be completed by
the end of 2015.
In the
last 10 years, about 90 public nursery schools were built.
Chau
said the city would put into use nine public nursery schools this year.
On
February 11 and 12, a delegation of the city's People's Council's Culture-
Society Division visited Thu Duc and Tan Binh districts to survey the
management of private nursery schools.
The
delegation found many unlicensed private nurseries but local authorities had
difficulty closing them because of the shortage in their areas.
Binh
Tan has 125 unlicensed nursery facilities and 90 unlicensed family-based
daycare facilities that take care of more than 6,000 children, according to
the Binh Tan People's Committee.
The
district has only 12 public nursery schools that provide daycare for 4,562
children. It also has 37 private nursery schools and 95 private nursery
classes that provide daycare for a total of 12,242 children.
Three
of Tan Binh's 10 wards do not have a nursery school.
In Thu
Duc, there are 307 unlicensed nursery facilities.
The
increase in the number of unlicensed family-based daycare facilities and
unlicensed nursery facilities is largely due to the frequent relocation of
migrant families who need daycare for short periods, according to Nguyen Tho
Truyen, deputy chairman of the Thu Duc People's Committee.
Migrant
workers often send their children to family-based daycare facilities, with
each household keeping about three to six children.
The
district does not have any facilities to keep children aged 6 to 12 months,
which has also contributed to the increase in household daycare centres, he
said.
Foot, mouth
disease infects animals in Cao Bang
Foot-and-mouth
disease has been reported in northern border
The
disease has spread among animals in recent days due to the cold weather and
the increasing movement of livestock from affected areas after the Tet (Lunar
New Year) festival, according to the provincial Animal Health Department.
Local
animal health officials have taken measures to prevent the further spread of
the disease, including sterilising hot spots and tightening control over
moving animals, as well as vaccinating local animals.
Nearly
60,000 hectares of forests in the southern
According
to Tay Ninh's Department of Forest Management, the locality has been
undertaking drastic measures, such as building a 92-km fire belt and
intensifying around-the-clock patrols, in a bid to head off possible fires.
Also,
local residents were discouraged from going into the forests to gather wood
at this time.
The
60,000-ha forest is located along the border with
In
2013, nearly 250 fires were reported across the country, destroying 965ha of
forests. No casualties were reported.
The
central city of
Accordingly,
the residents in the city will pay VND3,800 (US$0.18) instead of VND3,500
($0.16) for the first 10 cubic metres of water, and VND4,500 instead of
VND4,100 for each extra cubic metre from this month.
Meanwhile,
the price of water used by businesses and services has also been hiked from
VND11,600($0.5) to VND12,800 per cubic metre.
Director
of the Da Nang water supply company Nguyen Truong Anh said that the pumps had
to work 24 hours for six or seven months instead of one month.
"It's
the operation of the Dak Mi 4 hydro-power plant in the Vu Gia River system
which caused high salinity in the Cau Do River waters, the major water source
for
"Our
reserve pumping stations had to work round the clock to provide fresh water
by removing the salinity in the Cau Do River waters," he said.
He
added that the work overload on the pumping stations cost VND13 billion
($620,000) per year.
An
expert of hydro-power and irrigation from the
Deputy
Director of the city's Agriculture and Rural Development Department Huynh Van
Thang affirmed that the Dak Mi 4 hydro-power plant consumes 1.2 billion cubic
metres of the Vu Gia River, as much as 50 per cent of the river flow.
The
central city forwarded the solution to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and
the hydro-power project to deal with the water shortage in the lowlands of
Ministry
unveils energy-saving plan
A
draft circular has been issued early this year by the Ministry of
Construction to provide guidance on management, saving and efficient use of
energy in buildings.
The
draft is expected to be an important step forward in improving standards and
reducing energy consumption for public and private buildings, such as
offices, hotels, hospitals, schools with more than 2,500 square metres of
total floor space.
The
number of buildings such as houses, shopping centres and hotels has increased
rapidly in recent years. In these buildings, poor energy efficiency measures
have led to huge energy waste.
"The
building sector is one of the large energy users, accounting for 25 per cent
of total national energy consumption. Therefore, applying energy efficiency
solutions for buildings is so important," Nguyen Trung Hoa, Head of the
Ministry's Department of Science, Technology and Environment, told Xay Dung
(Construction) newspaper.
To
encourage buildings to save energy, the Ministry will grant the Building
Energy Efficiency Certificate to buildings that successfully meets QCVN
09:2013/BXD standards.
The
compulsory technical requirements will be applied to building components such
as building envelopes, lighting, ventilation systems and air conditioning,
lift and escalator, and heating.
The
potential of energy efficiency in constructions including both old and new
buildings is very high, experts said.
"Application
of energy efficient technologies and materials, architectural designs can
save around 30-40 per cent of energy consumption for new buildings,"
said Tran Dinh Thai, from the construction ministry.
"For
renovated buildings, if energy audits and energy saving solutions are
applied, about 15-25 per cent of energy consumption will be saved," he
added.
However,
the amount of energy consumption in buildings remains high because
"The
consultant units which have capacity in building energy efficiency are still
few in number. The most advanced design technology is energy use simulation
software for buildings which have are not yet," said Tran Thanh Vu,
Energy Efficiency Consulting experts at the World Bank Group's International
Finance Corporation (IFC).
The
Ministry of Construction will also provide training courses for energy
managers and energy auditors to improve the knowledge of energy conservation.
In the future, this work should be strongly promoted to meet the needs of
human resources of the units engaged in energy efficiency.
The
People's Committee of HCM City has approved the Transport Department's
proposal to build a steel flyover at the Go Vap intersection.
According
to the department, the steel overpass at the intersection will have a Y-shape
over the main route of Nguyen Oanh – Nguyen Kiem streets, and a minor route
over Pham Ngu Lao – Nguyen Oanh streets.
The
flyover across Nguyen Oanh will be 12m wide with four lanes, and the other
section over Nguyen Kiem and Pham Ngu Lao will be 6m wide with two lanes.
The
department said the flyover project would have total investment of VND354
trillion (US$16.8 million) and will be completed in seven months.
Construction
of the project will be carried out soon, according to the department.
The
flyovers are expected to relieve traffic congestion by 75-80 per cent in the
area. This is the city's seventh steel overpass and second Y-shaped bridge
investment.
In
order to solve congestion problems at several hotspots, HCM City has built
six steel overpasses at Thu Duc intersection, Hang Xanh intersection, Lang
Cha Ca roundabout, Nguyen Tri Phuong – Ly Thai To – 3/2 intersection, Cong
Hoa – Hoang Hoa Tham crossroads, and the first Y-shaped flyover at Cay Go
roundabout.
Child
helmet-wearing rate below target
The
number of children who wore helmets was below the target of 80 per cent set
by the "Children also need a helmet" campaign phase III, according
to Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Committee Secretariat Luu Van Binh.
Ineffective
co-ordination between schools, parents and local authorities was to blame for
the high rate of children who do not wear helmets, Binh said.
According
to statistics from the Ha Noi Traffic Police, the police fined more than 574
people during phase III of the campaign from September to December last year
for failing to have their children wearing helmets while carrying them on
motorbikes.
The
percentage of children in Ha Noi who wear helmets on motorbikes rose from 9.1
per cent to 52.9 per cent following phase II of the "Children also need
a helmet" campaign.
Hai
Phong police bust gambling network
Police
in the northern port city of
They said
the gang's kingpin, 23-year-old Vu Khac Tiep of Van Dau Ward, was caught
red-handed together with 26 other individuals.
More
than VND35 million (US$1,700) in cash, dozens of motorbikes and mobile
phones, as well as two loaded guns were seized during the raid.
The
ring's activities will be investigated further, police said.
Injured
fisherman saved at sea
The
Regional Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre No 2 (MRCC Da Nang)
salvaged a fisherman who was bitten by a big fish yesterday off the coast of
the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands, 300 miles from central
An
officer from the centre said a ship from the centre found the fishing vessel
and 41-year-old victim Tran Van Dat of central
Dat
was saved by doctors on the rescue ship after the attack by an unidentified
fish while he was diving in deep water on Wednesday.
Traffic
police inspect truck, bus drivers in bid to curb accidents
Traffic
police, especially from Nghe An to Binh Thuan in the central region, have
been ordered to conduct more patrols and strictly handle violations by coach
and truck drivers in an effort to slash fatal road accidents.
The
move was taken by vice chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee
Nguyen Hoang Hiep on Tuesday after five fatal traffic accidents on stretches
of
According
to Hiep, distractions, speeding and driving in the wrong lane were to blame.
Hiep
told online newspaper Vnmedia that the accidents often occurred late at night
when roads were mostly deserted and traffic police were not on patrol.
He
added that this was the time when drivers often felt tired. Hiep also blamed
cold weather and rain for limiting the vision of drivers.
The
vice chairman said that vehicle registrations would be revoked if drivers
were found guilty of violating safety rules. Bus companies could also be
suspended from operation.
Transport
companies were asked to terminate the labour contracts of drivers who repeatedly
offended.
Two
people were killed instantly after their motorbike collided with a train at
midnight in Thanh Khe District on Wednesday, local police said yesterday.
The
pair crossed the railway as the North-South Express Train, SE7, was
approaching, journeying from Ha Noi to
There
was no barrier at the junction between the road and the railway.
The
district police confirmed the deceased were from central Quang
300
kg of smuggled poultry seized
More
than 300 kilogrammes of smuggled poultry were seized yesterday while they
were being transported from
Two
persons, Nong Van Bang and Lam Van Quyen, both residents of Tra Linh District
in
They
said the poultry was being smuggled from
They
were fined VND3 million each ($150) and the poultry was sent over to the
authorities to be destroyed.
Incomes
fall for relocated families
The
average incomes of families relocated to make way for social and economic
development projects in
The
survey of nearly 500 households with 2,300 people moved out for projects
undertaken between 2010 and 2013 in eight districts — 2, 9, 12, Binh Chanh,
Can Gio, Cu Chi, Hoc Mon, and Binh Thanh — was done in November.
Their
monthly incomes fell from VND11.7-97.5 million (US$550-4,600) to VND10.5-80
million after relocation, it found.
Nearly
30 per cent of households suffered a fall in income due to problems related
to land loss and changes in business location, and only 14 per cent saw
incomes increase, mostly due to bank interest on the compensation and
relocation money.
Nearly
43 per cent of the 1,900 respondents aged 15 or above were unemployed.
Fourteen
per cent of households said their business and working conditions were
adversely affected due to the relocation while only 9 per cent said they had
improved.
Tran
Van Than, deputy head of the institute, suggested that policies related to
land clearance and relocation should take into account all the aspects of
life to ensure stable living conditions for relocated households.
A
majority of affected households opted for compensation money instead of
housing and lived in their old places to continue their businesses since most
were manual workers or ran small service businesses, he added.
Pham
Thi My Nuong, from the provincial Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said
that the move aimed to build
The
situation was said to appear in the city a couple times of year, she said.
To
easily take care of beggars and homeless people and create more favourable
conditions for the underprivileged people in the city so that they are able
to access better care and education, the city has classified them into
groups, noted Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tam Ky City Bui Ngoc
Anh.
Under
the plan, the authorities of the communes and wards will take the
responsibility of managing beggars who have permanent residence registration
cards.
Beggars
who come from other provinces will be sent back to their hometowns.
Homeless
children whose hometowns are not known will be sent to the Quang Nam Orphan
Centre in Phu Ninh District. Homeless elderly persons with unidentified
hometowns will be sent to the Quang Nam Social Centre and the
Also,
the
A
social working team, with 31 members, has been established to co-operate with
local authorised agencies to disseminate information at bus stations,
markets, restaurants and public places to make the city's policy a reality.
Nguyen
Thuan, from the Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Office of the city
People's Committee, said that the programme was built after references were
made based on a successful model of
However,
Tam Ky City had its own characteristics, so, we also ran the programme in our
ways, he said.
"We
did not set up a hotline to receive complaints, we provided mobile phone numbers
of members from the social work team, who was in charge in bus stations or
restaurants," he added.
The
city failed to provide the number of beggars and homeless persons to Viet Nam
News, however, according to Nguoi Dua Tin (Courier) online newspaper,
hundreds of beggars and homeless people, including children, were found in
the city each year.
Transport
department proposes toll fee for Thang Long Boulevard
Ha
Noi's Department of Transport was working on a project to collect road
maintenance fees from vehicles on the Thang Long Boulevard, according to the
deputy head of the department, Nguyen Xuan Tan.
Tan
said the purpose of the toll was to modernise the management of the route,
balance the volume of traffic and minimise traffic accidents.
Initial
information from the department revealed that the project, with estimated
investment capital of VND209 billion (US$9.8 million), would focus on
building a smart traffic management system on the boulevard this year.
The
system would cover traffic safety issues on the route, including preventing
and dealing with traffic accidents. Cameras, electric road signs, and a
weigh-bridge to detect overloaded trucks would be installed along the route.
According
to Tan, the cost of building the smart traffic management system would be
mobilised from sources under public-private partner or build-operate-transfer
models.
The
boulevard, the longest in the country, starts at the intersection of Lang-Hoa
Lac and Belt Road III, and ends at the intersection between
The
boulevard, which is 30 kilometres long and 140-170 metres wide, has six
express lanes and two additional lanes for motorcycles and bicycles. It
connects Ha Noi with satellite cities and tourist sites and is an important
foundation for the development of the nearby Lang-Hoa Lac high-tech zone.
Last
month, city authorities asked the Government for permission to collect fees
on the boulevard. The submission has been opposed by the public.
Bui
Danh Lien, chairman of the Ha Noi Aumobile Transport Association, said that
the toll was unfair because the work should be paid for by the road
maintenance fund.
He
said since 2012, the Ministry of Transport had been abolishing road tolls
nationwide since the fund was set up. The establishment of a toll on the
boulevard was against the ministry's policy and caused annoyance for people
who had to pay twice to travel along the route, he added.
Lien
said three other streets ran parallel with the boulevard, and people were
more likely to use them to avoid paying the toll, creating traffic chaos.
He
added that the city should ask for funding from the State budget to subsidise
road maintenance.
Nguyen
Dinh Quan, a truck driver from
"None
of us drivers want to pay fees when we have another choice. Maybe I'll pay if
the additional roads become overcrowded and the fee is acceptable. If not,
I'd rather choose another route," he said.
Can
Tho to open additional flights
The
Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of
According
to the Can Tho People's Committee, the flights will be serviced between Can
Tho and
Pham
Thanh Tam, director of Can Tho International Airport, also suggested that in
the future the city should open international flights to
The
city plans to organise a conference by the end of this month to promote services
of more flights to Can Tho with the participation of local and international
airlines.
Dao
Anh Dung, vice chairman of the city's People's Committee, said the conference
aimed to tap the potential of the city and enhance connectivity between the
Mekong Delta and the rest of the country and the world. This in turn would
attract more tourists and investors to the Mekong Delta.
Currently,
Can Tho airport operates flights between the city and Ha Noi, Phu Quoc and
Con Dao. It also operates flights to
Can
Tho airport received 238,000 passengers last year, while its designed
capacity is 3 million passengers per year.
Fisherman
shortage anchors Phu Yen fishing vessels
Hundreds
of large ships used for deep-sea fishing in the central
"
According
to Nguyen Trong Tung, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development, local fishermen exploited 750 tonnes of
tuna since the beginning of the year, much lower than the same period last
year.
Low
incomes have made many local fishermen quit deep-sea fishing, according to
Chairman of the Fishing Association in the city's Ward 6 Phan Thuan.
"Only
30 per cent of ships which exploited 1.3-2 tonnes of tuna each could make a
profit worth between dozens of million of dong and over VND100 million
(US$952-4,700) in the first tuna fishing trip this year. The rest broke even
or made a loss," Thuan said.
Whereas,
local fishermen fishing inshore had a bumper crop when each could earn
VND120,000 – 200,000 ($5.7 – 9.5) per day.
"Local
ship owners tried to find employees in other localities in the province to
soon put out to sea," Thuan said.
Ethnic
poverty plan falls short of initial target
Despite
years of poverty reduction efforts, more than 320 thousand households of poor
ethnic minorities were still looking for land to live and farm on.
The
figures were announced by the Committee for Ethnic Minorities (CEM) at a
meeting with the Monitoring Group of the National Assembly Office on Tuesday.
The
Committee's report for 2005-12 also showed that more than 274 thousand ethnic
households were in need of clean water for everyday life.
While
outlining the progress of a VND7.9 trillion (US$380 million) project to
provide farm land, houses and clean water for poor ethnic minority
households, the report pointed out that over the past four years, the central
bank has distributed only VND1 trillion ($50.5 million) of the funding.
Another
project that has failed to achieve its targets is a plan to support the
resettlement of ethnic minorities, many of whom still lead traditional
nomadic lives.
Since
2008, a total of VND1.6 trillion ($77.8 million) has been spent on the
project, but only 13 thousand households have been resettled, achieving just
43 per cent of the project's target.
According
to Ha Hung, CEM's vice chairman, resource allocation together with an
unrealistic view of socio-economic development had dragged down the
effectiveness of the projects.
"The
total budget for ethnic policies in 2014 is only 33 per cent of the approved
plan. We want the National Assembly to provide the planned funding and create
an extra budget to support projects and development in mountainous
ethnic-populated regions," Hung said.
Policies
to promote socio-economic development and poverty reduction have already
changed the society. In seven years, the national poverty rate has declined
from 20 per cent in 2006 to 9.6 per cent in 2012.
Project
promotes heritage tree preservation
A
programme to preserve Vietnam’s rare trees, which was launched in March 2010
by t he Association for the Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE),
has received a fervent response in many localities.
The
programme aims to select and honour the country’s heritage trees in a bid to
conserve their gene sources, while raising public awareness of protecting the
environment.
It
also contributes to promoting the diversification and abundance of Vietnam’s
flora as well as developing scientific research in the field.
Nearly
500 trees in over 40 provinces and cities have been named Vietnam Heritage
Tree so far.
They
included especially rare trees like the 2000-year-old teak tree in Viet Tri
city, northern Phu Tho province and the 1000-year-old parashrea stellata tree
in northern Ninh Binh province’s Cuc Phuong National Park.
According
to the VACNE, to be recognised as heritage, the trees must be at least 200
years old in the case of wild trees, and at least 100 years for those
planted. Moreover, the trees should be connected with the historical and
cultural characteristics of the area where they grow.
Other
trees, which do not meet the criteria mentioned above but have special values
in science, history or culture, are also honoured as heritage.
Recently,
the VACNE recognised 20 mango trees grown at the national historic site of Tu
Quang pagoda in the central coastal province of Phu Yen as national heritage
trees.-
Oxfam-funded
project helps ethnic women in Lao Cai
A
livestock breeding project to economically empower ethnic minority women in
the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai has proved effective, helping
hundreds of households in the locality escape from poverty.
Funded
by Oxfam – a non-governmental organisation from the United Kingdom - the
breeding project developed a stock of 150 breeding pigs into 430 pigs with
healthy weights and good resistance to diseases.
Carried
out in Muong Khuong district from October 2012, the project attracted the
participation of 366 ethnic minority women in 14 groups. It delivered 150
female and male pigs to the groups to assist poor households in developing
their families’ economy.
When a
sow has new-born pigs, the households will give back a healthy piglet to
their group to give to other people in the group.
Apart
from being provided with pigs, group members also took part in training
courses to study methods of effective cattle-breeding as well as ways to use
veterinary medicine and manage home economics.
According
to Ninh Quy Tao, Deputy Director of the provincial agriculture encouragement
centre, by 2015, the project is expected to help more than 1,000 women,
mostly from the H’Mong, Dao, Nung and Day groups in Bat Xat and Muong Khuong
districts improve household incomes.
Through
capacity building for ethnic minority women in market-oriented production and
market negotiation skills, the project is also expected to create resources
that will strongly support ethnic women to claim an equal status with the men
in their community.
Project
upgrades Vo Nguyen Giap schools in Dien Bien
A
project was kicked off on February 16 to upgrade the primary and secondary
schools named after General Vo Nguyen Giap in the northern mountainous
province of Dien Bien.
The
project has received total investment of 10 billion VND (476,000 USD) from
the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam.
Under
the project, each of the two schools in Muong Phang commune, Dien Bien
district, will have a new two-storey building with six classrooms and one
staff house.
The
work is expected to be completed and handed over on the occasion of the 60 th
anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory on May 7, 2014 .
General
Vo Nguyen Giap was former commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People’s Army,
who played a major role in the country’s two resistance wars against the
French colonialists and US imperialists.
In
particular, his name is closely associated with the Dien Bien Phu battle in
Dien Bien province, which became a global event that surprised the whole
world and helped end the Vietnamese nation’s nine-year war of resistance
against the French colonialists.
War
martyrs memorial built in Kon Tum
Work
started on the construction of a temple in memory of heroic martyrs in Bo Y
commune, Ngoc Hoi district, the central highlands province of Kon Tum on
February 15.
With a
total cost of over 15 billion VND funded by the Vietnam Joint Stock
Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank), the temple will sit in
the middle of a land area of 3,600 sq.m. It will be accompanied by a 5-tonne
clock bell tower and a drum tower.
The
temple complex is located near the land marker defining Vietnam’s shared
border with Laos and Cambodia, where one of the country’s fiercest battles
during the Vietnam War on the Truong Son trail took place.
Once
completed, it will become a historical-cultural site where people will come
to commemorate revolutionary martyrs.-
Feasts
for Ho Chi Minh City vegetarians
Many
popular restaurants and hotels in Ho Chi Minh City are offering lavish
vegetarian buffets and a la carte selections throughout the first lunar month
of 2014.
Vinh
Nghiem Vegetarian Restaurant on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street in District 3, is a
vegetarian buffet pioneer. It serves more than 400 different vegetarian
dishes featuring natural produce and minimising oil in the interests of diner
health.
Co Noi
Vegetarian Restaurant on Hai Ba Trung Street in District 1 has become a
popular address for local vegetarians, offering lunch and dinner buffets
priced at the very reasonable 159,000 VND and 169,000 VND per person
respectively.
Those
who want to enjoy northern vegetarian specialties, they should come to La Tia
To Restaurant in Phu Nhuan. The restaurant now provides such dishes on the
1st and 15th days of every lunar month.
The
city’s budget restaurants, tailored to the city’s students, labourers, and
office staff, also expand their vegetarian options, available for only 20,000
VND per set.
According
to the city’s agricultural wholesale market management board, fruit and
vegetable prices tend to drop after the Lunar New Year festival, a trend very
much appreciated by local vegetarians.
A
recent market survey showed a diverse variety of vegetarian food—both fresh
and frozen—is widely available. Famous brands such as Au Lac Company, Cau
Tre, Vissan, and SG Food can be purchased at supermarkets, shops, and
traditional markets across the city.
Quang
Tri needy students to receive free rice
The
People’s Committee of the central province of Quang Tri on February 13
approved 212 tonnes of rice as food aid to students in
extrembly-disadvantaged areas.
The
rice will be given to 2,830 students at 28 schools in Dakrong, Gio Linh, Vinh
Linh and Huong Hoa districts. Each will receive 15kg of rice a month.
The
aid is an effort to help these students overcome difficulties to continue
going to school.
Apricot
trees planted at General Giap’s grave
The
central province of Quang Binh’s Quang Trach district chapter of the Ho Chi
Minh Youth Union has launched a programme to plant 103 yellow apricot trees
in front of the grave of late General Vo Nguyen Giap in Vung Chua-Yen island
area.
The
meaningful programme aims to commemorate General Giap’s great contribution to
the nation, the 103 apricot trees symbolising the General’s longevity.
As
many as 50 trees have already been planted, with the remaining to go into the
ground by March.
This
year, youngsters are striving to plant over 1,000 trees across the district
to protect the local environment and surrounding landscape.
General
Giap, real name Vo Giap (alias Van), was born in Loc Thuy commune, Le Thuy
district, on August 25, 1911.
He
served as a Politburo member, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s
Central Committee’s Military Commission, Standing Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister of National Defence, Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnamese People’s
Army and a National Assembly deputy from the first to seventh tenure.
He
passed away in Hanoi on October 4, 2013.-
Phu
Yen farm protects rare regional turtle from extinction
A man
in Phu Yen Province has successfully developing a farm raising a rare and
endangered species of turtle of the central region, helping to protect them
from extinction.
The
forest ranger department of the central province of Phu Yen is considering to
grant certification for raising an endangered turtle species.
The
total number of turtles on the farm of Pham Ngoc Hoang, in the province's
Song Hinh District, has increased to 190, including 30 mother turtles with an
average weight of 1.3-2kg each. His farming started in 2000 with the first
six turtles.
"The
wildlife species of the central region is a rare and endangered
species," Hoang said.
"The
number of this species in nature is now rare and its price in market is up to
hundred millions dong. The price for males are four times higher than
females', at around VND400 million (US$18,800) a kilo," he added.
The
farming is expected to help protect the turtles from extinction by keeping
the turtles for breeding purposes and sharing farming experience with others
to help more people get involved in the preservation of this species, he
said.
Hoang
has proposed the provincial department of forest management to grant license
to help him legalise the turtle farming to help better protect them.
The
species are receiving much attention from the international community for its
endemicity. It has a narrow and limited distribution area. The turtles are
only found in underflooded zones in central provinces stretching from Da Nang
to Phu Yen.
Scientists
said that the species were on the edge of extinction due to the narrow
habitat. Other reasons behind the risk of extinction are the transform of
underflooded areas to cultivated land, or rising pollution in the
urbanisation process.
Expert
says Hong River flow vital for Delta region
Many
parts of Hong (Red) and Thai Binh rivers have seen its average water level
remarkably reduced - by two metres lower than the previous 20 years.
This
has caused massive drought on hundreds of thousands of farmland, blocked
waterway transport and seriously polluted the rivers, a conference heard on
Tuesday.
At the
conference on management of the Hong-Thai Binh river system, PhD Rodolfo
Soncini-Sessa of the Technical University of Milan said that the flow of Hong
River must reach about 1,200 cubic metres per second to supply enough water
for the Red River Delta region.
However,
in the past several years, the flow was strongly reduced to 900 cubic metres
per second.
"It
is vital to keep the water level of 2.3 metres high in Ha Noi's Long Bien
District to ensure the supply of water for the city," he said.
The
Red River covered Ha Noi and 25 other provinces in the north with a population
of 26 million people and total agricultural area of nearly 1.1 million
hectares.
In
terms of waterway transport, he said the minimum of the water level in the
area around Long Bien Bridge must be 1.1 metres, but many vehicles were
banned to operate as the water level was down to under 0.4 metres sometimes.
According
to Rodolfo Soncini Sessa, the decrease of water level at pumping stations in
lower section of the river and the construction of hydro-power plants has
affected the flow.
Since
1960, Viet Nam have spent more than US$500 million to curb the changes of
flow in the Red River, but the effectiveness remains limited.
A $2.2
million project, which has been implemented in Viet Nam since 2012, will help
improve study on the flow allocation of the two rivers, maintain essential
ecological services and improve the economic benefits of hydro-power
production and agriculture, he said.
The
project has managed to specify 24 indexes on exploiting the river water in
five sectors and the shortage of electrical energy of hydro-power plants in
dry seasons.
The
project is being funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
Technical University of Milan and the Institute of Water Resources Planning
under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Bui
Quang Tuan, representative of the Institute of Water Resources Planning, said
the irrigation system was downgraded as many pumping machines were built
since 1960 and reached about 70 per cent of their performance.
Moreover,
the encroachment of the river, and the discharge of waste water from
industrial zones and residential areas have made it seriously polluted, he
said.
Deputy
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang said the
ministry has carried out a programme on improving the irrigation system with
the estimated investment capital of VND20 trillion ($940 million) until 2020.
The
programme will supply more water from reservoirs in Hoa Binh, Thac Ba, Tuyen
Quang and Son La. A series of irrigation works, such as Trung Ha, Bach Hac,
Dai Dinh, Thanh Diem, Dan Hoai, Xuan Quan and Long Tuu, and a system of dykes
will be built and upgraded.
As
many as 129 pumping stations, 14 culverts will be built and more than 230
pumping stations and 14 culverts will be upgraded under this programme, he
said.
Source:
VNA/VNS/VOV/Dantri/SGT/SGGP/Nhandan
|
Thứ Hai, 17 tháng 2, 2014
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