Social News 21/10 HCM City’s first metro tunnel nears completion The Japanese-made tunnel boring machine (TBM) has nearly finished drilling the first metro tunnel in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. As of October 18, 775 meters of the 781-meter long underground passage had been completed. The tunnel runs from Ba Son Station to the Municipal Theater in District 1, part of the city’s metro route No.1 connecting Ben Thanh Terminal in District 1 with Suoi Tien Terminal in District 9. The installation of the boring machine was started in March and tunnel construction began in May. According to a representative of Japan’s Shimizu-Meada Joint Operation, the main contractor for the tunnel project, over 40 engineers and workers have been working around the clock to finish the job. The underground passage is expected to be finished on October 31, two months ahead of schedule, he stated. Following the completion, the TBM, a 70-meter long machine weighing 300 metric tons, will be disassembled. Its parts will be transported back to Ba Son Station to be re-assembled – a three month project – before construction of a second tunnel between Ba Son and the Municipal Theater begins. This entire passageway is anticipated to be completed in mid-2018. The Japan International Cooperation Agency, a provider of capital assistance for the metro project, says this is the first time a TBM has been operated in Vietnam. The technology used with the machine helps minimize vibrations and noise during the tunnel construction. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Management Authorities for Urban Railways, the construction of metro route No.1 began in August 2012 with a total investment capital of US$2.49 billion. Plans for the metro line call for 19.7 kilometers of track to pass from District 1 through District 2, District 9, Binh Thanh District, and Thu Duc District.  The expected completion date is in 2020. Thanh Hoa asked to keep close watch on disaster developments    Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has asked the central province of Thanh Hoa to keep a close watch on developments of natural disasters and scale up vigilance in the face of the complex situation of floods and storms.  Thanh Hoa was also urged to check and reinforce dykes and reservoirs, promptly assist people to overcome disaster consequences and restore production, and ensure social order and safety. It should assess losses and report to the Prime Minister.  The recent heavy rains and floods killed 16 and left five others missing in the province. It also flooded 28,146 houses, destroyed 28,833ha of trees and winter crops, and 6,055ha of aquaculture, costing nearly 2.7 trillion VND.  On this occasion, the Deputy PM assigned the Ministry of Transport to swiftly address transport incidents, especially cases on National Highways. The Ministry of Industry and Trade was requested to instruct the operation of hydroelectric reservoirs as well as the supply of essential goods, while consolidating and re-organising the agricultural product market.  Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security was asked to instruct local police to ensure security after floods and storms, and prepare forces to support people’s re-building efforts.  The Ministry of Health was requested to prepare medicine, organise medical check-ups and treatment, and guide people how to ensure environmental hygiene. Vietnam receives 33 documentaries from Netherlands The Vietnam Film Institute under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a ceremony on October 19 to receive documentaries from the European Foundation Joris Ivens of the Netherlands and the Medical Committee Netherlands - Vietnam (MCNV). The items include four historical films, notably ”The 17th Parallel”, which helped Dutch documentary maker Joris Ivens receive the International Lenin Peace Prize in 1968, and “Far From Vietnam”, along with various photos and documents of the filmmaker when he worked in Vietnam in the 1960s. In addition, the MCNV handed over 29 other documentaries to the Vietnam Film Institute. Community-based environmental monitoring suggested for papermaker Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Tran Hong Ha has urged the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang to establish a community-based monitoring mechanism to evaluate the effectiveness of papermaker Lee & Man Vietnam Ltd.’s environmental treatment. In a visit to the company’s paper mill on October 19, he asked the papermaker to complete a standard procedure for management and operation of its waste treatment and keep daily records of materials used for environmental treatment and publicise them.  The firm was also requested to ensure the capability of solid and hazard waste treatment providers and control odors, particularly at night and when it rains. The minister assigned the province to make a list of local firms dumping a lot of waste and submit it to the ministry, and to set up a system for automated surface water quality monitoring along the Hau River and transfer the data to the provincial Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Lee & Man Vietnam Ltd. has completed construction of a 1.2-billion-USD paper factory, which started in 2007, at Phu Huu A Industrial Cluster along the Hau River in Hau Giang.  It is the largest paper factory in Vietnam and one of the five largest in the world, capable of manufacturing 330,000 tonnes of pulp and 420,000 tonnes of packaging paper a year. It disposes an estimated 13,000 cu.m of wastewater per day. Last December, the facility was allowed to begin testing its waste treatment plant, but then ceased due to pollution.  The company was accused of causing noise, dust and a bad odour, affecting nearby households. It later took responsibility for the pollution. Minister Tran Hong Ha took the occasion to visit affected families, asking them to continue informing local authorities about the factory’s operation. The ministry plans to allow the factory to be put into operation at the end of October. Japan donates relief aid to Vietnamese flood-hit localities The Japanese Government on October 19 decided to provide emergency relief aid for Vietnamese flood-hit areas.  The assistance is to respond to the Vietnamese Government’s suggestions and in line with the close relationship between the two countries, according to a notice released by the Japanese Government.  The donations, including blankets, fresh water and canvases, will be channelled through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).  Continuous downpours from October 10 triggered floods and landslides in Vietnam’s northern and north central regions, causing huge human and property losses.  Statistics released by the Vietnamese Government show that as of October 16, floods killed 75 people, injured 38, left 28 others missing and forced 2,604 households to evacuate. Nutrition and Development Week targets ensuring food security Ensuring food security and rural development to create the foundation for sustainable malnutrition reduction is the message of the ongoing Nutrition and Development Week.  Launched by the Ministry of Health from October 16-23, the campaign aims to materialise the National Nutrition Strategy for 2011-2020 and respond to World Food Day (October 16).  The drive will focus on encouraging people to develop the garden-pond-livestock pen (VAC) model in order to have safe food and improved living standards, while coordinating with the agricultural sector to employ solutions to ensure food security for households.  Localities will also join hands to raise public awareness of balanced and nutritional intake at home, contributing to improving wellness and physique of Vietnamese people.  The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimated that during 2010-2012, 852 million people in developing countries or around 15 percent of the global population suffered from chronic undernourishment.  UN agencies also revealed that in 2016, about 159 million under-five-year-old children were stunted and 50 million others were wasted. In the year, micro-nutrition deficiency conditions were spread among 2 billion people globally.  Despite being one of the world’s biggest rice exporters, with about 5.7 million tonnes expected to be shipped abroad in 2017, up 800,000 tonnes from 2016, there remain problems in the country regarding food security in households, especially those in climate change-affected areas, food hygiene and safety, as well as food production, stockpile and distribution.  Therefore, food security plays an important role in talking hunger and reducing malnutrition rate in Vietnam. HCM City offers waste-treatment services to neighbouring province The HCM City People’s Committee has agreed to receive and treat household waste from neighbouring Long An Province’s Ð?c Hòa District. Waste will be treated at the Vietstar joint-stock company in C? Chi District from now to the end of the year. It is expected that the amount of waste from Ð?c Hòa District will be around 100 tonnes a day. All expenditures for collection, transport and waste treatment will be paid by Ð?c Hòa District’s People’s Committee. Because of excessive expenditures for waste treatment, the district can collect only around 100 tonnes of a total 140 tonnes of waste generated each day. Each month, Ð?c Hòa District collects VNÐ1.67 billion (US$74,000) in fees from local households for waste treatment, but the district has had to spend twice that amount to pay for treatment at the local plant. Ð?c Hòa District had previously signed a contract with the Tâm Sinh Nghia Waste Treatment Plant, but the plant had to stop receiving waste because two waste-collection companies, Ð?c Hòa Urban Joint-Stock Company and Green Industry and Environment Cooperative, had not paid waste treatment fees. Ð?c Hòa District authorities said it would seek sources of capital to pay its debt to Tâm Sinh Nghia Waste Treatment Plant and would look for investors to build a new waste treatment plant with a capacity to treat 100 tonnes of waste a day.  New bridge opens in HCM City’s District 8 The Nh? Thiên Ðu?ng No 1 Bridge in HCM City’s District 8 officially opened to traffic on Thursday, replacing one built in 1925. The bridge is designed for one-way traffic from the city centre to District 8, while Nh? Thiên Ðu?ng No 2 Bridge is used for traffic headed in the opposite direction. The three-lane bridge, which is 161m long and 12m wide, cost VNÐ163 billion (US$7.17 million). Construction began in January and finished three months earlier than scheduled.  “During construction, we tried to preserve elements of the old bridge’s beauty by placing its lamps and signs on the new one to commemorate its contribution to the development of HCM City,” Nguy?n Xuân Vinh, director of Urban Transport Management Authority No 4, said. The two bridges, which connect districts 5, 8 and Bình Chánh, are among the city’s most important traffic construction works. In recent years, traffic congestion has become worse in the areas around the bridges. Locals compensated for fish kill Residents in four central provinces have received Government compensation of more than VNÐ6.1 trillion (US$275.2 million) for the April 2016 mass fish kill in which 70 tonnes of fish died, affecting the livelihoods of 260,000 people, due to pollution by the Taiwanese steel company Formosa. The money accounts for 97.4 per cent of the losses, according to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).  The information was released in a conference held on Wednesday in the Governmental Office in Hà N?i. The conference, chaired by Standing Deputy Prime Minister and member of the Politburo Truong Hòa Bình, was the 10th held by the Steering Committee charged with aiding people in the four affected central coastal provinces of Hà Tinh, Qu?ng Bình, Qu?ng Tr? and Th?a Thiên-Hu?. At present, three provinces have not completely disbursed the compensation because the residents suffering losses were not present at the localities, or had complaints about their compensation that are still being resolved. The four provinces that suffered the incident proposed to upgrade or build new shelters, ports, wharf, fish markets and roads to the sea and to the manufacturing areas and irrigational works, in order to help seamen stabilise their lives. The provinces also collected money from the Government agencies and distributed it directly to residents. Speaking at the conference, Deputy PM Bình said that the compensation had been basically completely disbursed. The remaining 3 per cent could be sent to the banks to wait until the residents returned to their localities to complete the claims process. The Government has approved the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s project to set up a system of giving warnings on environmental issues in four central provinces. The ministry checked the maritime environment in the four central provinces, sent results to the people’s committees of the four provinces and informed the public on multiple media channels about the present environmental condition one year after the incident. Deputy PM Bình emphasised that the compensation must be paid in a precise, public and transparent manner so that the money will be distributed to the right people. He asked provinces to fully complete the compensation within next month. The mass fish deaths were first reported on April 6 last year when a large number of fish washed ashore in Hà Tinh Province. The incident also occurred in Qu?ng Bình, Qu?ng Tr? and Th?a Thiên – Hu? provinces. Th?a Thiên – Hu? alone reported that 35 tonnes of farm-raised fish had died. In June last year, Formosa accepted responsibility for the fish deaths and pledged compensation to local fishermen and to help renew the polluted marine environment. Children learn nutrition through painting A contest has been launched for children aged five to 12 to paint their favourite food and meals. Entitled We Paint The Buds, the competition’s best paintings will be displayed on October 27. Through the contest, children can make choices on food, display their right to adequate nutrition and their opinions on nutritious meals. The contest is being held by the Research Centre for Management and Sustainable Development (MSD Vi?t Nam) and the For Vietnamese Stature Foundation. As a part of the contest, a workshop was held on Sunday at the Hermann Gmeiner School in Hà N?i. Tr?n H?ng Ði?p, co-ordinator of the foundation, said that through the contest and related activities, parents could encourage children to eat nutritiously. “It’s a good chance for parents and children to connect and take part in activities for a healthy lifestyle,” she said.   Painting exhibition celebrates Women’s Day An exhibition of paintings by female members of the Tranh Vi?t Club opened in HCM City to celebrate the 87th anniversary of Vietnamese Women’s Day on October 20.       T? Mùa Thu ?y (From the Autumn) displays 63 oil and lacquer works and its underlying theme is “women is the world”. All paintings were selected from the artists’ latest collections of landscapes, daily life and ethnic minority women and children in different places and remote areas across the country. “Female artists of Tranh Vi?t Club highlight the beauty of Vietnamese women in their art. Their showcase, T? Mùa Thu ?y, will capture the hearts of viewers, particularly males,” said Ph?m Huy Hoàng, a final-year student at the HCM City University of Architecture, at the event’s opening ceremony last night.    Hoàng’s favourite work is Gái Quê (Rural Woman), an oil painting in pink and black by artist Kim Dung. “Gái Quê is lively. The artist portrays a woman in traditional clothes sitting with baskets of fresh lotuses. I can smell the beautiful flowers,” he said.   Established in 2005, the Tranh Vi?t Club organises painting exhibitions and artistic activities to help its members share their art. The exhibition is on display at the HCM City Labour Palace, 55B Nguy?n Th? Minh Khai Street, District 3. It will close on October 23. Entrance is free. VN screenwriters at Busan Film Fest Young Vietnamese screenwriters attended the Busan International Film Festival this week and exchanged ideas with international filmmakers. Between October 14 and 19, they took part in a seminar of independent filmmakers entitled Voices of Asia, a talkshow with director Tom Stern on large format in cinema, and a workshop of the ARRI Group (a global supplier of motion picture film equipment) on programmes supporting international film projects. They also attended film screenings. The screenwriters are winners of the Talented Screenwriters contest organised by CJ CGV Vi?t Nam, a cinema and entertainment company. Screenwriter Võ Th? Hoàng Y?n said the trip was a memorable experience, providing her with a chance to exchange speak with international filmmakers and encouraging her to improve her creativity. National plan for Stockholm Convention implementation issued The Prime Minister has issued a national plan for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) by 2025 with a vision to 2030. The Stockholm Convention on POP is a global treaty, effective from 2004, to protect human health, biodiversity and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods. Parties to the convention are required to prohibit and/or eliminate the production and use of the intentionally produced POPs, and reduce or eliminate releases from unintentionally produced POPs. In compliance with the convention’s Article 7, Vietnam shall develop a plan for the implementation of its obligations under the convention, review and update the plan on a periodic basis and transmit it to the Conference of the Parties. The plan’s overall objectives are to ensure strict safety lifecycle management and proper treatment of the POPs and to reduce disposal and eliminate the production and use of the POPs in Vietnam for the benefit of human health and the environment and towards the sustainable development. According to the implementation plan, the government will work to improve institutional capacity and legal framework for the management and elimination of POPs. It will reinforce its expertise in monitoring, detecting and managing POPs and enhance awareness of the POPs and their harmful effects to the environment among involved parties.  The convention will also be integrated into relevant environmental agreements in response to the UN Millennium Development Goals and the country’s management of waste and chemical as well as sustainable development strategy.- Hau Giang has 20th new-style rural commune The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang has recognised Thanh Xuan commune of Chau Thanh A district as a new-style rural area, raising the number of such communes to 20. Addressing a related ceremony on October 19, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dong Van Thanh praised Thanh Xuan authority and people’s efforts in fulfilling all 19 criteria of the New-Style Rural Building Programme.  In 2011, the commune finished only 5 out of the required 19 criteria, however, locals have promoted their solidarity in completing the programme, he said. He asked the commune and Chau Thanh A district to continue showing strong performance in improving locals’ income, sanitation, cultural life, health care services, and speeding up poverty reduction. Thanh Xuan has spent over 132 billion VND (5.8 million USD) sourced from the State budget and the community for the effort. So far, all roads in the commune have been asphalted and concreted, while the ratio of locals accessing safe power and water is 99.5 percent and 98.41 percent. Average incomes of locals is over 38 million VND (1,672 USD) per year. The ratio of poverty to multidimensional standards is 3.98 percent, and 99.79 percent of local labourers manage to find jobs. Laos, El Salvador extend sympathies to Vietnam over flood-caused losse Lao President Bounnhang Vorachith on October 18 sent a message to President Tran Dai Quang conveying his sympathies to the Vietnamese Party, Government and people over the recent devastating floods that caused heavy losses in both human lives and property. He expressed belief that with the instruction and attention of the Vietnamese Party, Government from central to local levels, the Vietnamese people will overcome difficulties and stablise the life of the community in flood-hit areas soon. Learning Vietnam’s suffering from the disaster, Medardo Gonzalez, Secretary General of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), the ruling party of El Salvador, extended his sympathies to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and flood-hit victims. Continuous downpours from October 10 triggered floods and landslides in Vietnam’s northern and north central regions, causing huge human and property losses.  As of October 16, floods in some northern mountainous and central localities killed 75 people, injured 38, left 28 others missing and forced 2,604 households to evacuate. Local and overseas Vietnamese writers work for national solidarity The Vietnam Writers’ Association will hold a meeting from October 20-25 for 50 writers at home and 33 others living in 13 other countries, according to President of the association Huu Thinh. The meeting, the first of its kind, is themed “Writers with the mission of fostering national solidarity bloc”. It aims to highlight the social responsibility of writers in connecting the Vietnamese community at home and abroad to preserve and promote national tradition and unity. It looks to create a mechanism of collaboration for the writers and the association and encourage them to create more works serving the people and culture development of Vietnam. Thinh also underscored that the Vietnam Writers’ Association always considers Vietnamese authors abroad as part of the common home of “Vietnamese literature”. The event includes various activities, including a seminar on affiliation mechanism between the Vietnam Writers’ Association and Vietnamese writers abroad. Within the framework of the meeting, delegates will visit the Vietnam Museum of Literature and visit Hung Kings’ Temple in Phu Tho and Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh.- CPV chief urges HCM City to achieve stronger growth General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong has urged Ho Chi Minh City to be proactive in gaining support and assistance from other sectors for its stronger growth. He was addressing a meeting between the Politburo and the HCM City Party Committee’s Standing Board on October 19 to review the five-year implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution No. 16-NQ/TW on orientations and tasks for development of the southern metropolis.  HCM City is a special urban area, a big economic, cultural, educational and training and scientific and technological centre, a destination of international exchanges and integration, and a driver of the southern key economic region. Holding an important political position, the City has made crucial contributions to the country’s nation-building, renewal and integration efforts, he stressed. HCM City should roll out suitable, feasible, effective development roadmaps by 2020 and beyond, he said. He gave the green light to the city to pilot issues relating to mechanisms, a specialized policy and management decentralization emerging during its development process, for which the State’s regulations are yet to cover or the existing State regulations are no longer suitable for application.  However, he said, the pilot implementation must be conducted under the supervision of the Government, especially when it comes to major and sensitive matters.  The General Secretary noted that HCM City will have stronger power in public financial administration, budget management, planning and investment, and personnel work.  The Politburo will issue Conclusion on the continuous implementation of Resolution No. 16-NQ/TW after this working session, he said. At the meeting, the municipal Party Committee’s Standing Board reported that in 2011-2015, HCM City’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 9.6 percent annually on average, 1.63 times higher than the country’s average and 1.5 times higher than the target set by the Resolution.  In 2016, its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth rate reached 8.05 percent, 1.3 times higher than the nation’s number, and its GRDP per head stood at 5,122 USD, 2.37 times higher than the country’s figure.  The city has also made big strides in urban infrastructure planning, management and development, education-training, scientific and technological research and application, culture, health care, social welfare, external affairs, Party building and administrative reform.  Expanded external relations and international cooperation have raised the City’s prestige and position at home and abroad. However, several participants pointed out that the City’s economic growth, foreign direct investment attraction and exports were still below expectations. Yen Bai: mountainous Tram Tau district faces landslide risk Tram Tau district in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai is facing a high risk of landslides due to lingering rains from the beginning of this year and the devastating floods on October 10-11.  Although 60 households in the locality were evacuated, many others still live in landslide-prone areas due to a lack of land for their resettlement.  The recent downpours and floods left 13 people dead and missing, injured seven others, and destroyed 130 houses, along with roads and bridges in Tram Tau district.  The natural disaster have also eroded concrete roads, caused long cracks on several mountains and damaged houses and schools in Hat hamlet, Hat Luu commune, Tram Tau district, sparking concerns among locals.  Yen Bai has reported 18 deaths, 10 people missing and nine others injured in the recent downpours and floods. Nearly 2,000 houses were damaged while more than 140 households were evacuated due to landslides and flash floods.  Floods also devastated more than 900ha of crops, tens of thousands of livestock and poultry, and over 42ha of aquaculture area. Total damage was estimated at over 700 billion VND (30.8 million USD). Soc Trang: Ooc-Om-Bok Festival approaching The third Ooc-Om-Bok Festival (moon worship festival) of the Mekong Delta will take place from October 28-November 3, according to the event’s organising board.  The board said at a press conference on October 19 that, during the week, there will be a galaxy of activities in Soc Trang province, including a “ngo” boat race, moon-offering rituals, a lantern-release ceremony, a carnival, a photo exhibition and a trade fair featuring 500 booths.  The “ngo” boat rice is scheduled to take place on November 2-3, bringing together 62 teams from regional cities and provinces such as Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Hau Giang and Kien Giang.  Apart from cultural and sport activities, and art performances, there will be a symposium on tourism development in Soc Trang province.  Ok-Om-Bok is one of the three main festivals – along with Sene Dolta and Chol Chnam Thmay – that Khmer people celebrate every year and take place under the full moon. The Khmer believe the moon is a God who controls the weather and crops throughout the year.  Central Highlands: PPP models sought to aid ethnic minority areas Domestic and foreign experts, business executives and managerial officials have sought to make use of public-private partnership (PPP) to support the development of ethnic minority-inhabited areas in the Central Highlands.  At a forum held in Gia Nghia town, Central Highlands Dak Nong province on October 19, Minister and Chairman of the Government’s Committee for Ethnic Affairs Do Van Chien said home to many ethnic minority groups, the Central Highlands holds an important strategic position and has a lot of potential for growth. However, the region is facing unsustainable development and dwindled resources for the implementation of ethnic policies to reduce poverty, he noted. He urged regional authorities to work to connect businesses and local people in creating jobs for ethnic minorities in addition to implementing State polices on this regard.  Participants shared experience in promoting the application of PPP in forestation and safe water supply and environmental sanitation, and more. Economic expert Pham Chi Lan affirmed that PPP would bring big benefits for the country and localities, especially in the context of smaller State budget and bigger investment need for socio-economic infrastructure development. She emphasised the need to have a transparent mechanism, accountability of involved sides, locals’ involvement, and State supervision for the efficient performance of a PPP programme. Nguyen Thanh Quang, Vice Director General of Sam High-tech Agriculture Company, which has invested in Dak Nong province, said the community’s participation and assistance is very important to an efficient public-private partnership programme. If businesses want to grow, they must rely on the local community, he said. After discussion, participants made a fact-finding tour of some public-private partnership models in Dak Dong district, Dak Nong. The forum was jointly organized by the National Assembly’s Ethnic Council, the Government’s Committee for Ethnic Affairs, and the Dak Nong provincial People’s Committee. NA Vice Chairman receives Laos State Audit chief National Assembly Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien hosted a reception in Hanoi on October 19 for President of Laos’ State Audit Organisation Viengthong Siphandone. Hien said he is pleased to see the development of special relationship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. He hailed cooperation outcomes between the two State audit agencies over the past years, saying these have significantly contributed to the growth of Vietnam-Laos ties. He also congratulated Laos State Audit Organisation for taking the role of ASEAN Supreme Audit Institutions (ASEANSAI) Chair in the 2017-2019 tenure. He proposed that the two State audit agencies to foster cooperation in organising the ASEANSAI Congress in Laos in November and the 14th Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institution (ASOSAI) Congress in Vietnam in September 2018. For her part, Viengthong Siphandone said that she hopes Vietnam’s State Audit will continue supporting Laos in fostering coordination of audit agencies of ASEAN countries as well as within Asian region. She highlighted that Vietnam’s State Audit support to Laos over the past years has been effective, especially in personnel training.  She also expressed hope that the two sides will continue bolstering their comprehensive cooperation, defining orientations for their future affiliation with focus on expert exchange and personnel training. VNN