HCMC seeks funds for ringroad project

 

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has ordered the Ministry of Transport to complete the formalities for soliciting investment in HCM City's ringroad Nos 3 and 4.

The two will be inter-regional highways that will allow high-speed traffic, helping reduce the traffic pressure on inner districts in HCM City.

 

Earlier, the Government Office, together with the localities where the ringroads will be built, submitted to the Government detailed plans for approval.

 

According to proposals drawn up by consultancy companies, the roads will run through 15 districts in HCM City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Long An Provinces.

 

The 100-km, Ringroad No. 3 is expected to start at the Ben Luc (Long An Province) and end at Long Thanh (Dong Nai Province) Expressway.

 

Ringroad No 4, to start at the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway and end at Hiep Phuoc Port on the North-South Highway in HCM City, may be 198km long. Both are expected to have six to eight lanes.

 

Construction of the two highways could cost US$8 billion, according to the Government's website.

 

Taiwanese electronic firms survey Vietnamese market

 

A delegation of businesses from Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association is seeking investment opportunities in Vietnam.

 

The association, during its visit from May 15-17, will meet with the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment to gather information about the benefits of investing in the country. They will also visit Compal Group’s factory in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

 

After the Vietnamese visit, they will continue to Singapore and Indonesia to widen their perspective on the investment environment of Southeast Asia.

 

The delegation, led by Chairman Chiao You Chun, includes various representatives from member companies, including Winbond Electronics Corp, Kinpo Electronics, Inc., Universal Microelectronics Co., Ltd., AUO AU Optronics Corporation.

 

The member companies account for about half of Taiwan’s total GDP, with an annual production equal to $200 billion.

 

“Taiwanese electrical and electronic business have paid special attention to ASEAN, particularly the emerging market of Vietnam for its potentials over the past recent years,” chairman Chiao You Chun said, at a forum on investment in Vietnam held in Hanoi on May 15.

 

“This is the association’s second visit to Vietnam over the past three years. In the future, we intend to make periodic trips to Vietnam to survey the market here,” he addded.

 

Although he sees great potential for investment in the country, he said that, “Vietnam should focus on training and human resources if it wishes to develop the electrical and electronics sector."

 

During the forum, Taiwanese companies who are already invested in ventures in Vietnam said that power shortages are one of the biggest challenges to doing business here.

 

City golf projects fail to get into the swing of things

 

Many Ho Chi Minh City golf course projects face delays due to site clearance problems.

 

The city will house five golf courses according to Vietnam golf course development plan to 2020 which was given the nod by the prime minister.

 

However, of the five licenced golf course projects, only Lam Vien golf course was brought on line. The remaining four projects incur delays due to site clearance problems.

 

They is a 139 hectare golf course project in District 2’s An Phu ward, a project in Cu Chi district’s Tan Thong Hoi commune over 200ha belonging to Ho Chi Minh City North-West urban area, a project in Tan Binh district which is part of Tan Son Nhat airport over 157ha and a 300ha Sinh Viet golf course project in Binh Chanh district’s Le Minh Xuan commune.

 

The An Phu ward golf course currently gets stuck due to compensation problems, according to Ho Chi Minh City golf course project 2010 inspection report by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

 

Developer Saigon Development and Investment Joint Stock Company (SDI) compensated 109.337ha out of 139.788ha, or 94 per cent of project’s total area.

 

The golf course would be brought online in the fourth quarter of 2013 if not incurring site clearance problems said a SDI representative.

 

Under 2003 approved compensation plan, agricultural land in the project area cost VND150,000-VND200,000 (currently $0.072-$0.096) per square metre. The developer then agreed to lift the compensation cost to VND870,000 ($0.42) per square metre upon land owners’ requests.

 

However, a resident in the project area said the compensation cost was still far lower than that at some public utility projects also based on District 2 of VND1.5 million ($0.72) per square metre.

 

Many people did not agree with SDI’s compensation and recently lodged petitions to competent state agencies. Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court reportedly announced a withdrawal of some decisions issued by District 2 People’s Committee on land compensation as it did not conform to regulations.

 

Similarly, the Binh Chanh district Sing Viet golf court project (part of Sing Viet urban area) also faces delays. The project’s developer is Sing Viet Urban Company Limited.

 

Regarding the project, Binh Chanh District People’s Committee had issued 303 decisions on land compensation under which 213 local householders received a total compensation package of VND318 billion ($15.3 million), the remaining 90 householders did not agree with the compensation.

 

According to deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Van Hong, the city authorities were considering withdrawal of Sinh Viet golf court and urban area projects once developer Sinh Viet Urban Company Limited continued incurring delays.

 

PetroVietnam gives gas to oil plans

 

PetroVietnam, investor of the $6.2 billion Nghi Son refinery in Thanh Hoa province, expects to sign a key construction contract in 2011’s second quarter.

 

Negotiations for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract were underway between PetroVietnam and a consortium led by Japanese JGC Corporation, Japanese Chiyoda Corporation, French Technip SA, Korean SK Engineering and GS Engineering.

 

Under its plan to put the refinery into operation in 2014, PetroVietnam planned to sign this contract by the end of last year. However two sides still hope to receive more favourable conditions from the Vietnamese government.

 

When signed, this will be the largest EPC contract in Vietnam’s oil and gas sector, because with the estimated investment capital of $6.2 billion, the investors decided to issue only one EPC package contract.

 

Nghi Son will be the second oil refinery in Vietnam and the first involving foreign partners. It is expected to be put into operation in 2014. PetroVietnam holds a  25.1 per cent stake in the project, Kuwait Petroleum International with 35.1 per cent, Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan with 35.1 per cent and Mitsui Chemicals with 4.7 per cent.

 

When finished, the project will have a designed capacity of 10 million tonnes of crude oil a year, or 200,000 barrels a day, 1.5 times higher than the capacity of the operational Dung Quat, Vietnam’s first oil refinery.

 

Japan’s JGC Corporation in October, 2010 was chosen for being a consultant for the expansion of the Dung Quat refinery in central Quang Ngai province, from the current 6.5 million tonnes to 10 million tonnes.

 

JGC previously involved in a joint venture with French Technip and Spain Tecnicas Reunidas to build Dung Quat refinery where JGC was responsible for Residual Fluid Catalytic Converter, LPG Treater and Naptha Treater areas.

 

Japan firm to build automobile spare parts factory in Da Nang

 

Japan's Tokai Kogyo Group has announced that it plans to build an automobile spare parts factory in the central city of Da Nang.

 

The site will occupy a 2-5ha area. The project has a total capital investment of about US$20 million. The plant will supply parts to leading car makers such as Honda, Toyota, Nissan and General Motors.

 

Viet Nam will be the sixth country chosen by Tokai Kogyo Group to produce auto spare parts.

 

The Tokai Kogyo project is in keeping with the city's plans to develop support industries, said Phung Tan Viet, deputy chairman of the city's People's Committee.

 

There are currently 60 Japanese investment projects in the city – accounting for 20 per cent of the city's total foreign direct investment.

 

Banks cash in on forex rates

 

A surprise move yesterday which saw several commercial banks raising dollar selling prices to the maximum permitted level and then reducing prices late in the afternoon triggered concerns about dollar trading in the system.

 

The State Bank of Viet Nam yesterday set the interbank rate at VND20.673,00 per US dollar, allowing commercial banks to trade the dollar between VND20,466.27 and VND20,879.73.

 

The selling prices at dollar-strong traders like Vietcombank, Eximbank, Sacombank and DongA Bank were at VND20,880 yesterday morning, or about VND270 higher than Monday's prices.

 

Prices were then cut to under VND20,800 per dollar in afternoon trading.

 

"The rate is quite normal," Vietcombank's Executive Board Member Le Thi Hoa told Viet Nam News in a phone interview yesterday. "Look at the buying and selling prices: there is a large gap. It's only when the two prices are the same, that there's a problem."

 

However, the decision to raise the dollar price to its maximum permitted level had not been taken since April 21 when the central bank injected flexibility into the interbank rate in line with market moves.

 

Le Duc Tho, deputy general director of Vietinbank, an institution which did not raise the dollar price yesterday, told Viet Nam News: "The price adjustment just depends on supply and demand on the market. Nearly 40 joint stocks banks are competing fiercely to do business so they have to keep a close eye on their prices."

 

Both Vietinbank and Vietcombank executives agreed that dollar sources and dollar trading at the banks were very good.

 

"Actually, it's very hard to say anything because of the inconsistent management of authorities," a senior expert with Ocean Securities told Viet Nam News. "Banks buy and they themselves sell dollars. They can do what they want because the black market is frozen."

 

Dealers on the non-deliverable forward (NDF) currency futures market yesterday traded the Vietnamese dong for next month at VND20,880.010.

 

The outright three-month rate was VND21,380.030 and the outright six-month rate was VND21,829.830.

 

The rate for outright 12 months was VND22,744.320 per US dollar, a change of 0.097-0.004 per cent against Monday.

 

On February 11, the central bank devalued the dong by 9 per cent to VND20,693 per dollar from VND18,932. It also narrowed the trading band around the midpoint to 1 per cent from 3 per cent.

 

This led to a general lowering of the interbank rate.

 

On the dong market, the repo interest rate on Open Market Operation (OMO) yesterday was up 1 percentage point to 15 per cent per year - the highest level since late April. However, Governor Nguyen Van Giau of the State Bank told Viet Nam News that this was nothing special.

 

"OMO is a market. The interest rate on the market keeps changing, depending on supply and demand," Giau said.

 

In the week from May 9 and 13, the State Bank of Viet Nam made a net injection of VND2.131 trillion (US$102.45 million) on OMO when it poured VND103.589 trillion ($4.98 billion) into OMO and withdrew VND101.458 trillion ($4.87 billion).

 

Since early May, the repo interest rate on OMO has stood at 14 per cent per year in accordance with the State Bank's new regulations.

 

Plan to sell government guest house raises concern

 

The Ministry of Finance’s decision to allow the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to auction off the Government Guest House in Ho Chi Minh City to raise funds for other projects is making local residents and architects worry.

 

Under the plan, the HCMC People’s Committee will soon decide a starting price for investors to bid for the right to use the 3.5-ha guest house, located at No. 1 on Ly Thai To Street in District 10 or what is considered a “golden spot” in HCMC.

 

Despite the monetary benefit of selling the old French-style villa, many are worried lest it should be turned to trade centers or modern apartments and thus lose its historical and architectural values.

 

Architect Le Quang Ninh for instance said for whatever economic purpose it should serve, this villa, and several others like it throughout Saigon, reflects a great architectural style typical of pre-1975 Saigon and should thus be preserved.

 

Researcher Nguyen Dinh Dau agreed.

 

Dau said this villa lies within a group of green and low-rise landscapes including the Saigon Zoo, Le Duan Street, Reunification Palace, and the area from Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street to Ly Thai To Street that were built by the French to attract winds from the eastern seas to cool down the Sai Gon – Cho Lon residential areas.

 

Ninh suggests the best way to use this villa should be to turn it into a five-star restaurant for tourists.

 

By doing so, both monetary and architectural interests can be served, he said.

 

Nguyen Thanh Quy, a senior resident in Ward 1, District 10, said the government should not destroy old villas to build modern apartments.

 

“The old trees in these villas are like the city’s lungs,” Quy said. “If they are destroyed, billions of dongs can’t buy them back.”

 

Vietnam’s tuna exports on the rise in Q1

 

Vietnam’s export of tuna continues to rise in the first quarter of this year due to the growing demand from foreign markets, says the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep).

 

In March only, the country’s tuna exports increased 17.5 percent in volume and 45.1 percent in value over the same period last year, with 9,345 tonnes of tuna exported, collecting 43.4 million USD and bringing Q1 tuna export turnover up 13.3 percent with export value reaching 104 million USD.

 

In particular, tuna exports to Canada recorded a sharp increase at 117.4 percent compared to last year, while tuna exports to Iran hit 2,286 tonnes, accounting for 89.6 percent of Vietnam ’s total seafood export to Iran .

 

Tuna exports are expected to keep on rising in Q2 of this year, with supply coming from 77 Vietnamese enterprises, who have exported tuna to 66 foreign markets, said Vasep.

 

Vietnam enjoys Q1 trade surplus with Indonesia

 

Vietnam posted a trade surplus of around 110 million USD with Indonesia for the first quarter of the year, according to Vietnam Trade Office in Indonesia.

 

In the first three months of 2011, Vietnam’s export turnover to Indonesia amounted to 570 million USD, with rice exports reaping 300 million USD, textile and garments fetching 17.6 million USD, vegetables earning 15.4 million USD and equipment 14.2 million USD.

 

Indonesia ’s export turnover to Vietnam reached 460 million USD, including paper products, vegetable oil and chemicals.

 

With such satisfactory results in Q1, the goal to raise Vietnam’s export turnover to Indonesia to 3.5 billion USD, up 0.2 billion USD against last year, is in hand, said Vietnam’s commercial counsellor in Indonesia Do Ba Tho.

 

Vietnam sees fruit, vegetable exports surge

 

Vietnam earned 213 million USD from exports of fruit and vegetables in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 44.1 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

 

Exports of fruits and vegetables to the US , Japan , the Republic of Korea (RoK) and New Zealand have seen many favourable conditions.

 

The US has allowed importing fresh rambutan from Vietnam , while Japan and the RoK have given authorisation to imports of fresh blue dragon fruit and New Zealand allowed importing of fresh mango from Vietnam .

 

With those good signs, the country is expected to earn over 500 million USD in exports of fruits and vegetables for the whole year./.

 

Local firms positive over trade prospects: HSBC

 

Vietnamese traders remain positive about the prospects for their business in the next six months though there is a slight decrease in their confidence in the import and export sector, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) says in its Trade Confidence Index released Tuesday.

 

Vietnam scored 116 in the index, down six points from a previous survey announced in October last year.

 

The majority of Vietnamese respondents polled (70 percent) said that they expect trade volume to increase.

 

Eighteen percent of the respondents forecast the volume will remain the same while 11 believed trade volumes will decrease.

 

Twenty two percent of those Vietnamese traders thought the risk of buyers defaulting on payment will increase while 18% claimed there will also be a rise in the risk of suppliers not honoring trade agreements.

 

There is a big jump in the portion of traders planning to offer flexible terms (38 percent from 14 percent in the survey released in October) and do less business with particular buyers (25 percent compared to 7 percent at the end of last year) in order to overcome non-payment risk from buyers.

 

In addition, they would accept smaller orders to reduce transaction exposure, require advance payment, and have greater use of trade finance via their banks.

 

Only 4 percent of the domestic traders are putting their hopes in export credit insurance.

 

The number of Vietnamese traders who said their need for trade finance will increase has risen from 67 percent in the previous survey to 75 percent in this poll.

 

Fifty-two percent of the respondents will use trade finance from banks, while over one third (34 percent) will rely on their own capital to do business.

 

Most Vietnamese traders (81 percent) considered exchange rate volatility the most difficult variable in growing their trading business, especially with the recent movement in early 2011.

 

A higher portion of Vietnam’s traders (77 percent compared to 66 percent in the last survey) expected the impact of exchange rates in the next six months will be unfavorable for their business.

 

In addition, as inflation surged in the first quarter of 2011, the rising interest rate has become the second most worrying issue for Vietnamese traders when talking about growing their business.

 

Vietnam’s traders still consider Greater China the most important region, as 57 percent of the Vietnamese exporters and importers surveyed said they will continue to actively trade with this bloc, followed by the rest of Asia (41 percent) and Southeast Asia (36 percent).

 

Over one third reckoned Greater China will be the most promising region for trade growth in the next six months.

 

The HSBC Trade Confidence Index covers a total of 21 markets, including key economies in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Latin America, North America and Europe.

 

HSBC asked a total of 6,390 trade-oriented small and mid-market enterprises about their six-month outlook on trade volume; buyer and supplier risks; the need for trade finance; access to trade finance; and the impact of foreign exchange and government trade regulations on their businesses.

 

The results were used to calculate an index ranging from 0 to 200, where 200 represents the highest confidence level, 0 represents the lowest and 100, neutral.

 

Salt, pepper prices up - dragon fruit slides 

 

Prices of pepper and salt have risen in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak and Ho Chi Minh City, while prices of dragon fruit have dropped in the central coastal province of Binh Thuan.

 

The price of black pepper has soared to a record high of VND120, 000 per kilogram and the price of white pepper has hit VND200,000 per kilogram.

 

With these high prices, farmers have enjoyed a profit of over VND500 million per hectare, much higher than profits made from other agricultural products.

 

Therefore, many farmers in Buon Don, Cu M’gar, Ea H’leo and Buon Ho districts have cut down other trees to grow pepper trees.

 

In a pepper plantation, farmers usually grow peppers on wooden poles. There are about 1,000-1,300 wooden poles on a hectare of pepper plantation.

 

Last year, the average price of a pole was VND80,000, but it has increased to VND200,000 this year. Therefore, farmers have rushed to forests to cut down trees illegally to make poles.

 

Meanwhile, the price of dragon fruit has dropped to VND6,000-7,000 from VND17,000-18,000 per kilogram during the past ten days.

 

Though the price has decreased, farmers still face a lot of difficulty when selling their crops.

 

Dragon fruit traders have attributed the price drop to China suddenly stopping the import of the fruit.

 

They said if they fail to sell their fruit, which is getting ripe, they would suffer heavy losses. 

 

Down south, Tien Thanh Salt Cooperative in Can Gio District in Ho Chi Minh City claims that salt prices have increased by VND250 to VND900-1,000 per kilogram of various kinds of salt.

 

While the demand for salt has been high, the district’s salt production has fallen sharply this year, to 75,000 tons from over 103,000 tons in 2010.

 

According to the cooperative, salt prices were too low last year and farmers had to grapple to sell their salt. Hence, salt farming areas have reduced by about 100 hectares this year to 1,500 hectares.

 

The decreased production is also attributed to bad weather and traditional cultivation methods.

 

City realty conference puts spotlight on entertainment projects   

 

The 2011 Vietnam International Real Estate Connection workshop, set for May 20 in Ho Chi Minh City, will focus on investment into entertainment, the organizers said.

 

The full-day conference will take place at the Rex Hotel with the theme “Modern Entertainment Investment Inspires the Next Development,” said Ms. Nguyen Xuan Tra Mi, general director of Great For Business Co.

 

The Ho Chi Minh City-based company and the Vietnam Real Estate Association co-organize the event, expected to see foreign guest speakers from international realty developers such as Forrec from Canada, Polin Waterparks & Pool Systems from Turkey, Singapore’s Sanderson Group, Leisure Entertainment Company Worldwide from the US, and India’s Premierworld Technology, according to the organizers.

 

Ms. Mi said that Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the National Administration of Tourism considered the conference a major event in providing “practical support and consultancy for the entertainment industry.”

 

What are seen as highly potential projects in Vietnam will be introduced during the conference.

 

Among the participants will be Mr. Nguyen Tran Nam, Vice Minister of Construction, Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, chief of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, and Mr. Nguyen The Hung, deputy director of the Foreign Investment Office for the South (Ministry of Planning and Investment).

 

A welcome dinner will be held at Hotel Liberty 6 in District 1 as the first connection between international experts and Vietnamese stakeholders, Ms. Mi added.

 

Dist. 2 developers set to pay infrastructure fee

 

Companies involved in housing projects in HCMC’s District 2 look set to pay a new fee when building high-rises as district authorities are mulling a plan to make a fund for infrastructure development.

 

The move comes as the district has seen numerous row house and villa projects being changed to accommodate high-rise buildings. This has resulted in pressure being put on the infrastructure system as the density of the population has increased.

 

To deal with the problem, the People’s Committee of District 2 last week organized a meeting with the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA) and other relevant organizations to collect ideas over the issue and to create the pilot scheme which requires property developers to be financially responsible for infrastructure development.

 

Nguyen Phuoc Hung, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of District 2, suggested that any property project which amended and upgraded its plan will have to help the district invest in infrastructure.

 

He said the district had around 260 property projects, with 100 projects asking for amendments against their licensed plans, with most of them asking for more space resulting in an increase of residents.

 

For example, an 87-hectare urban town in the district was originally planned for 16,000 people and thus infrastructure development had been invested accordingly.

 

However, the population size in the urban town has been increased to 30,000 people while the infrastructure remains unchanged.

 

To ensure living conditions are maintained, the grassroots government, he said, would have to invest in schools, hospitals and park developments by using tax contributed from the people. That benefits property developers.

 

In addition, many condo projects smaller than five hectares have spent no money for infrastructure development but have enjoyed the current system. To ensure fairness, the district is considering a contribution from those project developers also.

 

Do Thi Loan, general secretary of HoREA, said the plan would cause difficulties to developers because their projects were licensed for construction and they had not budgeted for this problem.

 

Therefore, it would not be easy to convince them to pay an additional payment.  

 

The vice chairman of the district said the HCMC government had given the green light to the policy. However, there is a lack of specific mechanism to translate the policy into reality.

 

He said a clear mechanism was required to ensure fairness among property developers and the financial obligation, if charged, should not be collected in a lump sum but divided into phases and according to the percentage of capital poured into the projects.

 

Hanoi hosts Asia-Pacific Telecommunity conference

 

The Vietnam Ministry of Information and Communications is hosting the Policy and Regulatory Forum (PRG) organized by the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) in Hanoi from May 17-19.

 

The annual forum, attended by senior level personnel from ministries and regulatory agencies, will address key policy and regulatory issues related to the Asia-Pacific region and update APT members with a variety of specific topics.

 

It will also give regulators and industries an opportunity to exchange views on creating conducive regulatory environment in the region to enhance services, businesses and investments, and provide a platform for member countries to discuss broadband connectivity.

 

APT Secretary General Toshiyuki Yamada said broadband and technology convergence are facilitating the rapid global advance toward an information society and knowledge-based economy, and Asia-Pacific countries should take the lead in developing and applying new broadband technology.

 

Addressing the forum, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Tran Duc Lai spoke about Vietnam’s project to turn itself into an Information Technology and Communications power. This plan, he said, considers the development and completion of telecommunications infrastructure and broadband technology as one of the six major targets to achieve between now and 2020.

 

The Vietnamese government has been creating legal corridors for such developments, mobilizing domestic and overseas resources to boost economic growth and improve people’s living standards.

 

Mr Yamada told the forum that he hoped international organizations and policymakers will discuss ways to popularize broadband infrastructure and services in Vietnam.

 

Inspectors to clamp down on advertising of tobacco

 

Inspectors in all departments of culture, sports and tourism in cooperation with police and other agencies have been asked to crack down on tobacco advertising and promotions.

 

At a press meeting held on May 16 Phan Thi Hai of the Vietnam Steering Committee on Smoking and Health said she hoped Vietnam would promptly issue a draft law on banning tobacco advertising and promotions under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

 

In addition, the law on prevention of tobacco's harmful effects should be issued as soon as possible, Hai said, adding that this programme would help further the ban on tobacco advertising and promotions.

 

Research conducted by the Hanoi School of Public Health last year showed that around 95 percent of the tobacco merchants surveyed in 10 provinces and cities had violated regulations that ban tobacco advertising and promotion as well as sponsorships.

 

Most of the merchants and residents said they did not know about the regulations.

 

In HCM City , a total of VND10.5 million (US$41,796) in fines were issued in 2010 and the first three months of this year.

 

Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Health Examination and Treatment Department under the Ministry of Health, said that the number of people smoking cigarettes in Vietnam last year totalled more than 15 million, with 4.1 million smoking pipe tobacco.

 

More than 47 percent of men and 1.4 percent of women in Vietnam smoke.

 

The rate fell compared with the figure in 2001 but was higher than other countries in the region, Khue said.

 

Thirty-three million people are secondhand smokers; 40,000 people die of smoking-relating diseases annually.

 

Halong shipyard starts building huge bulker

 

Halong Shipbuilding Company on Monday placed the keel of a 53,000-DWT bulk freighter, marking the start of construction of the vessel for Thailand’s Thoresen Thai.

 

The HL 16 ship, which is 190 meters long, 32 meters wide and 17.5 meters high, will have a total holding capacity of 65,700 cubic meters and a double bottom, Vietnam News Agency reports.

 

Designed by Denmark’s Carl Bro, the ship will have modern equipment installed, including the main MAN B&W engine which is electronically controlled.

 

This is one of a series of 53,000-DWT bulkers which Halong Shipbuilding Company, a unit of Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin), has been building for foreign customers.

 

Intel and Danang build green data center

 

Intel Vietnam and Danang City’s Department of Information and Communications have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of information technology (IT), sharing technology and experience to build a green data center in the central city.

 

The two sides agreed to arrange for qualified experts, especially from Intel, to join the project, which will be carried out within the 2011-2012 period. Local government will also prepare its manpower to facilitate the project.

 

The cooperation is part of the project for applying IT in government offices in the city from now until 2015.

 

Japan aids multi-million dollar railway project

 

Construction of eight bridges along the trans-Vietnam rail route is expected to begin by mid-June, with aid from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

 

Vietnam Railway Corporation said the construction, worth almost 4 billion JPY (roughly $49 million ), was a major contract of a project worth over VND2.47 trillion (around $119 million) to strengthen the safety of the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City railway route, a national transport artery.

 

With a majority of the investment to come from Japanese official development assistance, the total project will help upgrade 44 rail bridges and 37.6 km of railway lines, as well as build two rail flyovers and a railway station along the trans-Vietnam rail route.

 

A joint venture that consists of the US-based Taisei Construction Corporation, Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Company of Japan and the Transport Project Construction Corporation No. 1 of Vietnam has won the contract.