Trade deficit drops 50 per cent in October

The national trade deficit dropped by nearly 50 per cent month-on-month in October, reaching US$800 million, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The GSO report said that this month, the country earned $8.3 billion from exports, an increase of 4.5 per cent over September.

During the same period, the country imported $9.1 billion worth of goods, down 3.7 per cent.

In October, imports of products such as pesticide, cotton and motorbikes were up, while petrol and automobiles fell sharply.

In the first 10 months of the year, the country faces a trade deficit of nearly $8.4 billion with an import revenue of $86.4 billion, up 27.2 per cent against the same period last year.

Deposit rate cap can be lowered: expert

Associate Professor and Doctor Tran Hoang Ngan told Tuoi Tre that the deposit interest rate ceiling can be lowered and the lending rate will be reduced accordingly.

Ngan said now that inflation was slowing down, the cap could be lowered.

He said the Consumer Price Index in October was expected to rise by only 0.5 percent, the slowest rate so far this year, and this was the basis for the cap to be cut.

He said the ceiling would be first lowered from the current 14 percent a year to 13 percent, and even to 12 percent if CPI continued to fall.

This would enable the lending interest rate to decrease to help businesses, he said.

As some insiders have demanded the cap to be removed, Ngan said it was not the right time.

“At present, the ceiling has to be kept so that the target of cutting the lending rate can be achieved,” he said.

Although banks’ mobilized capital has begun to fall due to the low deposit rate of 14 percent a year, he said even a lower rate would not considerably affect banks’ capital.

He said banks shouldn’t be too concerned about the decreased mobilized capital since investors’ turning their back on bank savings was just a “natural reaction.”

“Things will soon return to its normal state,” he said, adding other investment channels also appeared to be less attractive to investors.

He said the number of defaults of the Ponzi schemes had recently forced investors to seek other safer channels, including bank savings.

Since the lowered deposit rate will decrease the mobilized capital of banks while demand for bank loans will go up thanks to the reduced lending rate, some experts are concerned that banks will face a capital shortage.

But he said the shortage might not arise since banks didn’t necessarily have to meet all demands for loans.

He said the deposit rate should be managed in accordance with the inflation control targeted by the government.

“The government has aimed for single digit inflation next year and banks have to offer deposit rates based on that target,” he said.

“It will be unreasonable for banks to mobilize capital at high interest rates when inflation is low.”

Chinese traders pay high for Vietnamese pigs

Northern traders are buying pigs from farms in the south to sell to Chinese traders who are willing to pay high.

Dung, a trader in Gia Kiem Commune in Thong Nhat District in the southern province of Dong Nai, told Saigon Tiep Thi newspaper that he had been busy during the past month collecting pigs to sell to northern traders.

Dung said many traders from the Mong Cai border gate in the northern province of Quang Ninh had come to Gia Kiem, which has the largest pig herd in Dong Nai.

Dung said the pigs of good quality would be sold to Ho Chi Minh City while those of lower quality would be sold to northern traders to sell to China.

“It is easy to sell to Chinese traders since they aren’t demanding on quality,” he said.
Phuc, a trader from Mong Cai, said he had hired a truck capable of carrying up to 160 pigs a trip to travel south to buy pigs.

He said northern traders had to buy from local traders at VND46,000 a kg and would sell to Chinese traders at VND56,000 a kilogram.

“I earn a profit of up to VND7 million after each trip,” he said.

Phuc said northern traders often had up to five trucks to carry pigs.

He said more than 2,000 pigs were transported northward from Dong Nai’s Thong Nhat District alone everyday.

Cuong said since supply in Thong Nhat had begun to fall, he and other traders had to switch to Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and the Mekong Delta provinces.

According to the Department of Animal Health, 4,000 tons of pigs have been exported to China via border gates in Lang Son and Quang Ninh Provinces.

Early this month, around 1,600 pigs were exported to China everyday.

Vietnam creates favourable conditions for foreign businesses

Vietnam always aims to create favourable conditions for foreign businesses to operate in the country, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

Mr Hai affirmed this while receiving a delegation representing 20 small- and medium-sized businesses from Switzerland that is currently visiting Vietnam. He spoke highly of the visit, saying it is an important event for promoting future Vietnam-Switzerland cooperation.

During the meeting, the delegation was briefed on Vietnam’s socio-economic situation, as well as measures being taken to maintain a high growth rate in the future.

Representatives from some of the Swiss businesses expressed interest in Vietnam’s investment environment in the fields of finance, banking, energy, construction, and pharmaceuticals, as well as Government policies for the private and foreign-invested economic sector. They said they hoped to boost cooperation in the coming time.

The visit is part of the activities to implement agreements signed between the two countries during Mr Hai’s visit to Switzerland in September.

Switzerland now has 80 projects operating in Vietnam with a total capitalization of US$2 billion.

Seminar discusses ICT development

A seminar was held in Da Nang city on October 24 to discuss the opportunities and challenges ahead for developing information and communications technology (ICT).

The event, organised by the Ministry of Information and Communications, was attended by nearly 70 economists, educational managers, scientists and investors, as well as leading experts and representatives from ICT businesses.

Last year, total revenues from the IT sector reached nearly US$8 billion, making it one of the country’s five major exporting sectors. However, ICT experts said that the scope of the ICT sector has not matched its potential due to a poor competitive edge, lack of professionalism and low-quality human resources.

The seminar also provided an opportunity for economists, educational managers, investors and leading ICT experts to devise measures to develop ICT into the spearhead sector in the country.

JBIC pledges aid for Hanoi’s environment, infrastructure

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) pledges finance to Hanoi in the fields of environment and transport infrastructure development in the near future.

A JBIC representative made the affirmation at a meeting on Oct. 24 with Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, Nguyen The Thao to discuss new potentials of cooperation with the capital city.

The funding will be made directly through the Hanoi investment fund for development in the form of preferential credit or investment in public-private partnership projects.

Chairman Thao affirmed that Hanoi city will create the best conditions for JBIC to operate effectively in Vietnam, contributing to the development of the two nations.

Vietnam pledges good conditions for Swiss businesses

The Vietnamese government always creates favourable conditions for foreign businesses, including those from Switzerland, and considers their success as Vietnam’s own success.

The statement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at a reception for a visiting Swiss delegation in Hanoi on October 24. The visit is part of activities to implement agreements reached by the two countries’ senior leaders and partners during the official visit to Switzerland by Deputy PM Hai in September.

Hai briefed his guests of Vietnam’s socio-economic situation, particularly in 2011, and measures to maintain the growth and development goals in the new circumstances.

He said the Swiss businesses’ visit, which aims to explore investment opportunities in Vietnam , marks a milestone in promoting economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Swiss side said they are interested in investing in finance and banking, energy, construction, pharmaceutical products and food sectors in Vietnam.

They also presented several plans on investment projects in the coming time.

Switzerland has currently 80 valid projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of nearly $2 billion.

Tuan Chau looks for investors

A list of around 50 investment projects for Tuan Chau city’ master construction project will be aired at an investment promotion meeting on November 2, 2011 by investor Au Lac Company Limited.

“These projects are part of a master planning to turn Tuan Chau island in northern Quang Ninh province into a brisk port and tourism city, which was ratified by the provincial authorities,” said Au Lac Company’s general director Dao Anh Tuan, adding that the firm has finalised construction of transport infrastructure, water and electricity systems to project areas.

In fact, of the proposed 703ha project site (not including water surface area) Au Lac had pressed into service resort and entertainment complexes belonging to Tuan Chau international entertainment and resort project. The remaining area, grabbing over 70 per cent of total land area, is earmarked for items under Tuan Chau city project.

Most recently, two projects on building Tuan Chau Marina yacht harbour and Ngoc Chau Marina commercial-tourism port spanning over 6.5 kilometre worth VND1.5 trillion ($72.4 million) in total investment have finalised first-phase construction. The yacht is now up and running.

“As scheduled, remaining items at Ngoc Chau port project will be completed in summer 2012. When construction was ended, with a handling capacity of around 600 ships this would be Vietnam’s most bustling port system,” Tuan said.

Besides, a number of projects on building commercial quarters, terraced houses and villas are now in the development pipeline by Au Lac Company aiming at turning Tuan Chau island at well-known Ha Long Bay into virtually an ocean tourism city, an animated commercial center and an ideal rendezvous for investors and traders in the region and the world.

Tuan, however, said that this ambitious target would hardly be realised, if essential social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and mart system were not also in place.

“We are searching long-term cooperation and investment from domestic and foreign investors from now until 2015 to make the dreamlike Tuan Chau city into a reality,” said Tuan, adding that after the Hanoi investment promotion meeting, the same event will be held followed suit in Ho Chi Minh City.

The possibility to call for investment abroad was being weighed up to help lure investment into luxury hotel construction at the waterfront city project, according to Au Lac’s chief.

Tuan also said if the current campaign to call for voting Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay as one the world’s seven new wonders was a success, this would help magnify the city project’s attraction.

US group to build IT zone in Danang

The US-based Rocky Lai & Associates Inc. will build an information technology (IT) zone in the central city of Danang .

An agreement to this effect was signed between representatives of the Danang People’s Committee and the US group in the city on October 24.

This is the largest investment project in the IT sector of Danang city in particular and the central and Central Highlands region in general.

Under the agreement, Danang will zone off an area of over 131 hectares in Hoa Lien commune, Hoa Vang district for the Rocky Lai & Associates Inc. to build the IT park.

The city will also give investment incentives to the investor, including preferential land rent and support in technical infrastructure such as electricity, water and communications.

The US group said the facility will be into an international-standard hi-tech zone and a destination for investors from the US, Europe and other countries.

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2013 and the second phase in 2015.

Festival to promote rice

The second Viet Nam Rice Festival will be held in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Province of Hau Giang from November 8 to 11.

It would honour and promote Vietnamese rice, especially Soc Trang's, the province People's Committee said.

Deputy chairman of the committee, Quach Viet Tung, said yesterday the biennial festival – with the theme" Vietnamese rice in integration period" this year – was an important economic, political, cultural, social, and tourism event.

"The festival is expected to not only honour Vietnamese rice but also Vietnamese labourers, scientists, managers, and enterprises who contribute to creating rice – an essential commodity for both domestic and overseas markets," he said.

The national-level event will feature exhibitions, fairs, seminars, and cultural and sports activities native to Soc Trang, and will seek to promote investment, trade, and business relations among domestic and foreign partners.

The four-day event will have nearly 1,000 stalls put up by hundreds of domestic companies and those from more than 20 countries including Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Russia, Thailand and the US.

The foreign firms will mainly take part in food pavilions, exhibitions, cultural activities, and workshops.

There will be three main workshops at the festival focusing on Viet Nam's development of high-quality rice, building brand names for Vietnamese rice, and the way for Vietnamese rice to enter foreign markets.

Among four contests to be held at the festival will be a photo contest on "Vietnamese rice plants confronting global climate change" and the "Rural Beauties" beauty pageant to honour Vietnamese rice farmers.

The event will also feature a demonstration of carriages decorated with flowers, a lantern and lion-dance festival, and a photo exhibition.

The festival, which will coincide with the Khmer people's Oc Om Boc festival, will feature an iconic boat race contested by Khmer teams.

The festival will be organised by the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry and Trade, Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Information and Communications, the Soc Trang People's Committee and Viet Nam Food Association.

Oil firm celebrates first Chim Sao oil tap

Independent British company Premier Oil held a ceremony in HCM City last Friday to mark the first production of oil from the Chim Sao Oil Field in Block 12W.

Output from Chim Sao is expected to plateau at around 25,000 barrels of oil per day, at which time gas production will be approximately 25 million cubic feet per day, the company said.

The Chim Sao field, discovered by Premier and its partners in November 2006, was approved for development by the Vietnamese Government in December 2009.

The development comprises a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility, a well head platform and a subsea pipeline system to transport hydrocarbons, to export gas, and to provide water injection and gas lift.

Crude oil from the Chim Sao field will be transported to the FPSO Lewek Emas, which has a processing capacity of 50,000 barrels of oil per day. It will be processed, stored and exported via tankers from this facility.

Gas from the field will also be transported onshore for power generation.

Premier Oil, with a 53.125 per cent equity interest, operates Block 12W in the Nam Con Son Basin on behalf of its partners, Santos and Petro Viet Nam Exploration Production Corporation.

Construction material sales slow
 
The construction materials market remained quiet despite hopes from producers and traders that the sales volume would surge, as demand has been known to increase late in the year.

Pham Sy Liem, vice president of the Viet Nam Federation of Construction Associations, said that demand for construction materials often rose sharply at year's end. However, the same trend should not be expected to continue in the wake of spending cuts, monetary tightening and high lending interest rates.

Individuals in the business said that 2011 has been an extremely difficult year for them, as demand declined consistently.

The owner of a construction materials store in the capital's Hoai Duc District - where many construction projects are being implemented - said that sales from her outlet and many others had decreased this year and had been especially low since May.

Nguyen Vui, head of the Vinh Cuu trading company, said that purchasing power in the market had decreased since early this year and would continue to be slow at least until next year.

It was reported that steel, cement, construction glass and tile producers are now overstocked due to the decreasing demand in the domestic market.

Vice chairman of the Viet Nam Steel Association Nguyen Tien Nghi said that steel consumption in the first nine months of the year was low, forcing many producers to stockpile about 350,000 tonnes and running at only half of their designed capacity.

The situation was even worse for cement producers, as their consumption this year was only a tenth of the previous year's. Most of them have had to cut production to avoid accumulating a burdensome inventory. According to a Ministry of Industry and Trade report, stockpiles at State-owned cement conglomerate Vicem's member firms reached 2.34 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2011.

The latest statistics show that around 35 million tonnes of cement were consumed as of September 30, 2011, while the industry's total output is estimated at roughly 60 million tonnes this year.

Ceramic and porcelain producers have found themselves in a similar situation.

Vu Quoc Hung, general secretary of the Viet Nam Construction Porcelain and Ceramic Association, said that most of the producers in his constituency were operating at half of their designed capacity. Many of them had accumulated a stockpile of up to 800,000 sq.m in the first nine months.

Hung said that the growth rate of the industry in the first nine months this year was only 1-2 per cent as compared to a rate of more than 10 per cent in previous years.

Industry insiders were concerned that if there was no Government intervention, many construction material producers would have to close their doors due to losses.

Exports boost trade surplus

The city had a trade surplus of nearly US$700 million in the first 10 months of the year thanks to high growth rates of many key export staples, according to the HCM City Statistics Office.

The office said the city's total export turnover in January-October reached $22.2 billion, up 18.9 per cent over the same period last year.

Besides crude oil and gold, which made up a third of the city's total export earning in the first 10 months, exports of garments and textiles, rice, footwear, and seafood also surged sharply during the period. Garments and textiles, accounting for more than 16 per cent of the city's total export value, fetched nearly $1.8 billion, up 18.9 per cent over the same period last year.

With a shipment of nearly 2.4 million tonnes in ten months, rice also contributed $1.14 billion to the city's total export turnover, up 10.8 per cent. Export of footwear surged 18.2 per cent to nearly $500 million, while the rising rate of seafood export was 13.5 per cent with nearly $339 million.

The office forecast a continuously optimistic export of footwear for the remaining months of the year, as the EU lifted the anti-dumping duty imposed on the Vietnamese products. The Viet Nam Footwear Association also said that footwear producers had so far won export contracts for the year end and some even had contracts for the first quarter next year.

However, the export of seafood for the rest of the year is a concern due a shortage of materials.

Shipment of textile and garment to the US - Viet Nam's largest textile and garment importer - would also decline due to the market' economic difficulties.

Import dependency dogs cloth sector
 
The ongoing financial crunch has forced the textile and garments industry to temporarily stop investing in most of its raw material production projects, forcing it to continue depending on imports.

This is a development that will strongly impact industry development in the coming years, says Vu Duc Giang, chairman of Viet Nam Textile&Apparel Association.

Many goals set in the five-year development plan for the industry, with a vision until 2020, will not succeed because several big projects in dyeing and fabric making have stalled, he was quoted as saying by a report in the Dau Tu (Viet Nam Investment Review) newspaper yesterday.

The 2011-2015 plan envisaged that 20 fabric making factories with an annual capacity of 7,000 tonnes each would be built during this period. The plan also included 14 dyeing factories that could cover 22 million sq.m each every year, and 96 garment factories, each with an annual capacity of three million products.

The total investment capital for all these projects was estimated at about VND4.2 trillion (US$202 million).

However, given the current capital shortage, most of these projects will be suspended.

The textile and garments sector therefore will not be able to reduce dependence on imported raw materials in the coming years, Giang said.

The textile and garment sector plans to call for join venture cooperation and linkages with foreign manufactures to invest in some of the projects, but this is also difficult to achieve in the gloomy economic conditions that are prevalent now.

The Dau Tu report also quoted Nguyen Son, chairman of the Viet Nam Cotton and Spinning Association, as saying apart from requiring large amounts of capital for construction, the dyeing projects need a lot of capital for machinery and waste treatment systems.

Furthermore, dyeing factories also carry a greater risk of making losses because of high production costs that make competing with long-established markets like China, Taiwan, and South Korea more difficult.

Hence both domestic and foreign businesses were hesitant to invest in the sector, Son said.

In the first nine months of this year, the textile and garment sector posted an export turnover of $10.5 billion but the sector spent more than $9 billion to import raw materials – $5.024 billion on fabric, $1.160 billion on yarn, and $805 million on cotton.

Building inspectors expose violations

The Government inspectorate has proposed halting the construction of Nam An Khanh new urban area after uncovering many building violations.

In 2004, the Government appointed Song Da Corporation to build the project. However, two years later, the corporation transferred the project to Song Da Urban and Industrial Zone Investment and Development JSC.

The transfer of the VND155 billion (US$7.4 million) project was carried out without Government approval.

Exports boost trade surplus in HCM City

Ho Chi Minh City had a trade surplus of nearly US$700 million in the first 10 months of the year thanks to high growth rates of many key export staples, according to the municipal Statistics Office.

The office said the city's total export turnover in January-October reached $22.2 billion, up 18.9 percent over the same period last year.

Besides crude oil and gold, which made up a third of the city's total export earning in the first 10 months, exports of garments and textiles, rice, footwear, and seafood also surged sharply during the period. Garments and textiles, accounting for more than 16 percent of the city's total export value, fetched nearly $1.8 billion, up 18.9 percent over the same period last year.

With a shipment of nearly 2.4 million tonnes in ten months, rice also contributed $1.14 billion to the city's total export turnover, up 10.8 percent. Export of footwear surged 18.2 percent to nearly $500 million, while the rising rate of seafood export was 13.5 percent with nearly $339 million.

The office forecast a continuously optimistic export of footwear for the remaining months of the year, as the EU lifted the anti-dumping duty imposed on the Vietnamese products. The Vietnam Footwear Association also said that footwear producers have so far won export contracts for the year end and some even have contracts for the first quarter next year.

However, the export of seafood for the rest of the year is a concern due a shortage of materials.

Shipment of textile and garment to the US - Vietnam's largest textile and garment importer - will also decline due to the market' economic difficulties.

Petrolimex, Daelim in talks over $4.8bln VN refinery

Petrolimex said on Tuesday it is in talks with South Korea's Daelim Industrial Co Ltd over a venture to build Vietnam's third oil refinery, which could make Daelim the first foreign investor in the project worth up to $4.8 billion.

Petrolimex would keep a 60 percent stake in the 200,800-barrel-per-day (bpd) Nam Van Phong facility and talks were about the type of crude oil and technology, said Vuong Thai Dung, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Vietnam's top oil products importer and distributor.

He said Petrolimex will miss the original target of starting construction by 2014-2015, and has not fixed a new timeframe.

"It turns out to be true that Daelim Industrial signed an MOU with Petrolimex for a feasibility study, and nothing on investment size and capacities has been determined yet," a Daelim spokesman said when asked about the deal.

He said the memorandum of understanding was about "construction of refining and petrochemical facilities, not about their operation".

Asked if Daelim Industrial, which has been building overseas plants including refineries, will hold some stake in the venture, he said: "It is also not yet decided."

Dung estimated the cost for the first phase at $3 billion while both sides have yet to discuss further phases.

Hanoi-based Petrolimex said in July it planned to invest $4.4 billion to $4.8 billion in building the Nam Van Phong oil refinery complex in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

Vietnam has been operating the $2.2-billion Dung Quat oil refinery, its sole such facility, at a capacity of 130,500 bpd, and has also started work to build a second, the $7.5-billion Nghi Son refinery.

Phu Yen sets new record output of oceanic tuna

At 5,900 tonnes, the output of oceanic tuna in Phu Yen central province this year has increased by 300 tonnes over the same period last year, a record output of all time, a local official said.

According to Bien Minh Tam, director of Phu Yen department of Agriculture and Rural Development, more than 90 percent of local fishermen have earned big profits, with an income between VND70 million and VND80 million each.

In Tuy Hoa City, Phu Dong Ward alone, there are 200 boats specializing in catching oceanic tuna. With the current high price of oceanic tuna, ranging from VND110,000 to VND150,000 per kilo, 160 of them make an average profit of VND700 – 800 million each, Tam added.

Among them, a local fisherman named Luong Cong Dong has earned VND1 billion of profit from selling the tuna.

House calls for focus on key economic zones

Public spending next year should target the country’s key economic zones to boost economic development, legislators said in the National Assembly Monday.

The southern zone comprises of Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Provinces; the central zone of Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh Provinces, and Da Nang city; and the Mekong Delta zone of An Giang, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, and Can Tho.

Nguyen Quoc Binh, a lawmaker from Hanoi, said public investment should be focused on localities that spearheaded economic development instead of spreading it thin as was done now.

Tran Hoang Ngan, a HCMC representative, concurred saying major cities made the largest contributions to the economy and “public investment should thus flow into these cities so that it will yield returns for spending on other projects.”

The public judged the government by its management of public projects, he said.
“The issue is the government should ensure public spending is free of corruption.”

Binh expressed concern that the cost of developing infrastructure in Vietnam was far higher than in other countries.

It cost less than US$2 million to build a kilometer of road in other countries while in Vietnam it cost $10 million, he said.

“We should look into this and find ways to cut the cost,” he urged.

Ngan said the country’s public debt had risen at an alarming rate due to the government’s constant overspending.

The budget deficit was likely to top VND140.2 trillion ($6.8 billion) next year, or 4.8 percent of GDP, he warned.

Public debt this year was estimated at 54.6 percent of GDP and foreign debt at 41.5 percent, he added.

This was worrying since Vietnam’s foreign reserves were lower than that of neighboring countries, he said.

“For instance, Thailand’s public debt is 44.1 percent of GDP but its foreign reserves are $176 billion compared with Vietnam’s $17 billion.”

Several delegates urged the government to keep a close eye on borrowing and debt repayment and to invest more in agriculture.

Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue blamed the devaluation of the dong and the slower than expected economic growth for the rapid rise in public debts in the last two years.

Besides, the government could not ignore socioeconomic development, he pointed out.
All debts were used for investment and development, he assured.

“Vietnam has borrowed to invest in infrastructure.

“Public debts will be between 60 and 65 percent of GDP by 2015.”

Cost overruns bedevil delayed public works

While just a few months of delays in big-ticket public projects cause cost overruns of millions of dollars, many are delayed for as long as three to four years.

The VND5.3 trillion (US$258.5 million) Thang Long Highway in Hanoi, for instance, was put to temporary use last year for the capital’s millennium anniversary.

But it still cannot be finished due to problems with acquiring and clearing land.

There are 46 households yet to be relocated while relaying some power and telecom cables has also encountered problems.

With the completion delayed, the cost has soared by 40 percent to VND7.5 trillion.

Also in the north, the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Expressway in Ninh Binh Province was to have opened in 2008.

But it is unlikely to be finished earlier than June next year, with the cost having shot up from the original VND3.7 trillion to VND8.9 trillion, again mainly due to land issues.

Many families refuse to move out though some have received compensation for their land.
In the south, the $340-million Tan Son Nhat – Binh Loi – Outer Ring Road project in Ho Chi Minh City is scheduled to be finished by next year.

Ground was broken for the 13.6-km road through Tan Binh, Go Vap, Binh Thanh, and Thu Duc Districts in 2008, but it is only 40 percent complete yet.

Of the three bridges to be built, only the Binh Loi Bridge has seen any work; the proposed Rach Lang and Go Dua Bridges remain a collection of abutments.

The main reason for the delay in building the road is that a mere 5 percent of the required land has been taken over from residents so far.

City authorities recently conceded that the work would be delayed by two years.

The VND1 trillion ($48.7 million) Phu Huu Port in HCMC’s District 9 opened in July 2010.

But with no approach roads built, few use the port, resulting in a piling up of debt for the investors.

The city people’s committee allowed the port to build an approach road, but the local people’s committee rejected it saying the road was not in accordance with the district’s plans.

Saigon – Hiep Phuoc Port in Nha Be District, built at a cost of VND3.2 trillion, was expected to reach its completion this year.

But a 2.3-km road leading to the port has yet to be built. Insiders admit that even if construction of the road begins immediately, it will take two years to finish.

PV