Five people missing after car swept away

Two women and three children are still missing after a car was swept away by floodwaters late yesterday in the central province of Nghe An's Nghia Hong Commune.

Twenty rescuers were rushed to the scene, but their job was made difficult because of the heavy-flow of floodwater and difficult terrain. This morning, rescuers and resources from surrounding districts joined in the search.

The car was carrying seven people at the time, but apparently two managed to escape. The incident happened as the vehicle was travelling near the Khe Ang dam in Nghia Hong Commune.

Cold snap expected in two days

A cold snap is moving towards Vietnam from China mainland and is forecast to hit the northern region of Vietnam on September 25.

It is a quite strong cold snap that will cause temperatures in the north to drop sharply, according to Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre.

Despite mild autumn climate, northerners have experienced warm weather over the past few days, with daily temperatures rising to 34-35 degrees Celsius.  

However, temperatures will fall sharply when the cold snap strikes the northern region on the night of September 24.

Weather experts forecast temperatures will probably drop to 20 degrees Celsius at night and 22-25 degrees Celsius during daytime.

Meanwhile, typhoon Usagi was downgraded after pounding southern China on September 22, now packing winds of up to 88kmp near its centre.

The typhoon is forecast to change its course to west and south-west to head for northern border provinces of Vietnam in the coming 24 hours.

It will combine with the cold snap to bring heavy rains to Vietnam’s northern region in the coming days.

Mountainous localities are warned of flash floods and landslides.  

VND19 billion for children with coronary conditions

More than VND 19 billion was raised at a ceremony in Hanoi, on September 21, to mark the fifth launch of “Trai Tim Cho Em” (Free Operation for Healthy Heart) programme, in support of poor children with heart disease.

The event was jointly held by Vietnam Television VTV) and the Military Telecoms Group (Viettel), aiming to review the implementation of the programme since it was first launched in 2008.

The ceremony welcomed Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan, senior officials and representatives from ministries, agencies, and a large number of philanthropists from across the country.

Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan praised the generous and valuable contributions made by organisations and individuals to enable patients improve their health.

She asked the Health Ministry to promote scientific research and cooperate effectively with international organisations and relevant agencies to provide better medical screenings and healthcare services to Vietnamese people with heart disease.

At the event, the Prime Minister presented certificates of merit to VTV and Viettel in recognition of their huge contributions to charity work.

Seven hospitals and 11 doctors were also honoured for their significant contributions to providing free operations to patients with heart conditions.

Over the past five years, nearly VND90 billion has been raised to support approximately 2,000 pediatric patients with congenital heart diseases.

Hanoi launches Autumn blood donation campaign

Hanoi hosted an Autumn blood donation campaign on September 22, attracting thousands of people from across the capital city.

The campaign, aims to raise public awareness and encourage people to take part in voluntary blood donation to save lives of patients this autumn.

During the event, 20 clubs and voluntary organisations held exchanges, and camping festival and provided consultation on gender and employment for youths.

During the past five years, such campaigns have mobilised 3,600 units of blood. This year’s event is expected to collect 1,500 units from 2,500 blood donors.

Vietnam contributes to Solidarity Festival success in Belgium

The Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium joined a solidarity festival hosted by the Belgian Labour Party in Bredene city on September 20-21 for charity fundraising.

The Vietnamese stall attracted major attention from visitors who were impressed by the country’s traditional cultural values and beautiful landscapes featured in photos and magazines.

Aside from tasting traditional dishes, visitors were also offered the opportunity to enjoy music and dance performances and take part in a seminar on unity.

The proceeds from the festival will be channeled to the organsing board to contribute towards charity work.

This year’s event attracted 150 embassies and representative offices of international organisations and agencies, and about 10,000 local residents.

Since its launch four years ago, the solidarity festival has become a venue for Belgian workers who are eager to boost solidarity and fight discrimination.

Students win awards for anti earthquake model building

Students from Duy Tan University in Danang won third prize and a number of consolidation prizes at the 13th Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools (IDEERS) competition in Taiwan.

The event was organised by the British Council with the aim of helping to minimize the loss, damage and destruction caused by earthquakes.

The event attracted 99 teams from countries across the world.

Students from the Construction Department of Duy Tan University designed a of seven-storey model building which can resist an 8 richter earthquake.

Last year, Duy Tan University won a consolidation prize at the contest.

World Rhino Day marked in Vietnam

A series of activities were held on September 21 in Hanoi to mark World Rhino Day, which falls on September 22.

Five members of a Vietnamese delegation shared at a meeting in Hanoi their observations of the impacts the illegal rhino horn trade is having on the species in South Africa , following a 10-day trip to the country's Kruger National Park.

Attempts are underway to reduce the consumption of rhino horn in Vietnam, where many local people wrongly believe it to hold medicinal qualities. The visit of the delegation, which included a politician, a police officer and a comedian, was made to raise awareness of the long-standing issue.

"Our South African friends told us that 635 rhinos had been killed there since January, and nearly two-thirds of these were killed inside Kruger,” said Vo Tuan Nhan – one of the delegates and Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment.

Andrew Paterson, director of the Rhinose Foundation said that the fact-finding mission gave the delegates a glimpse into the severity of the problem in South Africa.

"For the rhinos to be saved, the demand from countries like Vietnam must end. We hope their experiences will make a difference here," he said. The ten-day trip was sponsored by Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) and South African non-profit the Rhinose Foundation.

At the meeting, it was officially announced that comedian Nguyen Xuan Bac is the ENV's Rhino Ambassador.

On the same day, 5,000 copies of a rhino book especially designed for children by Humane Society International and the Vietnam Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Management Authority were distributed to 500 children at two primary schools in Hanoi.

Do Quang Tung, Director of CITES organisation said, "When we educate children, we also educate their parents and other family members. When we reach hundreds of children, we reach thousands of adults."

The children's rhino events were organised as part of a cooperative partnership between the Vietnam CITES authority and Humane Society International (HSI), which runs until 2015.

Party leader pledges support for writers, artists

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has stated that the Party and State will do all they can to help writers and artists harness their creativity to the fullest.

Holding a working session with the Party organisation of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations (VULA) in Hanoi on September 21, Party chief Trong vowed to ensure the freedom of creativity while urging writers, artists and cultural activists to uphold their citizen and social responsibilities.

The country‘s dynamic development is opening up new horizons for creativity while posing new questions to which writers and artists must try to answer and explain to society through their creative work, he said.

The Party leader expressed his hope that the writers and artists will produce more works which vividly reflect reality, praise the good and fight the bad, including those ideas that go against the nation’s moral tradition and interests as well as social vices.

According to a report of the Party organisation of VULA, the Union has so far comprised of 73 member associations at both central and grassroots levels, gathering nearly 400,000 writers and artists.

Fifteen years after implementing the Resolution on literature and arts adopted by the fifth meeting of the Party Central Committee (8 th tenure), the literature and arts sector has reaped dramatic successes.

The report said the freedom of creativity and writers and artists’ working conditions have been ensured and improved, resulting in remarkable increase in the number of creative works as well as enhancement of quality.

However, the report noted that the development still fails to match the sector’s own potential and the public’s demand.

Many delegates also expressed concerns about the growing trend of commercialisation and imitation, which has devalued and distorted the authentic values, impacting on ideological and aesthetic education for the public.

They called on the VULA to reform its method of working to unite members in working for stronger development of literature and arts, fulfilling the noble mission of serving the country and the people.

Vietnam joins campaign to make the world cleaner

Vietnam has joined 130 of the world’s countries in launching its version of the “Make the World Cleaner” campaign in Lam Dong province’s Da Lat City on September 21.

Specifically themed "Where We Live: Our Planet, Our Responsibility", the campaign launched globally across September 20–22 with the aim of raising individual and communal responsibility to care for the environment.

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen used the campaign’s opening ceremony to call on organisations, individuals, businesses, and ministries to unite behind the drive to protect the environment and address the negative repercussions of climate change.

He urged the relevant agencies to accelerate the public information campaigns raising awareness of the issue’s importance.

The ceremony also honoured some individuals and organisations for their outstanding contributions to environmental protection.

After the ceremony’s conclusion, audiences cleaned the environment surrounding Xuan Huong Lake and nearby schools.

On September 20, 2,700 trees were planted at Da Lat University.

The world cleaning campaign was adapted globally by the United Nations Environmental Programme after its founding in Australia in 1993. It runs every September.

HCMC, Lyon City boost cooperation

A French delegation led by Deputy Mayor of Lyon Gilles Buna visited Ho Chi Minh City on September 20 to promote inter-locality relations with the Vietnamese metropolis.

At a reception for the French guests the same day, HCM City People’s Committee Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Hong highlighted the effectiveness of the recent cooperation between HCM City and Lyon, especially in the fields of historic and cultural relic preservation.

She expressed hopes Lyon will continue to support and work with HCM City in lighting systems design, urban management, and environmental protection.

Gilles Buna concurred with Hong’s positive assessments of the two cities’ existing relationship and voiced a desire to expand cultural and economic cooperation.

HCM City announced it will inaugurate its Post Office’s new lighting system designed by Lyon on September 22.

The lighting works are part of celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.

Friendship Order awarded to late Japanese archaeologist

A ceremony took place in Hanoi on September 19 to bestow posthumously the Vietnamese President’s Friendship Order on late Japanese archaeologist Nishimura Masanari in recognition of his devotion to the local archaeology.

Ass. Prof. Dr. Masanari, who was a lecturer of Japan’s Tokyo University and a collaborator of the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, died in an accident on the way to an archaeological site in the northern province of Bac Ninh on June 9, 2013.

Masanari was born in 1965 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. He first came to Vietnam in 1990 for a project in the central province of Nghe An. He learned Vietnamese, understood Vietnamese culture and even adopted the name Ly Van Sy.

In November 1998, Nishimura discovered a piece of a mould used to cast bronze drums dating back 2,300 years, the only one of its kind ever found. The object is an important piece of evidence for the research of Vietnamese bronze drums.

Both his postgraduate and doctorate theses were about Vietnamese archaeology and its ancient civilisations.

 Vietnam steps closer to green production

The third conference and exhibition on European environmental problems and solutions, Green-Biz 2013, opened in Hanoi on September 19.

The two-day event, organised by the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, aimed to help the public and State stakeholders discover opportunities for green growth and investment.

EuroCham Vice Chairman David Champion said it provides an opportunity for private and pubic dialogue and also for Vietnamese and European businesses to interact.

Nearly 100 high calibre speakers, including experts from the private sector, academia, governments and independent institutions will take part, together with about 70 European firms.

The conference is not only focusing on traditional technical solutions for energy efficiency and resources management but also on providing a green education and encouraging a green mindset. This includes access to healthcare, green consumption and production.

Champion said green production is important now that Vietnam is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the EU.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu said the Government is aware of the challenges, including controlling the impact of climate change, environmental pollution and wastage of energy.

The Swedish Secretary for Trade, Gunnar Omm, said European companies, particularly Swedish, are at the cutting edge of green and clean technologies.

"We are looking for partnership with Vietnamese companies," he said, noting that although Vietnam has become a middle income country at an amazing speed, there are challenges ahead as rapid economic growth often come at the cost of the environment, raising the need for measures to combine economic growth and sustainability.

Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) General Secretary Pham Thi Thu Hang said that technology is the key to production and technology transfer from European to Vietnamese companies. She said this could introduce waves of advanced technology and boost productivity.

She also said that Vietnamese enterprises need to be more active and creative in raising their competitiveness as well as helping the country avoid the middle-income trap.

At a September 19 conference on green consumption and green production, Frans Verspeek, team leader of the Switch Asia Network, said that barriers include lack of business awareness about resources-efficient production and technical and managerial skills on clean technology plus poor access to financial services for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

He said there are also barriers shaping demand, including weak communication of products to consumers, low accessibility to sustainable products and services. And there are barriers against investment, including the low cost of non-compliance.

To remove the barriers, access to information must be provided, skills must be developed by businesses and networking on green finance set up by businesses and policy makers, Verspeek said.

Japan helps Hanoi generate electricity from waste

The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan has granted 1,770 million Japanese yen (over VND472.1 million) in non-refundable aid to a Hanoi-based plant to generate electricity from waste.

Construction work started on September 19 at the Nam Son industrial waste treatment site located in Hanoi’s outlying district of Soc Son.

Once completed in the next 12 months, the over VND612.2-million plant is expected to handle 75 tonnes of waste/day and generate 1,930 kW/day.

The plant will help improve energy efficiency, protect the environment, and reduce power shortages in Hanoi. It will also ease pressure on solid waste landfills by treating industrial and hazardous waste in the city.

Website on Vietnam-France relations launched

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on September 20 to launch the first official website on Vietnam-France relations.

The website at viet-phap.vn covers Vietnam’s consistent and long-term policy of developing relations with France, with a view to strengthening comprehensive cooperation in politics, economics, trade, culture, education, science and technology between the two nations.

The website aims to provide readers with information in various forms such as news stories, articles,photos and video clips to broaden mutual understanding between the two nations.

On this occasion, the Vietnam Post Corporation and France’s La Post jointly issued a set of stamps on the portrait of Dr Alexandre Yersin to mark his 150th birthday.

IFAD offers US$33 million to help poor households

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has officially approved US$33 million in financial support for Vietnam to increase the incomes of poor households and reduce the impact of climate change on the disadvantaged districts of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces.

The information was unveiled at the 109th session of the IFAD’s Executive Board which was attended by Vietnamese ambassador to Italy Nguyen Hoang Long, who is also Vietnam’s Permanent Representative at the IFAD.  

This is the IFAD’s first aid package for Vietnam under the framework of the country strategic opportunities programme (COSOP) in the new period (2012-2017).

The IFAD is expected to further assist Vietnam to reduce its poverty rate and increase its capability for coping with climate change.

Japan, Vietnam to launch project on energy saving and labels

Vietnam and Japan is set to launch a three-year project on strengthening the system and operation of standard and conformity on energy saving and standardizing energy labels later this year.

The meeting minutes concerning the project was signed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality (STAMEQ) and the Bureau of Accreditation (BOA) under the Ministry of Science and Technology in Hanoi on September 18.

The project aims to support and enhance operational capability of the STAMEQ testing laboratories in testing energy saving for the air conditions and refrigerators. It will also provide the BOA with capacity on reviewing and adjusting standards of the energy saving and other standards related to using energy consistent with the actual use of the air conditions and refrigerators.

In the framework of the project, Japan will transfer technology and advanced expertise for Vietnam.

The energy saving has become an important policy to tackle the energy deficiency due to growth of the energy demand as well as coping with the global climate change.

Magazine on Vietnam-Russia ties makes debut

The Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association has recently launched its Bach Duong (white poplar) magazine as part of its efforts to foster the traditional and friendly relationship between the two nations.

The 72-page magazine, which is being published quarterly, offers readers a wide range of in-depth stories about Vietnam-Russia ties as well as the life of Vietnamese national studying and working in Russia.

The publication marks a crucial step in the association’s activities to strengthen the two countries’ relations and solidarity, contributing to the comprehensive strategic partnership established recently.

Vietnam bank provides aid to Laos

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has presented 15,000 blankets and mosquito-nets and US$100,000 in cash to the Lao Ministry of Health to help prevent dengue fever.

It also donated 2,000 sets of computers as gifts to the Lao Youth Union.

At the hand-over ceremony in Vientiane on September 18, BIDV Deputy General Director Tran Luc Lang said the bank wants to help Laos fight the disease and create favourable conditions for young people to excel in their study.

Lao Minister of Education and Sports Phankham Viphavan appreciated the bank’s investment and social welfare activities in Laos and pledged to use donations efficiently.

Since 2008, the bank has provided Laos with a total of US$8.5 million, focusing on education and training, health care, culture and social affairs, contributing to reducing poverty and improving local people’s lives.  

Fishermen’s bodies found after boat accident

Rescuers have found the bodies of two fishermen in the waters off Vung Tau following a September 16 accident between a Singapore-flagged vessel and Vietnamese fishing boat.

According to local officials from the Vietnam Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre for Zone No. 3, the body of one man was found on September morning five nautical miles away from the site of the boat collision 50 miles off Vung Tau.

Two hours after that, the body of another victim was also discovered in the same location. The identities of the two men have not been determined. The bodies were taken to rescue vessel SAR 272.

The first body was found the previous day. Five other men are still missing.

The rescue vessels are still trying to approach the area, which is littered with many nets from the boat. Rescuers said they feared the missing men might have been caught in nets on the boat that had ended up in the water.

Pham Hien, Director of the Vietnam Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre for Zone No. 3, said the rescue team had also faced difficulties because of the influence of a tropical low pressure from at sea.

Also on September 18, the Vietnam Maritime Administration cooperated with Ba Ria-Vung Tau province’s Port Authorities, Public Security Department, border police and related officials to inspect the Singapore cargo vessel, Sima Sapphire, and interview the crew.

Local officials took the black box and sea charts of the vessel for further investigation.

Provincial disaster response team introduced

A model of provincial disaster response team (PDRT) was introduced to a seminar in central Quang Nam province on September 18.

The team aims to assist localities in search and rescue operations when natural disasters or incidents happen.

In Quang Nam, the PDRT was established in May 2013 with 12 members qualified for health condition and disaster response and prevention knowledge and experience.

Chief the Spanish Red Cross in Vietnam Marta Alejano said she hopes the Quang Nam PDRT will help provincial related agencies fully involve  in search and rescue activities during natural disasters and incidents.

The PDRT is a part of a project to enhance the disaster management capacity of the Vietnam Red Cross, government stakeholders and the community, funded by the Red Cross of Spain and the Netherlands.

The project is being carried out in the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Quang Ngai, which are prone to natural disasters.

Vietnam-Laos border laws popularised

A training course to disseminate Vietnam-Laos border laws was held in Tam Ky city in the central province of Quang Nam on September 18.

It was organized for almost 300 village heads of border localities of Quang Nam and the Central Highland province of Kon Tum.

The event, held by the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Popularisation and Education, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Defence, and Industry and Trade in conjunction with the two provinces.

In 2012, total import-export turnover between the two provinces and Laos reached US$148 million, up 19.3% over 2011’s figure. The amount was US$59 million in the first six months of this year.

Quang Nam and Kon Tum have four border districts with 25 communes bordering Laos’ Sekong and Ataopu provinces. There are six border gates and many paths connecting the communes with Lao localities.

The two provinces have organised many trade promotion programmes and activities to celebrate the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Solidarity Year 2012.

Hundreds of rare birds released in Lao Cai

The forest management department of Van Ban mountainous district in the northern province of Lao Cai released over 100 wild birds back into their natural habitat on September 17.

The birds, including many rare species such as red-whiskered bulbul (pycnonotus jocosus), white stork (Eretta garzetta) and spotted dove (streptopelia chinensis), had been illegally snared by two local people.

According to Ha Minh Son, Director of the Department, the Hoang Lien-Van Ban Nature Reserve Area is home to many rare species of flora, such as Taiwanese araucaria (Taiwania crytomerioides) and acanthus goldthread (Mahonia beali).

The area is also haven for threatened animal species such as the black gibbon (Nomascus concolor), black-back bird (Sitta formosa), toadfish (Paramesotriton deloustali), small loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) and large-cranium bat (Myotis siligorensis), Son added.

He said his department has been working hard to prevent local people from hunting and snaring the park’s wildlife.

Vietnam moves closer to MDGs

Vietnam has fulfilled the three major Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets of poverty reduction, universal primary education, and gender equality.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) unveilled the achievement at a September 17 seminar in Hanoi discussing the 2013 MDG report.

MPI Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong summarized the report as reviewing two thirds of the MDG implementation and updating the current national situation.

Despite recent economic difficulties, Ninh said the Vietnamese Government has maintained its focus on the MDGs’ socio-economic development targets.

Over the 2010–2013 period, national poverty rates have dropped from 14.2 percent to 9.6 percent in 2012. The number of primary educated children reached 97.7 percent while female workers accounted for 48 percent of new hires in the reviewed period.

Implementing Vietnam’s MDGs is still hampered by the lingering effects of the global economic downturn, adversely affecting economic growth, profits, job opportunities, and worker incomes.

Vietnam also faces complex problems such as climate change, living standard disparities between minority groups and majority populations, and education and training that does not meet international standards.

The report warns the above challenges could prevent the country from fulfilling its MDGs.

Domestic and international experts said Vietnam’s development programmes should be based on sustainable development targets.

The major issues deserving priority after the MDG period ends in 2015 include gender equality, social integration, governance, population structure, medical service quality, education, vocational training, and the environment.

Addressing the seminar, UNDP Vietnam Director Louise Chamberlain applauded the country’s MDG achievements while expressing hope it would make additional progress in areas such as child fatality reduction and maternal healthcare improvements before 2015.

She highlighted the remarkable progress made in preventing and controlling HIV/AIDS, malaria and other epidemics, ensuring environmental sustainability, and establishing global cooperation.

Dien Bien promotes cooperation with six Lao provinces

A meeting was held on September 16 to review the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on industry and trade cooperation between Dien Bien province and six Lao provinces in the 2011-2013 period and sign a new one for 2013-2015.

Leaders of seven provinces discussed measures to iron out snags in border trade activities to fulfill their export targets in the coming period.

Nguyen Van Tuong, Director of the Dien Bien provincial Department of Industry and Trade said since 2011 Dien Bien’s import, export turnover through the border has reached US$50 million.

Dien Bien has many companies and businesses operating in northern Laos provinces, such as Dien Bien Cement Plant, Hung Hai Trade and Construction Company, 705 International Cooperation Company and Vinh Phat Company.

Currently, around 74 businesses are investing in Phoongsali and 7 businesses in Udomsai.

Dien Bien is helping Udomsai build some social welfare projects, such as museums, hostels, and schools.

At the working session, Dien Bien and the six northern Lao provinces agreed to implement the newly signed MoU, exchange information and management experience, and join efforts to develop the border market network until 2020. They were committed to creating the best possible conditions for businesses to build shops and stands in the border areas, strengthening market management to restrict smuggling and trade fraud.

They proposed the two governments and relevant agencies speed up the construction of infrastructure facilities, especially roads to the border gates and border communes, the Tay Trang-Pang Hoc and Huoi Puoc-Na Son international border gates as well as border markets.

HCM City’s unlicensed homes still rising

The city has had 3,034 homes illegally built in the year to date but authorities have been able to tackle only 85.6% of them, according to the Department of Construction.

A report released on August 1 by the department put the total number of unlicensed homes in the first seven months at a mere 2,626. This is a clear indication that unlicensed housing construction in the city has been going almost unchecked.

At a meeting with the city’s leaders on Wednesday, Quach Hong Tuyen, deputy director of the Construction Department, said around one-third of the 3,034 unlicensed homes were constructed by people from other provinces.

Tuyen said city and district authorities had handled 2,596 cases and that the remainder would not be spared. Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Thu Duc and Go Vap are among the districts where lots of unlicensed homes have sprung up, he noted.

In a report sent to the city’s leaders in early August, the department said 681 unlicensed homes were found in Binh Chanh District and that they would be handled strictly within that month. However, another survey conducted by the department recently indicates that the number of unlicensed homes in Binh Chanh has amounted to 1,093 this year, especially in Vinh Loc A, Vinh Loc B, Binh Hung and Tan Kien communes.

The department said that in Binh Chanh District alone, many locals had built homes on farmland without licenses, citing lax oversight by the district. This is proven by the fact that illegally constructed homes have electricity meters installed by the local state power utility and addresses issued by local authorities.

According to Doan Nhat, vice chairman of Binh Chanh District, housing demand of local people in need of resettlement and from people from other provinces is huge in the district. Given high land prices in well-planned residential areas, people tend to build homes on farmland or in areas ineligible for residential development without construction licenses.

Some districts have ascribed the situation to the long-delayed implementation of land zoning plans and to the legal problems with separation of land lots and conversion of agricultural land into residential one.

Nguyen Huu Tin, vice chairman of the city, told the meeting that district authorities would have to review all the illegally built homes on a case-by-case basis to consider granting home construction licenses on agricultural land.

Wastewater in city’s eastern side to be tackled

The HCMC government is seeking permission from the Prime Minister for appointing a contractor for a wastewater treatment project east of the city to tackle the environment problem surrounding areas there including the Saigon Hi-Tech Park.

The wastewater discharged into Xuan Truong, Nhum and Go Cat springs in HCMC’s District 9 and part of the wastewater in Di An District in the neighboring province of Binh Duong will be collected and treated at the proposed facility with a daily capacity of 65,000 cubic meters.

The city’s authorities suggested that the HCMC Infrastructure Investment Joint-stock Company (CII) be named the project owner under the build-transfer-operate format (BTO) with total investment of nearly VND670 billion.

According to the city’s government, with a daily capacity of 65,000 cubic meters, Suoi Nhum wastewater treatment plant will help reduce the environmental pollution in the city’s eastern region and improve the water source of the Dong Nai River as the main water supply for the city’s residents.

The authorities expect procedures for the project’s deployment including signing the BTO contract with the project owner and issuing an investment certificate for the scheme to be completed in January.

In fact, Suoi Nhum wastewater treatment plant had been approved by the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment in 2009 at a cost of VND670 billion funded by the city’s budget for execution from 2009 to 2014.

However, given its limited budget as the city has set aside capital for other key infrastructure projects, the local government suggested changing the investment into the BTO form, with CII expected to contribute 26% of the total capital and the balance from World Bank loans.

If approved, CII plans to develop the wastewater treatment system meeting the highest standard for the plant at a lower a cost some VND46 billion lower than the initial estimate approved four years ago.

With its chartered capital of roughly VND1.13 trillion, CII so far has constructed many sizeable schemes such as Thu Duc water treatment plant worth VND1.6 trillion, Hanoi Highway expansion project with the BOT format costing VND2.2 trillion and Dong Tam water treatment plant worth VND1.1 trillion.

Municipality model will enhance HCM City’s dynamism

The HCMC government is rallying support from central bodies for the municipality model to enhance its dynamism in socio-economic development, said Tran Du Lich, head of the National Assembly Deputies Delegation of HCMC.

Lich told the Daily on the sidelines of a seminar in Hanoi last week that the scheme had been prepared since 2006, with an aim to improve the city government’s roles in terms of management and responsibility. The seminar was jointly organized by the HCMC government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Nhan Dan newspaper.

By definition, the municipality model gives a city the corporate status, enabling it to take own decisions and be responsible for its moves rather than waiting for blessing from central authorities.

Lich said that in executing its multiple tasks, the city government is faced with numerous impediments, which can only be tackled on a one-by-one basis due to the lack of an adequate legal corridor.

In previous working sessions with central agencies, Lich said, the city government has been encouraged to run pilot programs in various socio-economic spheres if the prevailing laws fail to provide sufficient legal foundations. In that spirit, the city government now finds it necessary to develop the municipality model, he said.

Under this model, the city proposes that the central Government delegate stronger power to the city in areas of self budgetary planning and issuance of legal documents to solve issues that cannot be addressed under the common national legal system.

There should be a clear-cut clarification of what tasks are assumed by the central Government, what are done by the city government, what should be coordinated between central agencies and municipal authorities, and what can be assigned by the central Government to the city government. Given this arrangement, the responsibilities can be pinpointed, Lich explained.

For a mega-city of ten million residents, the current model has become outdated for efficient management, so the HCMC government seeks permission to establish four smaller cities, each headed by a mayor. These satellite cities will also be given autonomy to a certain extent, he said.

With the new model, municipal departments will function in a new manner. These departments will no longer act as assistant bodies to the city government, but rather the more independent State management agencies in the city.

“For example, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will have to address all affairs within its jurisdiction, and will not forward their issues to the city government for approval like the current practice,” Lich said.

Budgetary planning and expenditure is currently a bottleneck impeding the city’s development, according to Lich.

“The city government does not have its own budget, since all must be allocated by the central Government… This mechanism will not create the needed momentum for the city’s development,” he observed.

“The local budget should be put at the discretion of the municipal People’s Council, and the city government should be responsible for its own expenditure,” he added.

Lich also mentioned the huge task of making changes to the legal system if the municipality model is to apply. “Some 100 laws and by-laws need amendments and supplements… which will take some two years if the model gets nod from the National Assembly,” Lich noted.

’Operation Healthy Heart’ campaign raises VND90 billion

The ‘Operation Healthy Heart’ campaign has raised roughly VND90 billion (US$4.23 million) over the past five years to provide poor Vietnamese children suffering with congenital heart defects access to life-saving surgeries.

The campaign is a partnership between Vietnam Television (VTV), East Meets West (EMW) and Vietnam Military Telecommunications (Viettel), which was organised in 2008.

At a gala night celebrating its fifth anniversary on September 21, it was announced that the campaign has so far benefited almost 2,000 children, who are enjoying a normal life after heart operations with the donations raised.

Donations have also helped modernise medical equipment for seven Vietnam hospitals.

On this occasion, a certificate of merit was awarded to Vietnam Television and Viettel for its contributions to running the campaign.

Hanoi implements innovative biowaste to electricity project

Construction began on September 19 on the first waste treatment facility to generate electricity from biowaste located in Hanoi’s suburban Soc Son district.

The Nam Son industrial waste treatment complex is the first of its kind in Vietnam and uses incinerators with Japan’s advanced technologies to turn the heat from industrial and hazardous garbage treatment process into electricity.

The system is capable of treating 75 tonnes per day and can produce 1,930kW of thermal power.

It costs over VND612 billion to build, of which over VND472 billion came from non-refundable aid from Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation.

The plant is expected to be put into operation by 2014 and contribute to improve energy efficiency and environmental protection in Hanoi, reduce pressure on solid waste landfills throughout the city, and thoroughly handle industrial and hazardous waste in Hanoi and surrounding areas.

Energy generated from waste treatment is going to be reused for the Nam Son complex operation and reduce the city’s power shortage.

Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Vu Hong Khanh said that the project will create new energy sources and promote the building of a recycling society, not only providing the capital city access to effective waste treatment technologies to reduce pollution and improve the environment but also ensure the city’s sustainable development.