VietNamNet Bridge – National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung applauded Minister of Science, Technology and Natural Resources Nguyen Quan’s bravery for testing a homemade underwater vehicle named Hoa Binh at the Q&A session yesterday.  

Minister Quan in the underwater vehicle Hoa Binh during the trial run in Cam Ranh in September.

Deputy Nguyen Ngoc Bao asked Minister Nguyen Quan’s views about the fact that some farmers had invented airplanes and submarines.

Quan said he was very interested in the invention of farmers and those with creative energies could work with state agencies to receive support from the state.

He also said that he had tested a locally-made underwater vehicle named Hoa Binh, which was designed and manufactured by the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) under a State-level project since 2010, with total investment of around VND25.5 billion ($1.5 million).

He said the vehicle meets technical diameters of Germany and it is $3.5 million cheaper than an imported vehicle of the same kind.

Hoa Binh ship.

The vehicle, 6.63m long and 2.74m high, has a speed of 4.5 nautical miles per hour. It can carry four people and dive to a depth of 50 meters within 24 hours. It is capable of contacting other ships at a distance of around 1km through radio communication systems. After its successful test run in Cam Ranh on September 21, the vehicle will be given another test before its official operation.

Regarding homemade submarines in Vietnam, Minister Quan said there are three such submarines, Yet Kieu made by Mr. Phan Boi Tran, Truong Sa from Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hoa and Hoa Binh from a group of scientists and entrepreneurs under Vinashin.

The Minister praised the professionalism of the engineers at the Vinashin High-tech Investment and Development JSC for seeking the participation of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Transport and the German registration agency in the test of the vehicle.

Commending Minister Quan’s courage for taking part in the trial run, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung asked the Minister to create open policies to encourage creativity and inventions of amateur inventors.

Tran Cham