Bus route launched to link airport and coach stations

Mr. Thang (R) and Mr. Khoa (L) on a bus in yesterday launched route 159 connecting Tan Son Nhat International Airport with Mien Dong and An Suong bus stations in HCMC

Southern Airport Transportation Joint Stock Company (Satsco) and the HCMC Department of Transport on January 15 opened a high quality bus route numbered 159 connecting Tan Son Nhat International Airport to Mien Dong and An Suong coach stations in the city.

Buses of Satsco operate on the 17-5-kilometer-long route from 5:30 a.m. to 8:25 p.m. every day. It costs passengers VND7,000 for travel on less than half of the route and VND10,000 for a longer trip. Passengers can enjoy free wifi service while on the 60-seat buses running on the route linking Tan Son Nhat airport and the two major coach stations in HCMC.

Traffic routes near Nguyen Hue Street adjusted

Traffic routes on some roads in downtown HCMC such as Nguyen Hue and Ngo Duc Ke will be changed to make way for the Nguyen Hue Flower Street and the Book Road Festival in the upcoming Lunar New Year, or Tet.

Construction work has already started on the flower street along Nguyen Hue. The municipal Department of Transport said road users will not be permitted to travel on the streets of Mac Thi Buoi and Ngo Duc Ke – a section between Dong Khoi and Nguyen Hue, from January 19 to 25, due to the ongoing construction work on Nguyen Hue Flower Street and the Book Road Festival.

In addition, this ban will apply to Nguyen Hue Boulevard’s mixed lane stretching from Ton Duc Thang to Nguyen Thiep streets. The alternative routes will be Ton Duc Thang-Hai Ba Trung-Le Thanh Ton or from Ton Duc Thang, then turn right to Ham Nghi-Le Loi.

Many road sections will be closed to serve these two events, namely Le Loi, Nguyen Hue, Nguyen Thiep, Mac Thi Buoi, Ngo Duc Ke, Hai Trieu, Huynh Thuc Khang and Ton That Nghiep, from January 25 to 31.

Local residents in aforesaid areas will be allowed to travel as instructed by traffic police officers.

NA expected to pass 24 bills this year

The National Assembly (NA) plans to approve 24 bills and discuss 14 other draft laws in 2017, the law-making body’s Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan told the Vietnam News Agency.

Ngan said the NA will supervise the implementation of policies and law on food safety for the 2011-2016 period and State administrative reform in 2011-2016 as well as consider many important policies.

She added the NA has assigned its Committee for External Affairs to coordinate with the Economic Committee and other agencies to prepare the legislature’s action plan for new-generation free trade agreements.

Tropical low causes rains in central, southern regions

Many parts of the central and southern regions are forecast to have rains until on January 16 due to the impact of a tropical low in the southern sea of Vietnam and a cold spell, according to the National Center for Weather Forecast.

The center said strong winds would result in rough seas from the central province of Khanh Hoa to the southernmost province of Ca Mau.

HCMC coach stations to handle 1.4 million passengers at Tet

Coaches at stations in HCMC are expected to transport more than 1.4 million passengers from the city to other parts of the country and vice versa in the 20-day period of Vietnam’s Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on January 28, according to Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (Samco). Tran Quoc Toan, general director of the corporation, said vehicles at An Suong, Nga Tu Ga, Mien Dong and Mien Tay coach stations can transport a total of 130,000 passengers a day on the peak days of the longest holiday in the country.

Tourism Department of Ba Ria- Vung Tau established

The People’s Committee of Ba Ria- Vung Tau province today announced the Decision No. 52/NQ- HDND on the establishment of its Tourism Department after it was separated from the Culture, Sports and Tourism Department.

The establishment aims to effectively exploit tourist strength, improve investment environment, expand and develop business market of the Ba Ria- Vung Tau.

At the ceremony, Urban Development and Construction Corporation (UDEC)'s Board of Director Chairman Trinh Hang was appointed as the Director of the Tourism Department of Ba Ria- Vung Tau province.

Speaking at the ceremony, chairman of the Ba Ria- Vung Tau People’s Committee Nguyen Van Trinh stressed that the tourism is considered as one of the key economic sectors of the province. Therefore, the leader hoped that the tourist industry of the province will be better as well as receive more and more arrivals in the upcoming time. 

Airlines offer several services on Tet holidays

Leading airlines in the country are offering several services to meet the needs of local and international travelers during the upcoming Tet holidays. 

The low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific has applied a “mobile” check-in service which allows passengers to complete their procedures without lining up at airport counters.

The national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, budget airline Vietjet Air and  Jetstar Pacific will transport apricot and peach blossoms for the upcoming lunar New Year Festival (Tet) on domestic flights.

Accordingly, a passenger will be allowed to check in with one branch of apricot or peach blossoms, measuring maximum 150cm x 40cm x 40cm on flights of VNA and Vietjet and 120cm x 50cm x 50cm on Jetstar Pacific’s flight as a special ‘Luggage Consignment Service’.

Transportation fees will cost around VND275, 000 - VND440,000.

Passengers must register to transport apricot and peach blossoms at least 3 hours before departure time.

Airlines transport a maximum of 30 branches of apricot and cherry blossoms on each flight.

VNOB’s concert marks lunar New Year

A night of dance and musical perfromance themed “The Voices of Spring” will take place at Hanoi Opera House on January 19. 

"Voices of Spring" is a short pas de deux ballet by Sir Frederick Ashton, set to the music of the Frühlingsstimmen waltz by Johann Strauss II.

The concert implemented by Artistic Director, People’s Artist Pham Anh Phuong will be perfromed by artists and dancers of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB) under the baton of conductor Le Phi Phi.

Music lovers will have also a chance to enjoy a perfromance of “Les Sylphides” classical ballet. The ballet also known as “Chopiniana” was composed by Frederic Chopin, and premiered in 1907. it will be presented by Meritorious Artist, Han Giang, Thu Hue, Ngoc Can, Viet An and dancers of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet.

Locals in HCMC can track origin of veggies from smart phone apps

Since January 18, traceable vegetables, produce whose origin and grower’s information can be tracked by consumers via smart phone apps, said the representative from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Ho Chi Minh City at a press brief held two days ago. 

The program aims to meet local demand to have clean and fresh green produce for Tet celebrations. 

18 kinds of vegetables such as cabbages, cucurbit, cucumber, bitter melon... of two cooperatives Phu Loc in Cu Chi District and Phu An in BInh Chanh District will be sold in supermarkets Co.opmart, Aeon, Big C. 

These agricultural products will have bar codes on packaging or alongside products to offer consumers easy access to more detailed product information by using smart phone apps.

The new program to trace back agricultural products’ origin is the result of cooperation between the Department od Agriculture and Rural Development with Hi-Tech Agriculture Club.

At first only two above-mentioned coperatives provide products to the program, the Department will invite more eight cooperatives to partake in the program.

Before the city sector has implemented the tracing of pork origin by using smart phone apps and traceability systems TE-FOOD which is used to track and record data.

Designer Si Hoang’s performance promotes Vietnamese traditional cultural values

The program Diem Mot Thoi (One-Time Point) promoting Vietnamese traditional cultural values by designer/master of Ao Dai, Si Hoang has returned in January in Ho Chi Minh City after a 10-year halt. 

The two-hour long program features performances of folk music, including chau van, hat xam, don ca tai tu (Southern amateur music) and Hue royal music; Ao dai fashion show as well as reviving traditional cotryside market.

The show also aims to give an opportunity to Vietnamese and foreign visitors to learn about the Vietnamese culture while tasting Vietnamese teas, enjoying fashion shows, the beauty of Ao dai and traditional folk music.

Diem Mot Thoi (One-Time Point) will take place every night at Ao dai Exhibition at No.77 Nguyen Hue Street in District 1.

Fashion designer Si Hoang is known as a master of Ao Dai, scored fully satisfactory successes with the Vietnamese traditional dress. He is a prestigious and famous Ao dai brand name to people at home and abroad.

HCMC opens new bus route linking district 8 with Tien Giang Province

A new bus route connecting District 8 in Ho Chi Minh City with Go Cong Town of the Mekong delta province of Tien Giang was launched yesterday, meeting the high travel demand between the city and localities in the Mekong Delta.

The municipal Department of Transport in cooperation with its counterparts in Tien Giang Province and Long An Province opened the new route.

The route is 53 km long  with 120 trips a day. It runs from Go Cong Town at 3.15 am as the first trip and at 7.45 pm at the Bus Station in district 8 as the last trip. The fare for the service is VND5,000 and VND25,000 depending on the length of the journey.

Deputy Director of the Department of Transport in HCMC Le Hoang Minh said that in the next time, the department will liaise with its counterparts in provinces and transport agents to invest in more vehicles to satisfy the travel demand of passengers. 

Before, the bus route connecting HCMC with the Noi Bridge in Go Cong Town was also launched to facilitate people’s travelling demand from Tien Giang Province and Long An Province to HCMC and vice versa.

The specific journeys are listed as follows:

From Bus station in district 8 → the national highway No. 50 – Tri Yen Nguyen Thai Binh → the national highway No.50 → My Loi Bridge → the national highway No.50 → Tu Du Maternity Hospital in Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street → Nguyen Trai in District 5→ Nguyen Hue Street in HCMC’s downtown, Vo Duy Linh Street, Dong Khoi Street and Go Cong Town Bus Station.

From Go Cong Town Bus Station → Dong Khoi → Vo Duy Linh → Nguyen Hue → Nguyen Trai → Tu Du Maternity Hospital → the national highway No.50 → My Loi Bridge → the national highway No.50 → Tri Yen ( Nguyen Thai Binh) → the national highway No.50 → Bus Station in district 8.

Vietnam’s most modern children’s hospital goes into operation

The Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Hospital was officially put into operation on January 16. It is the third children’s hospital in the southern hub and the most modern of its kind in Vietnam so far.

Covering an area of 12ha in Binh Chanh District, the facility features a state-of-art and the country’s largest diagnosis and treatment space with more than 100 examination rooms. In addition, it also has modern surgery and sample transportation systems.

The hospital includes ten functional rooms and 39 clinical and subclinical departments. It is also the first Vietnamese hospital to be equipped with a modern extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) system, a Hybrid operating room for cardiovascular surgeries, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine and a 256-slice computed tomography (CT) system.

In particular, in the field of paediatric oncology, it is also the first hospital with a paediatric nuclear medicine and radiation therapy department dedicated to child patients.

Construction for the medical facility was started in December 2014 with a total investment of VND4.5 trillion (US$198 million). The 1,000-bed hospital is one of those in the high-tech medical zone under the city’s master plan for its healthcare network by 2020.

According to the deputy director of the hospital, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, the hospital will receive approximately 1,000-2,000 patients a day in its initial operational scale, helping reduce overloads at other children’s hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City. Next April, all departments and 1,000 beds at the hospital will be in full operation.

According to Dr. Truong Quang Dinh, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Hospital, in addition to key staff transferred from Children’s Hospitals 1 and 2, in its initial operational phase, the hospital is to receive technical assistance and technology transfers from other major hospitals in the city.

Ho Chi Minh City’s Health Department has also prepared human resources for the hospital over the past three years with more than 200 trained doctors practising at Children’s Hospitals 1 and 2.

It is developed with a focus on advanced techniques in paediatric presence for the first time in Vietnam, while collaborating with the Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine and the City University of Medicine and Pharmaceutics to become a training base in accordance with the policy from the health sector on the university-hospital model.

HCM City clears up pavement for Tet Holiday

The authorities in HCM City's District 1 have started clearing up the pavements which are encroached by illegal parking areas and street vendors to improve the city's look and prevent congestion.

Local security guards and traffic police have been sent out to deal with the issue. The authorities fined three car owners with their vehicles parked outside of Grand Hotel in Dong Khoi Street. On Ngo Duc Ke Street, the authorities removed various furniture, vehicles and food stalls from the pavement. Benches which were installed around a tree by a restaurant were also removed.

Doan Ngoc Hai, vice chairman of District 1 demanded strict punishment to deal with encroachment. "The pavement is for the pedestrians," he said. "Illegal encroachment leaves no space for other people."

Vo Quoc Hung, vice chairman of Ben Nghe Ward said they had dealt with various cases in the past. In preparation for the Tet Holiday, all 10 wards in District 1 had been told to tighten management of their pavements. Ben Nghe Ward will continue freeing up the pavements and it's estimated that the policy will last for only two months.

Hanoi shooting under investigation

A shooting in Hanoi occurred at a cafe on Phan Boi Chau Street on January 16.

According to the witnesses, they heard two men in the cafe fighting at around 9 pm, then 10 minutes later, they heard gunshots.

A witness said, "I heard three gunshots, then a man ran out holding his side. The other left soon later."

Other people in the café rushed into the street, leaving upturned furniture in their wake.

The local security and police of Hoan Kiem District quickly arrived at the scene to investigate the case. The police have found two shell cases and are searching for the men.

Residents reject Quang Ngai Tet extravagance

Many residents in Quang Ngai City have complained about the local authorities' spending too much on decorations for Tet while the province is having to ask for support from the government and donors following recent devastating floods.

People living near Ba To Park in the city centre have recently talked about the large investment in colourful decorations with some huge roosters and bonsai to welcome the Year of the Rooster.

Speaking with Dan Viet Newspaper on January 16, Ho Tan Hoa, from Quang Ngai Urban Environment Joint Stock Company which carried out the decorations revealed that decorations for the whole city cost VND3.7 billion (USD164,225), including VND3 billion (USD133,155) to decorate Ba To Park.

"Half of the money came from the city's budget while local businesses contribute the rest," Hoa said.

Kieu Truong, a 52-year-old local man complained that the decorations were a waste of money at this time when thousands of people were facing hunger due to three recent floods.

"I know that the provincial authorities have just called for free rice from the government and donations from other individuals and organisations for local people to welcome Tet," Truong said. "So I can't understand why the city's leaders spent that much on the decorations."

Another man, Nguyen Viet Hung, who lives near Ba To Park also commented, “There’s nothing wrong with decorating the city to welcome Tet, but they should not have paid so much when local people are short of food."

The local authority recently had to ask the government for a subsidy of 2,500 tonnes of rice to feed local people.

New Danish-Vietnamese project to link schools to companies

A workshop which kicked off on Tuesday for the Danish-Vietnamese Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) project promises new opportunities for schools, companies and workers.

The workshop, co-hosted by Việt Nam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the Danish Ministry of Education, launches the two-year project that is piloting dual vocational education and training at four TVET schools, including two in Hà Nội and two in HCM City.

The schools include the Hà Nội Industrial Vocational College, the North-Eastern Vocational College of Technology, Agriculture and Forestry, the Southern Technology and Agro-Forestry Vocational College and the HCM City Vocational College.

The project aims to enhance co-operation between authorities, TVET schools and enterprises in the furniture and graphic design sectors, addressing gaps related to skills and competencies of TVET school graduates and determining what is required by enterprises and the labour market in Việt Nam.

“By building links between line ministries in Việt Nam and Denmark and by integrating vocational institutions and businesses as key partners, we have created a new and promising way to cooperate,” Charlotte Laursen, ambassador of Denmark to Việt Nam, said.

“We prioritise graphic design and furniture as they are key sectors in the Vietnamese economy, measured by employment and export value, and hope this two-year project will successfully contribute with new ideas, which can benefit all involved – people, institutions, companies and ministries,” she said.

The Danish Embassy is part of the project’s steering committee, which also includes Việt Nam’s MoLISA and Ministry of Education and Training and Denmark’s Ministry of Children, Education and Gender Equality and Ministry of Higher Education and Science.

To implement the TVET project, local occupational skill councils will be set up and include representatives from companies, schools and local authorities.

The councils will lay out the skill requirements of companies, provide input for curricula development, develop models to organise practice placements for TVET students and work on recruitment and preparation of companies to engage in training of TVET students at the workplace.

Vietnam-Japan joint film screened in Tet

The Vietnam – Japan joint film titled “Duoi bau troi xa cach” (Under the same sky) will be aired on Lunar New Year 2017, heard a press conference on January 16. 

The 120 minute-long film is the third of its kind to be co-produced by Vietnam Television Station (VTV) and Japan, after “Nguoi cong su” (The Partner) and “Khuc hat mat troi” (A song to the sun), said Do Thanh Hai, Director of the Vietnam Television Film Centre of the VTV.

The project was penned by Japanese scriptwriter Mieko Shimojima and directed by Vu Truong Khoa and Dao Duy Phuc. Vietnamese and Japanese actors starred in the film, including Quang Su, Chi Nhan, Miyagi Karin and Teruya Toshiyuki.

It will be screened at 8.45pm on January 22 on VTV 1 channel and showed in Japan in March 2017.

Scientists warn of pollution-related deaths in Indonesia, Vietnam

A Harvard and Greenpeace study says unless new coal plants in energy-hungry SE Asia are scrapped, more will die.

Coal emissions in Southeast Asia may triple by 2030, resulting in tens of thousands of pollution-related deaths every year with Indonesia and Vietnam projected to have the highest fatality numbers, according to a new study from Harvard University and Greenpeace International.

Greenpeace said in a statement late last week that if coal plants currently planned or under construction in Southeast Asia, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Taiwan are actually built, there could be some 70,000 deaths annually, up from around 20,000 now. 

“Reliance on coal in emerging Southeast Asian countries will have substantial and long-lasting impacts on air quality and public health," said Shannon Koplitz, lead researcher in the project from Harvard University. "These significant human health costs should be considered when making choices about Southeast Asia’s energy future."

The group of scientists projected that Indonesia and Vietnam would see the largest increases in coal emissions, and as a result, the highest number of premature deaths.

Lauri Myllyvirta, a senior campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia, said in the new statement that countries in Southeast Asia have the chance now to "leapfrog dirty, outdated technology like coal and move to renewable energy."

Southeast Asia is one of the fastest developing regions in the world and requires more energy to drive growth. In Vietnam, electricity demand is expected to continue to grow 13% annually in the next four years to feed the economy, which has grown above 5% a year on average since 1999 and is forecast to reach 6.5-7 percent in the next four years.

The Vietnamese government has recently revised down the target for electricity generation by coal-fired thermal power plants from 56.4% of the total electricity generation to 53.2% by 2030.

"Vietnam already took the first step by cancelling 17 large coal-fired power plants, reducing the projected health impacts from the country’s massive coal expansion by more than one fourth," Greenpeace's Myllyvirta said.

Greenpeace has pointed out that among developed countries, Japan and the Republic of Korea stand out as the only ones to keep pursuing new coal-fired power plants. Meanwhile, China, the world’s largest emitter, has seen an overall decrease in coal consumption and associated pollutant emissions since 2013.

Embassy offers support to landslide-hit expatriates in Cambodia

Staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia visited expatriate families suffering from landslides in the Cambodian province of Kandal on January 16.

The delegation offered financial aid to nine families whose houses collapsed during landslides in Kompong Chomlong commune of Leuk Daek district.

Counsellor Nguyen Manh Cuong said the Vietnamese Party, State and Government and the Vietnamese Embassy consider overseas Vietnamese people, including those in Cambodia, an integral part of the country.

He asked the expatriates to integrate into Cambodian society, comply with local law and maintain Vietnam’s traditional culture.

More than 20,000 people of Vietnamese origin live in eight of the 11 districts of Kandal province. Kompong Chomlong commune alone is home to over 200 Vietnamese families.

Also on January 16, the embassy’s staff surveyed the living conditions of about 170 expatriate families in Dey Ach commune of Kien Svay district, Kandal province, so as to provide assistance for them ahead of the Lunar New Year.-

Tet gifts offered to impoverished people nationwide

As many as 500 gifts, worth 250 million VND (11,000 USD) sourced from Vingroup’s Thien Tam Fund were presented to needy people and families in the northern port city of Hai Phong on January 16.

The programme, launched by the Vietnam Journalists Association, aims to help disadvantaged locals enjoy the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

Representatives from local authorities and the municipal chapter of the Vietnam Red Cross presented the gifts to local disadvantaged people.

On the occasion, the Hai Phong NA deputies also presented eight gift packages worth 1.2 million VND (52.8 USD) to local social welfare beneficiaries and another 32 gifts, each worth 500,000 VND (22 USD) to needy households in Tien Lang, Vinh Bao, Duong Kinh, and Le Chan districts.

Vice Chairman of the city People’s Committee Nguyen Xuan Binh said the city has allocated 110 billion VND (4.84 million USD) to help build houses for those who rendered services to the nation, and another over 100 billion VND (4.4 million USD) to support the poor and social welfare beneficiaries.

The same day in the central province of Binh Dinh, FLC group and the provincial Fatherland Front Committee presented 100 female calves, worth 1.6 billion VND (70,400 USD) and 50 saving books, worth three million VND each for local impoverished people and veterans.

FLC Deputy Director General Tran Quang Huy expressed his hope that the aid will help improve living conditions for needy people in the province.

The group has invested in the Nhon Ly FLC Tourism Complex and a trade centre on An Duong Vuong street in Quy Nhon city, Huy said.

Later the same day, Hue University and the Vietnam Health, Education and Literature Projects (VNHELP) organised a ceremony, the 16th of its kind, to present Nguyen Truong To scholarships each worth 200 USD for 150 outstanding and needy students of the university.

VNHELP was launched by overseas Vietnamese people in the US in 1991. The programme has provided financial support for students from Hue University as well as vocational training and health care for orphans and the disabled.

Meanwhile, the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang held a fundraising programme to help local disadvantaged children.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Truong Canh Tuyen said there are over 1,000 disadvantaged children, and over 22,000 others at risk of falling into difficulties, including over 18,000 children from impoverished households in Hau Giang.

The province has organised numerous programmes to provide financial aid and health care for the group.

During the event, 600 gift packages and scholarships, worth one million VND each were presented to local disadvantaged children and outstanding students.

Minh wins yellow jersey at Bến Tre race

Lê Nguyệt Minh took home the yellow jersey after clocking the fastest time in the nine-stage Bến Tre Television Cycling Tournament yesterday.

Minh of Mathnasium HCM City also won the green jersey for scoring most the points in the event.

“I am very surprised to win the yellow jersey. Thank you to my coaches and teammates,” said Minh.

Minh, who is the younger brother of former national cyclist Lê Văn Duẩn, broke his leg in a cycling tournament in 2012 and stopped competing for a long period.

After coming back, he had success in big events including winning the green jersey at the Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa Cycling Tournament in 2014.

The white jersey for best young rider went to Huỳnh Minh Nghĩa of Asanzo Đà Nẵng.

In the team category, An Giang topped the table. 

Rules laid down to produce traditional fish sauce

A set of norms will, for the first time, have to be followed for making and selling the country’s traditional fish sauce.

The Việt Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in co-ordination with the Việt Nam High Quality Goods Enterprise Association, on Sunday declared the norms, which were compiled based on Government Decree 127, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations, issued in 2007.

As per the rules, traditional fish sauce must have the nitrogen amount of at least 15 degrees N (this is a standard measure that indicates the grams of nitrogen per liter of fish sauce, with a higher number indicating a higher quality), no preservatives, no pigments and artificial colouring, and its salt content must be 245gm to 290gm per litre of fish sauce. Also, the breeding period of the raw fish used to make the fish sauce must be at least nine months.

The norms are aimed at helping customers distinguish between traditional and industrial fish sauce.

Vũ Thế Thành, VASEP’s quality expert, said the Government as well as businesses would inspect the quality of traditional fish sauce.

Two thirds of Vietnamese graduates eye public sector jobs: survey

The International Labor Organization says ensuring quality jobs for the young generation remains 'a great test for the nation.'

About two thirds of fresh university graduates in Vietnam, choosing job security over income, want to work in the public sector, a survey has found.

The survey, conducted by the General Statistics Office and the International Labor Organization (ILO), revealed that 64.2% of entry-level graduates in 2015 preferred working for the government rather than the private sector.

The fast-growing economy potentially provided graduates with many opportunities to widen the scope of their job search, especially into the private sector, but many only had their eyes on the public sector.

While the attraction of public sector employment is easy to understand given concerns about job security, the ability of the sector to absorb a significant number of young workers is increasingly limited, said the ILO.

The first round of the survey was conducted in 2012-2013 involving more than 2,700 young people, followed by the second round in 2015 with more than 2,200 participants.

According to the ILO, 50.5% of the respondents said they managed to find a job that suited their qualification and interest. Meanwhile 26% of graduates were forced to settle for a job that actually required a lower skill level than their qualifications.

“While Vietnam does not experience alarming high youth unemployment as in many other countries, ensuring quality jobs for the young generation remains a great test for the nation,” according to the ILO.

With its economic growth estimated at 6.3% last year, Vietnam saw a slight 1% increase in vacancies for fresh graduates to 1.64 million jobs, according to official statistics.

Traffic sector to strengthen management during Lunar New Year

The National Traffic Safety Committee on Sunday evening sent a document asking the Ministry of Transport and local traffic safety committees to strengthen inspection on vehicles’ safety and movement.

The request was released after a coach overturned at 6pm on Saturday while travelling from Vinh City in the central province of Nghệ An to central Thanh Hóa Province. The coach was transporting 40 passengers, out of which 14 received minor injuries. Four victims are still undergoing treatment at Hospital 115.

The Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam said the coach was a supplementary one for the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year) festival at the end of this month, but it was not scheduled to operate.

At the time of the accident, the coach did not have a black box, the piece of equipment that supervises its itinerary.

On January 13, the coach was discovered to be speeding in the southern province of Bình Thuận.

Leaders of the National Traffic Safety Committee said the accident proved there was an increasing risk of coach accidents during the Lunar New Year and the spring festival this year.

To minimise risks, Trương Hòa Bình, standing deputy prime minister and chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, asked ministries, sectors, provinces and cities to strictly ensure traffic safety during both the festivals.

The Ministry of Transport was asked to provide guidance to transport agencies to strengthen inspection of vehicles’ technical safety conditions and, supervise coaches’ operations via their black boxes.

During the Lunar New Year festival, the Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam was asked to have a quick daily announcement on cases flouting rules, which were discovered via the itinerary supervision system.

The provincial and municipal traffic safety committees were also instructed to join hands with the Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam to receive information on such cases and penalise them. The committees were ordered to issue warnings to drivers to obey regulations on speed and itinerary, especially while travelling on the highways.

In addition, traffic police have been asked to go on patrol regularly and pay more attention to coaches’ operations, especially with regard to speeding, travelling in the wrong lane, overcrowding, picking up passengers at wrong spots and overcharging.

Need for new hospital urgent as Oncology Hospital sees outpatient increase

The HCM City Oncology Hospital, the main cancer centre for treatment of patients from the southern region, has asked city authorities to speed up the construction of Oncology Hospital 2 in District 9 as patient overload has worsened.

Construction of the Oncology Hospital 2 began last June and is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. The number of in-patients rose by 115 per cent compared to 2015 to reach 143,648.

Last year, the hospital received more than 419,000 outpatients, an increase of 112 per cent compared to 2015, said Phạm Xuân Dũng, deputy director of the hospital.

The 1,000-bed hospital will help reduce chronic patient overload at the current Oncology Hospital in Bình Thanh District.

The hospital has taken various measures to ease severe overcrowding such as providing examination beginning at 5am, Dũng said at a meeting held on Saturday to review the hospital’s operations.

As part of an effort to reduce patient overload, the hospital opened a satellite oncology department at District 2 Hospital and transferred technology to Cần Thơ Oncology Hospital and Khánh Hòa General Hospital. 

Patients from other cities and provinces accounted for 77 per cent.

New forms of human trafficking emerge

Police in the northern province of Quảng Ninh have warned that human trafficking in the province is becoming increasing complex.

Lê Anh Quân, head of Móng Cái City’s Criminal Police Division, said new forms of human trafficking, including the illegal trade of infants and newborn babies, as well as the trafficking of Cambodian nationals had occurred in the region.

Individuals from both sides of the border area are involved in the trafficking of young children to China, focusing on disadvantaged women or those who are too old to get married. The police have faced a number of difficulties during the investigation, he said.

One case involved a 27-year-old, who married a Chinese man and was mistreated by her husband’s family.

After fleeing from the husband’s family, she returned to Việt Nam.

Facing financial hardship, the woman decided to sell her baby and contacted a broker in HCM City.

A Chinese couple has agreed to buy the child for 50,000 yuan. But police from Móng Cái City uncovered the incident as the woman attempted to cross the border, managing to prevent the trade taking place.

Earlier, the city police had rescued a one-month-old girl who was being sold to buyers in China.

Last year, several cases involving the trafficking of Cambodian women to China were also uncovered by police.

Traffickers have taken advantage of the region as a transition point to transport people to the neighbouring country, Quân said.

To prevent human trafficking, the police have coordinated with border guards to patrol hotspots and paths, he said, adding that even these measure do not go far enough.

It is necessary to improve awareness among residents as well as strengthen education about the tricks and methods employed human traffickers, he said.

Better growth models urged

The Central Highlands provinces this year need to continue adjusting their growth models towards enhancing quality, efficiency and competitiveness, a senior official says.

Tô Lâm, Head of the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands Region, said in meeting with local authorities last week that the provinces should improve the way the have been tapping their potentials for socio-economic development, and focus in particular on improving the lot of ethnic minority groups.

Climate change adaptation will have to remain a major focus of this year’s activities, he added.

Provinces in the region should also accelerate restructuring in several areas and sectors including public investment, State-owned enterprises and agriculture while building new-style rural areas, he said.

Lâm advised the provinces to improve investment promotion for hi-tech agriculture, clean energy, processing industry, livestock breeding and tourism.  

They should also intensify their focus on facilitating start-ups, developing local businesses and mobilising social resources for development, he said.

Despite significant socio-economic achievements last year, numerous shortcomings remained in land-use management, traffic infrastructure and land use-related issues, among others.

The region as a whole needs to strengthen land and forests management this year, allocate residential and cultivation land to needy households, increase reforestation and abide by the Prime Minister’s directions on forest management and protection, Lâm said.

The steering committee will work with ministries and sectors to propose to the Government mechanisms and incentives to ensure socio-economic development, regional and national security, he said.

It will also study and implement a regional connectivity mechanism in several sectors and for local goods; and developing a special credit system to promote sustainable poverty reduction.

Lâm said ministries, sectors and localities should help all the people enjoy the upcoming traditional Tết (Lunar New Year ) holidays by ensuring sufficient supply of quality goods as well as safe transportation.

Despite prolonged drought early last year, the region’s gross domestic product topped VNĐ151 trillion (US$6.56 billion) for a per capita GDP of VNĐ39.56 million ($1,720).  It earned over $2 billion from exports, up 25.5 per cent and 14.8 per cent from 2015 and contributed VNĐ18.15 trillion ($799.6 million) to the State Budget.

Total social investments reached VNĐ78.79 trillion ($3.42 billion), a 7.2 per cent increase, Lâm said, adding that the number of newly-established firms and registered capital had also risen. 

Thanks to technological advances and restructuring of crops, agricultural production recovered quickly after the drought and more attention was also paid to forest protection last year, he said. 

Last year, the region provided vocational training to 78,000 people and created 113,000 jobs. The number of poor and near-poor household rates in the region reduced by 2.1 per cent and 2.4 per cent to 15 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively.

New HCM City paediatrics hospital begins partial operations

The new HCM City’s Paediatrics Hospital in Bình Chánh District began functioning on Monday.

The emergency and examination wards are up and received nearly 50 patients on the first day.

Nguyễn Thị Hà My of the district’s Tân Kiên Commune said she was on the way to the Paediatrics Hospital 1 with her daughter when she saw the new hospital and dropped by.

“From now I do not need to go to the Paediatrics Hospital 1, which is far from my home. That hospital is overcrowded.”

Lê Minh Hải of the district’s Hưng Long Commune said the new hospital is very spacious and clean and its doctors are as good as at the other two paediatrics hospitals.

They were very friendly and ready to answer his questions about his child’s illness, he said.

Dr Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà, the hospital’s deputy director, said there are 25 examination rooms for ailments related to the eyes, ear-nose-throat, respiration and more.

The hospital has 100 doctors, three ambulances and 20 beds for emergency cases and a similar number for inpatients, she said.

It expects to receive 1,000-2,000 patients a day, reducing the overcrowding at the city’s two existing paediatrics hospitals, she said.

The emergency and examination wards have been opened early to test their operations ahead of the hospital’s formal opening in April.

The 10ha facility will then have more than 50 examination rooms, 1,000 beds, and more than 200 doctors who trained at the two paediatrics hospitals for the last three years.

Hà said a booth to guide people with government medical insurance would be set up at the hospital.

New compensation regulations

Aquaculture farmers directly affected by natural disasters and epidemics will receive compensation totalling as much as VNĐ60 million (US$2,600) per hectare, according to Decree No 2 issued by the Government last week.

The decree, to take effect from February 25, will regulate compensation forms and levels to help farmers recover production after being affected by natural disasters and epidemics, in accordance with Article 3 of the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.    

Việt Nam is an agricultural country with 23 million farmers, more than the total number of farmers in 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership partner countries, according to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Đức Phát.

Natural disasters that occurred in the country during the first half of 2016 damaged hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice and vegetables, killing tens of thousands of cattle and poultry and incurring financial losses of some VNĐ16.9 billion ($749 million).

Support for agriculture and forestry losses are set at VNĐ30 million ($1,300) per hectare and VNĐ20 million ($881) per hectare respectively, according to the decree.  

For salt production, each hectare of salt field that is damaged by more than 70 per cent will receive support of VNĐ1.5 million ($66); each hectare of salt field that is damaged between 30-70 per cent will get support of VNĐ1 million ($44).

The State will provide farmers with financial aid to purchase chemicals to destroy cattle and poultry that either suffer from disease or are being raised in areas affected by disease.

In-kind supports are also available; however, each household will only benefit from one compensation policy that is most suitable to their conditions.  

Farmers will only receive compensation if their production activities are in accordance with the production plans and instructions of local authorities, and they have implemented all measures to prevent and respond to natural disasters and epidemics under the guidance and direction of specialized agencies and the authorities.

Farmers must have either initial registrations for concentrated breeding and aquaculture that are certified by the communal People’s Committees, or quarantine certificates, to receive the compensation.

Damages will only be approved for compensation if they occurred at the same time as natural disasters, as certified by local steering committees for natural disaster prevention and control, or in the period between the announcement of an epidemic’s start date and end date. 

Đồng Tháp approves flood control project

The Đồng Tháp Province People’s Committee has approved a project to control flooding and regulate freshwater in Đồng Tháp Mười (Plain of Reeds).

The work, to cost VNĐ664billion (US$30 million), will be funded by official development assistance, public money and private investors.

It will be undertaken in the districts of Hồng Ngự, Tam Nông and Thanh Bình and Hồng Ngự Town, and completed by 2022.

It will mitigate the impacts of climate change and natural mishaps, safeguarding local livelihoods.

Thanks to the project, the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province will keep freshwater resources and floods under control to improve the value of its agricultural and aquatic produce.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE