Temporary bridge poses risk to ethnic people

The Van Kieu ethnic minority people cross the Dakrong River's temporary bridge, which is supported by two sections of cables, in the central Quang Tri Province. — Photo tuoitre.vn

Hundreds of Van Kieu ethnic minority people in Quang Tri Province's Dakrong Commune have been crossing the Dakrong River via a bridge held up with cables for about 20 years.

The temporary bridge, made of two sections of cables, is the main contraption that helps more than 130 ethnic minority people in Cu Pua Village cross the river to reach National Highway No 9. The 20m cable bridge is the only way of entering or leaving their villages in the central province.

Currently, about 40 students cross the river every day to go to school, located on the other side of the river.

Tran Van Chay, chairman of Dakrong Commune's People's Committee, said when the water flow was strong on rainy and stormy days, the local residents got isolated. They have been discouraged from using the bridge, but some people still take the risk. One person was swept away by a flood and many have fallen into the river in the past years, he said.

Chay said many parts of the bridge's cables had rusted due to long usage, posing a danger to local residents.

He said the committee had reported the problem to the authorised agencies many times, but had not received any response.

"A bridge needs to be urgently built here for the local residents to cross the river, especially on rainy and stormy days," he said.

Ha Noi wants road stretch opened before Tet

A stretch of Ring Road No 2, connecting Ton That Tung Street and Vong Intersection in Ha Noi, will be opened to public before the Lunar New Year holiday.

The holiday will be from February 8 to 13, 2016.

Vice-chairman of the capital people's committee Nguyen Quoc Hung has ordered the contractors of the work on the stretch to speed up their progress to meet the deadline.

Hung said the contractors should increase their speed, while ensuring the safety of workers and people living near the construction site.

With regard to another stretch of Ring Road No 2, linking Tay Ho District's Nhat Tan Bridge and Cau Giay District, Hung said the city's natural resources and environment department should co-operate with the people's committee of Tay Ho, Ba Dinh, Dong Da and Cau Giay districts to finish land clearance before December 31.

Ring Road No 2's constructions began in March 2012, and will cost trillions of dong (one trillion of dong is worth about US$44.3 million).

The 43.6km road runs through Vinh Tuy, Minh Khai, Dai La and Vong Intersection, Truong Chinh Street, So Intersection, Lang and Cau Giay, as well as Buoi, Nhat Tan Bridge,Vinh Ngoc and Dong Hoi, and also Chui Bridge and Hanel Industrial Park.

Bac Giang destroys smuggled Chinese products

Bac Giang's market management forces yesterday confiscated and destroyed three tonnes of smuggled Chinese traditional medicines and farm products.

The destroyed goods were estimated to be worth about VND1.7 billion (nearly US$76,000), Nguyen Van Giao, a representative of the bureau, said.

The smuggled medicines and farm products were detected and seized while they were being transported from Lang Son to Bac Giang.

The owner of the goods, Bui Minh Duc from Lang Son Province, could not show any legal documents linked to the cargo.

Bac Giang's bureau of market management has detected and imposed fines in nearly 2,000 cases of smuggled, fake and low-quality goods this year.

The bureau will intensify its efforts to fight smuggling, trade fraud and fake goods, especially as the Tet holiday (Lunar New Year) is approaching.

"We will carry out regular inspection of large warehouses, stores, restaurants and other hotspots of smuggled goods, especially National Roads 1A, 31 and 37, which are key roads for the transport of goods from other provinces to Bac Giang," Giao said.

Over 1,200 fake products destroyed

Inspectors of the Science and Technology Ministry and the Police Department for economic management today destroyed more than 1,200 industrial products which violated the registered brand of a foreign company.

The counterfeit products included several kinds of fashion products such as handbags, wallets, and shoes, which imitated the design of Singaporean brands like Charles & Keith, and Pedro, which are protected in Viet Nam.

The inspectors seized all these products under the regulations of violation on Intellectual Property Rights of the science ministry.

The inspections units have discovered 40 cases of violation so far this year mainly in invention, industrial designs, trademarks, and trade names with total administration fines of over VND1.6 billion (US$76,000).

Director of District People's Procuracy prosecuted

The Police of Kon Tum Province yesterday prosecuted Tran Quang Hung, director of Tu Mo Rong District People's Procuracy, for causing an accident that injured eight people.

Hung was not only charged for the accident, but also for drinking during working hours and using a public car for private purposes, which violates the regulations of the provincial Standing Committee of Kon Tum.

On December 4, he was driving his office car from Dak Ha to Kon Tum Province, when he collided with four motorcycles on the road injuring eight people.

However, instead of stopping to help the victims, he escaped, forcing the police to chase him to his home in Phan Dinh Phung Street, Kon Tum province.

After escorting Hung from his home to the police station, the police tested him and found his alcohol levels exceeding permissible limits.

Forensic examinations showed that the most seriously injured victim had lost 43 per cent of health, and another lost 37 per cent. Two of the six remaining victims are being treated for serious injuries at the state hospital.

Underprivileged Dien Bien children receive warm clothes

About 5,000 underprivileged children in the northern mountainous Dien Bien Province today received woollen jackets, hats and scarves on the occasion of the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays.

The gifts, worth US$20,000, have been donated by World Vision and the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group (MSIG) for children in the 5-13 age group, who come from poor families in Muong Cha District.

MSIG, in co-operation with World Vision, has provided blankets, scarves, hats and gloves, worth US$100,000, to underprivileged children in the province since 2010.

Ever since it started its development programme in Muong Cha in 2007, more than 10,000 poor households have benefited from World Vision's activities, such as in education, health, child protection and capacity-building.

Besides Muong Cha, World Vision is implementing two other programmes in Tua Chua and Tuan Giao Districts in Dien Bien Province.

Ha Noi to build new green complex

The department of planning and architecture of Ha Noi yesterday announced a detailed plan for the construction of an environment-friendly sport and housing complex.

The more-than-318.700sq.m complex will be built in Me Tri Ward in Nam Tu Liem District.

The most important and outstanding part of the complex would be an eco-lake park, the department said.

The complex will comprise 40-storey buildings that will face the lake to reduce the traffic noise for the residents' benefit.

The roofs of the buildings will be covered with layers of green plants.

The project aims to create a new urban space that matches the modern infrastructure of the areas surrounding the National Convention Centre.

Two drug traffickers arrested in Son La

Police in the northwestern border province of Son La caught two people in the act of illegally transporting 1,200 pills of synthetic drugs on December 15.

The arrested are 35-year-old Lo Thi Ban and 38-year-old Vi Buon. Both reside in Laos’ Houaphan province.

Authorities also seized three mobile phones, 830,000 VND (nearly 37 USD) and other objects.

The case is under further investigation.

Last August, the local police arrested two men attempting to transport 31 heroin cakes, or about 11.62 kilograms.

In June, police and border guards seized an individual suspected of smuggling 2,000 methamphetamine pills and 3.3 kilograms of opium.

VNA, regional steering committees sum up 3-year media cooperation

The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the Steering Committees for the Northwestern, the Central Highlands and the Southwestern Regions met in Hanoi on December 15 to sum up their three-year media cooperation.

Following the cooperation agreement signed in May 2013, the VNA has directed its units to cover current affairs and topical news in the three strategic regions as well as upgraded three representative offices in Yen Bai, Dak Lak and Can Tho into key units in the work, General Director Nguyen Duc Loi said.

He added that over the past three years, the news departments for domestic and foreign services, together with the economic news and press photography departments published tens of thousands of articles and photos about the latest developments in these regions.

Apart from source news units, the VNA’s television channel (Vnews), e-news service Vietnamplus and “ Tin tuc ” (News) paper have directly provided news for audiences far and wide.

The “ Tin tuc cuoi tuan ” (Weekend News) paper also published a column featuring the three regions, making it a forum for regional officials and people.

In his speech, VNA General Director Nguyen Duc Loi suggested continued work to provide free News and Weekend News papers for the Party, State and relevant units, add news in more ethnic languages to the pictorial “Dan toc va Mien nui” (Ethnic and Mountainous Regions), and bring Vnews channel to more regional localities.

He called for increased coordination between VNA and the three committees, especially in covering important and emergency events, while exploring more effective ways to popularise news items.

The steering committees agreed with VNA’s proposal to call for State funding for regional news dissemination.

They proposed VNA continue assigning workforce and supplying equipment to key representative offices in Yen Bai, Dak Lak and Can Tho.

On the occasion, the VNA General Director also awarded the insignia “For the cause of VNA” to leaders of the committees in honour of their contributions to VNA’s communication campaign.

More charity houses handed over to poor households in Can Tho

As many as 130 charity houses, each worth at least 32 million VND (1,300 USD), were handed over to poor and ethnic minority households in Truong Long commune, the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on December 15.

The funding of the charity houses is sourced from the Southwesterm Region Steering Committee, the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, and the local fund “For the Poor”, according to the Phong Dien district People’s Committee.

The activity, among those to mark the 55 th anniversary of the National Liberation Front (December 20), is part of the plan to present 184 houses to impoverished households in the three communes of Tan Thoi, Nhon Ai and Truong Long.

Earlier this year, another 288 hous es, funded by the fund “For the Poor”, were handed over to the local needy households.

Truong Long commune is expected to meet all criteria of the new style rural area building programme and its Phong Dien district is to be recognised as the first new style rural area in Can Tho in 2015.

Deputy PM receives Lao youth union official

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a reception for First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union Vilayvong Bouddakham in Hanoi on December 14.

Bouddakham, who is also Vice President of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association, is in Vietnam from December 10-17 to join activities highlighting the footprints of Laos’ late President Kaysone Phomvihane.

Deputy PM Phuc said the activities are to give Lao officials an insight into the late Lao President’s revolutionary career in Vietnam and the close-knit ties between Vietnam and Laos.

He also agreed with his guest’s proposal to continue preserving Lao relic sites in Vietnam, making them venues of exchange to boost bilateral friendship and solidarity.

Bouddakham informed his host that the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association and the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association launched activities highlighting the footprints of the late President Ho Chi Minh in Laos in May to commemorate his 125th birth anniversary.

The guest briefed the Deputy PM about his trips to relic sites in the northern provinces of Son La, Hoa Binh and Tuyen Quang, where witnessed historic events of the Lao revolution.

He said following the visit, the two friendship associations will hold more activities to strengthen people-to-people external relations.-

Centre providing care for Agent Orange/dioxin victims ought to be established, said Lieut. Gen. Trieu Xuan Hoa, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands at a conference held in Lam Dong province on December 15.

The after-effects of dioxin-containing Agent Orange herbicide sprayed by US troops during the war might continue for generations while veterans who were exposed to the toxic chemical and are taking care of their suffered offspring are getting old and weaker, he said.

He requested localities to include providing assistance for the victims in their political and social agendas.

The conference reviewed a project to support AO victims, which has been carried out in the five Central Highlands provinces and the southern province of Tay Ninh since 2011 and will run through 2016.

The project surveyed demands of more than 2,200 targeted families, providing orthopaedic surgeries for 126 out of 215 victims and financial assistance for 867 disadvantaged households.

Provinces recorded sound outcomes were Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Lam Dong and Tay Ninh.

However, the volume of vulnerable families and their demand have been surpassed those reached by the project.

In 2016, local authorities should be more active in taking part in the project by providing more financial support for the victims, noted Nguyen Thi Thu Ha from The Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin Fund.

Attainments, shortcomings in anthropology reviewed

The Institute of Anthropology under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences held a conference in Hanoi on December 15 to review anthropological achievements and shortcomings and set tasks for the field in the next few years.

Studies on human races in Vietnam over the last three decades have reflected some basic aspects relating to ethnic issues such as the relationship among ethnic groups, policies designed for ethnic people, poverty reduction, migration, cultural identities, and cultural preservation and development, participants said.

However, anthropological studies usually favour groups that have big population or reside in accessible areas. Some of them put too much focus on traditional culture and the diversity of ethnic groups while ignoring the interaction among cultures and the role of anthropology in the study of ethnic groups.

There is also a shortage of anthropologists in Vietnam, experts at the conference added.

Director of the institute Vuong Xuan Tinh said the development and changes of ethnic groups are greatly influenced by industrialisation, modernisation, international integration, and globalisation.

The preservation of cultural identities and the relationship between ethnic groups and the nation are critical ethnic issues in Vietnam, he noted.

Scientists said anthropological studies in the next several years should pay attention to the identities of ethnic groups amid industrialisation, modernisation and global integration, and the relationship among ethnic groups, especially trans-national relations.

The impacts of ethnic matters on socio-economic development, security and defence, and the Party and State policies managing ethnic relations and ethnic groups’ development will be on the agenda.

At the function, Tinh also underlined the need for close coordination among research institutes and agencies tasked with ethnic work, and further international cooperation in the field.

Food safety scheme to launch

The HCM City Department of Industry and Trade has chosen Hoc Mon Wholesale Market and Ben Thanh Market to implement a pilot food-safety market model, according to a report in Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

At Hoc Mon wholesale market, slaughtered pigs are transported to the market and then cut up and sold to small traders at traditional markets in the city.

The processing phase done at the market is clean and input tests are also done before the pork is sold.

"I don't know about other places, but at this market pork must have a quarantine seal," Son, a pork trader at the Hoc Mon Wholesale Market, said.

For many traders, the application of the safe food chain model at the market has brought many benefits.

Many wholesale buyers previously were afraid of buying pork containing substances that make pigs lean.

"Now it is good for me to sell pork with a clear origin and quarantine," said Hoan, another pork trader at the market.

Small traders at many other markets not included in the city's pilot programme have strongly backed the new model.

"Around the market, especially in the afternoon, a lot of pork is sold and I don't know about its quality. Only pork bought from wholesale markets and having a quarantine seal is allowed to sell inside the market," Truong, a trader at Hoang Hoa Tham Market in Tan Binh district, said.

Similarly, traders at Ben Thanh Market were excited about the new programme.

Tu Thi Muoi, a pork trader at the Ben Thanh Market for more than 30 years, said that both consumers and traders expected the model to be implemented soon.

"Customers at my stall will feel secure about the origin of goods I sell," she said.

Many vegetable and fruit traders at the market agreed that both consumers and sellers want to use safe products.

Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, Deputy Director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said the food safety chain model at the two markets aimed to bring safe products to consumers.

The pilot programme chose only two items, pork and vegetables, so that product traceability could be done easily, he said.

Identifying safe pork

Nguyen Hong Tham, Director of An Ha Company, said that last October it opened its first stall selling pork that meets VietGap standards at Hoa Binh Market in District 5.

The company purchases pigs from HCM City-based households practicing VietGap standards in their breeding.

The company has set aside an area in its slaughterhouse to distinguish pigs that meet VietGap standards from normal ones before distributing the meat to the market.

Feedback from customers was positive. Many customers living far from the market also buy safe meat at the market.

Tham said it was not easy to distinguish VietGap pork from other pork.

But pork containing substances to make the ainmals lean usually has more red colour than those without the substance, she said.

Gender-based violence against prostitutes discussed

The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Plan International held a seminar in Hanoi on December 15 to share the results of a study on gender-based violence against prostitutes in the capital and experience in dealing with this issue.

According to the study, conducted by the Institute for Social Development Studies, Hanoi is currently home to around 3,000 prostitutes, mainly migrants from other localities with low educational standard.

Most of the prostitutes, aged from under 18 to 50, are victims of human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual abuse.

They have yet to gain access to programmes supporting victims of gender-based violence as there are few interference programmes on violence dedicated to prostitutes.

Delegates to the seminar stressed the need to establish a mechanism and a hotline for prostitute to voice violence-related issues facing them, and provide them with knowledge about law, human rights, and violence prevention through training courses.

They suggested research agencies and non-Governmental organisations continue collecting evidence and documents for the building of interference programmes to protect prostitutes’ rights, while strengthening community-based organisations to improve their livelihoods.

Construction of 30.5km overhead road suggested in HCM City

Ho Chi Minh City is hoping to build its fifth overhead expressway, which will be around 30.5 km long.

The project was recently proposed by the Cuu Long Corporation for Investment, Development and Project Management of Infrastructure.

The road will begin at the intersection of National Road 1A and the Hanoi Highway and end at the junction of National Road 1A and Tan Tao – Cho Dem Road.

The cost is estimated at 19.77 trillion VND (nearly 877 million USD) under the build-operate-transfer format.

Its construction is expected to take from 2016 to 2019, and tolls will be imposed once it opens to traffic.

The route that the new road will run along currently serves as an artery that connects HCM City with Mekong Delta provinces. The traffic flow there has become heavy in recent years, causing frequent congestion.

As many as 97 non-government organisations (NGOs) have helped the central province of Thua Thien- Hue promote socio-economic development and sustainable poverty reduction, according to a report from the provincial People’s Committee.

Some 51 projects worth nearly US$13 million landed in the locality in ten months from January this year. Most of them were in tourism, climate change response, supporting people with disabilities, education, and healthcare, among others.

In a meeting with 31 NGOs in the province on December 15, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Dung thanked the foreign organisations for their support for the locality in the past few years.

The province will enhance cooperation with the organisations to implement more and more humanitarian activities in the locality, Dung said, pledging to examine and address difficulties during the implementation of the projects.

Chinese man arrested for fatally stabbing Vietnamese wife

Ho Chi Minh City police said on December 15 they had arrested a Chinese man for allegedly stabbing his Vietnamese wife to death in a bathroom after a quarrel.

Han Jinkun, 39, is being investigated on murder charge, according to the police.

The couple, who had a six-month-old boy, lived in a hired apartment in Binh Chanh District.

The police said Han repeatedly persuaded Yen and their son to come to live in China but she refused to; therefore, the couple usually quarreled.

On the evening of December 11, they picked up a fight due to the same subject. The fight soon turned violent.

The wife then went to bathe. The husband reportedly kicked the door to come in and stabbed her with a knife.

He then carried their son to a neighbor’s house before fleeing.

The following morning Huynh Kim Ha, Yen’s father, came to the couple’s apartment after he failed to call Yen.

The 72-year-old did not see anyone home and decided to push the door to enter.

He found his daughter lying dead in the bathroom with several stabs on her body.

The police arrested Jinkun soon afterwards when he was hiding in an acquaintance’s house nearby.

The man confessed to his crime.

Japan to support for heart disease treatment in Vietnam

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has pledged support worth JPY80 million (US$661,000) for a project to help improve treatment for heart diseases among children in Vietnam.

The University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City and Japan’s Okayama University signed an agreement on December 14 for a cooperative project to provide medical assistance for treating pediatric heart diseases in the country.

The project, which is under the management of JICA, targets three Vietnamese hospitals including the University Medical Center in Ho Chi Minh City, the National Hospital of Pediatrics and the E Hospital in Hanoi.

The support is funded by Japan’s official developmental assistance (ODA) for Vietnam.

The funding will last until 2020 and will provide support in medical equipment and professional personnel in treating young children with heart diseases.

Okayama University has been appointed by JICA to organize advanced courses on complex heart surgeries, and to conduct training sessions for surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, technicians and medical engineers of the three Vietnamese hospitals concerned.

About 13,000 newborn babies in Vietnam develop a form of heart disease each year.

The University Medical Center of Ho Chi Minh City, managed by Medicine and Pharmacy University, admitted an average of 3,000 patients per annum, of whom around 700 come from regional centers across the country.

Australia, Vietnam step up human resource development cooperation

The Vietnamese and Australian governments have agreed on a new human resource development program worth AUD146 million that will run from 2016 to 2020.

The program is expected to improve the professional skills and technical capacity of the Vietnamese people.

As the key Vietnamese partner in this program, the Ministry of Education and Training will encourage alumnus contribution to the program through information sessions, where new skills and professionally relevant knowledge will be introduced.

This is an expanded version of an existing scholarship, vocational training, and leadership enhancement program for women.

Dissemination workshop on market and consumer study

A dissemination workshop on market and consumer study on HIV-related goods and services was held in Hanoi on December 15 as part of the Healthy Markets project implemented by PATH with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC).

The event was attended by PATH’s chief of party for the Healthy Markets project Kimberly Green, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Authority of HIV/AIDS Control and Prevention Phan Thi Thu Huong and 50 representatives from government agencies, donors, international organizations, local NGOs, CBOs and private sector and social enterprises.

The workshop aims to disseminate key findings from a recent market and consumer study on condoms, lubricant, low dead space syringes (LDSS) and HIV testing services (HTS), and discuss its implications and recommendations for future HIV policy advocacy and programming.

Accordingly, The study indicated that the condom market is dominated by imported condoms (representing over 90%), and quality assurance is a significant concern, but there is room for annual market growth; and there is a growing market of HIV RDTs as the result of policy changes to meet increasing demand.

The study also identified political support from the government for growth of the commercial market and local manufacturing for HIV-related goods and services.

Regarding the consumer perspective, the report revealed that there is high willingness to pay for commercial condoms among key populations, particularly MSM; the great majority (over 80%) of key populations are willing to pay two-to-four times the price of socially marketed condoms (1,000VND).  

Annual HIV testing uptake among key populations is still low (33.2% PWID, 46.8% FSW and 52.6% MSM).

However, the study found that key populations, particularly MSM (55.7%) already pay for HIV testing, and the majority of key populations are willing to pay for HIV testing at the current average market price (VND50,000). MSM are willing to pay more (VND100,000).

This data provides insights into how the government can reserve its finite resources to reach key populations among the lowest wealth quintiles and promote a range of quality commercial options for those able and willing to pay.  

Jetstar unveils new flights from Vinh City to Nha Trang

Jetstar Pacific, the airline known for reinventing domestic travel, has announced it started flying on December 15 from Vinh City in central Nghe An Province to the coastal central city of Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province.

Introductory fares for the one hour thirty-five minute flight start at the ridiculously low price of US$3.00 (VND69,000) one way (with taxes and restrictions applying).

Utilizing Airbus A320 aircraft, the flights will run three times per week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

JICA helps launch agricultural value chains

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) held a press conference on December 16 in Hanoi to provide an update for the news media on the current status of forming agricultural value chains in Vietnam.

“The supply chain for agricultural materials throughout the nation is still extremely backwards and rudimentary compared to the standards of developed nations,” said Mori Mutsuya of the JICA.

As a consequence, he said there are many unnecessary intermediary levels, which contribute to considerable inefficiencies, higher prices and unstable supplies coupled with dubious quality.

JICA is working with farmers and others with an interest in the industry to give effect to a cooperative model aimed at equipping smallholders with large-scale production suppliers to meet their needs for fertilizers, pesticides and other production materials.

Under the new cooperative model goods and services will be available to smallholders on a timely, quality, consistent and more economical basis, thus making agriculture more profitable for the typical farmer.

“During the current phase of implementing the JICA project we are providing lots of training courses,” with the aim of equipping the cooperatives with necessary knowledge and skills on providing services to their members.

We are following the blueprint used in Malaysia said Mutsuya, which has resulted in Malaysia’s small farmers currently generating incomes eightfold those of their Vietnamese counterparts.

Millions of Vietnamese to benefit from WB-funded project

About 6.8 million people in Vietnam are expected to benefit from improvements to dam safety for some 450 irrigation dams with support from a US$415 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA), approved on December 16 by the World Bank (WB) Group’s Board of Executive Directors.

The Vietnam Dam Rehabilitation and Safety Improvement Project, which supports the government’s dam safety program, will rehabilitate about 450 irrigation dams that have been prioritized based on their age and degraded condition. This will help about 2.7 million people who rely on these dams for agricultural and aquaculture production and water supply; and about 4.1 million people and economic assets downstream that are at risk in the event of a dam failure.

“We are pleased to support the Government’s dam safety program with financing for this critical rehabilitation project. Failure to secure the safety of these dams poses a serious risk to human safety and economic resilience,” said WB Country Director Victoria Kwakwa . “This project will help protect the safety and livelihoods of the 6.8 million people who rely on these dams.”

Vietnam has one of the largest networks of dams and hydraulic infrastructure in the world, alongside China and the United States. This network comprises over 7,000 dams of different types and sizes that make a substantial contribution to the country’s development. This is particularly true in rural areas where 70 to 80% of the population earns a living through agriculture.

In addition to financing the physical rehabilitation of irrigation dams, the project will also support the government’s efforts to implement a sustainable framework for ensuring dam safety across the portfolio of dams. This includes establishing technical and regulatory standards, codes, guidelines and norms to be applied across all types of dams so that overall dam safety is more standardized, transparent and accountable.

Deadline set for drainage project in Ha Noi

Nguyen Quoc Hung, vice-chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee, yesterday said the land clearance for the second phase of the drainage project should be completed by December 31.

According to the project management board, there are several problems facing the process of land clearance, particular in the eight districts and wards where the drainage system is located.

To speed up the completion of the project as planned, the vice-chairman said local authorities should raise awareness and persuade residents to move to resettlement areas to allow the construction of the system, and said contractors should also speed up their work.

In addition, the local authorities also needed to take strong measures to take over the land of households that have been compensated already, but have not handed over the land to the contractors, Hung said.

All land clearance activities must be completed by December, with only Dong Da District getting an extension period till January 20 next year, he said.

He also said the Ha Noi Drainage Ltd. Co, working with the National Resources and Environment Department, should determine the landmarks and withdraw land for building and upgrading pumping stations.

Two die in truck collision

Two trucks collided with each other, killing two persons and injuring two on National Highway 4D in the northern Lao Cai Province's Bat Xat District early this morning.

The accident happened when a truck carrying fresh cassava from Sa Pa Town to Lao Cai City hit a container truck travelling in the opposite direction.

It took rescuers and the traffic police nearly two hours to remove the people from the two trucks. The driver of the truck carrying cassava died instantly, while his assistant died on the way to hospital. A passenger on that truck and the driver of the container truck were injured.

The accident caused a three-hour traffic jam on the national highway.

Local police are investigating the case.

Scaffolding collapse case trial resumes in Ha Tinh

The central Ha Tinh Province's People's Court today resumed the trial of four persons in a case of a scaffolding collapse that killed 13 workers and injured 29.

The four defendants in this case are South Koreans Lee Jae Myeong and Kim Jong Wook, as well as Nguyen Anh Tuan and Nguyen Thai Duc, both from Viet Nam.

According to the indictment, Kim was in charge of supervising the construction of a breakwater, and Lee was tasked with managing 43 workers at the site.

Tuan and Duc were in charge of controlling the scaffolding's hydraulic lift system, which was used to adjust the height of a work platform.

The defendants were charged with violating labour safety rules at the construction site of the Taiwanese steel mill complex Formosa on March 25.

Investigators concluded that a technical failure of the hydraulic brake system caused the 20m-high, 40m-long and 35m-wide scaffolding to collapse.

When the work platform was being lowered from a height of 20m to the ground that day, it shook violently, sending many workers running.

After the platform shook twice, two South Korean construction site managers climbed onto the scaffolding to check if there was any problem, but allegedly did not carry out a proper inspection. They then ordered the workers to return to work. The scaffolding came tumbling down soon.

A month ago, the court had delayed the trial due to the absence of Duc, one of the defendants, and several witnesses. Duc, 30, reportedly had cited health reasons.

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