Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has given the investment green light to building two large-scale reservoirs with capacities of nearly a million cu.m each..

The Đồng Mít Reservoir in the central province of Bình Định and Cánh Tạng Reservoir in the northern province of Hòa Bình aim to improve irrigation for agriculture production, improve water supply and living standards in the two provinces.

The Đồng Mít Reservoir, with a designed capacity of 89.8 million cu.m, will need an estimated VNĐ2.14 trillion (US$94.1 million) to build. It is expected to boost socio-economic development while improving the local ecosystem and environment in Bình Định’s four districts of An Lão, Hoài An, Hoài Nhơn and Phù Mỹ. 

The construction of the reservoir is expected to be completed in 2021. 

The Cánh Tạng Reservoir, constructed during 2017-2020, will have a designed capacity of 93 million cu.m, and need a total investment of over VNĐ3.1 trillion (roughly $136 million). 

The project, located in  Phú Yên Commune, Lạc Sơn District, will include the building of a river dam, a flood drainage gate and other supportive facilities for a water supply and sewage system. 

The reservoir is expected to irrigate about 6,460ha of farmland in 17 communes of Hòa Bình’s Lạc Sơn and Yên Thủy districts, and supply water to the 200ha Lạc Thịnh Industrial Zone in Yên Thủy District.

It is also expected to provide dry season irrigation for 2,500ha in Thạch Thành District, Thanh Hóa Province

Officials said the reservoir would also help restructure the agricultural sector and improve living conditions of people in Hòa Bình’s Yên Thủy and Lạc Sơn districts, as also Thanh Hóa Province’s Thạch Thành District.

As a lower riparian country in the Mekong and Red River deltas, most dams and reservoirs in Việt Nam have been constructed for multiple purposes, including flood control, irrigation, hydropower, water supply and other flow management.

There are about 3,600 reservoirs of various sizes, of which less than 15 per cent are large or medium with capacities of a million cu.m or a height of more than 10 metres.

Siltation from degradation of watersheds is causing a decline in reservoir capacity – some with just 30 per cent of the original capacity remaining, according to a report by the Water Environment Partnership in Asia.

Project to develop Buôn Ma Thuột coffee benefits 15,000 farmers

A project to develop the Buôn Ma Thuột coffee brand is expected to benefit more than 15,000 farmers who live in a poor commune in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk.
The three-year project, developed by the Đắk Lắk Province’s People’s Committee and the provincial Agriculture Extension Centre, aims to help farmers in Êa Tu Commune to replant thousands of old, unproductive trees.
Under the project, advanced technologies will be used in pilot production models while small farming households will be consolidated into a centralised farming area to improve coffee productivity in six villages and six hamlets in Êa Tu Commune.
According to Huỳnh Quốc Thích, deputy director of the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, coffee trees have been cultivated in Đắk Lắk Province for the last 100 years. 
Most of the trees are more than 20 years old and produce low yields. The average life span for coffee trees is between 20 and 30 years.
Between 140,000 ha and 160,000 ha of trees need to be replaced in the next five to 10 years, a big challenge for the industry.
The industry is also facing other problems, including small-scale production, poor quality control and outdated processing technologies.
Ten years ago, coffee brought a prosperous life to millions of farmers in the province, but in recent years the productivity and quality of coffee beans have declined.
Coffee trees more than 20 years old account for 23.5 per cent of the area, and trees 15-20 years old nearly 35 per cent, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
More than 92 per cent of the coffee trees have not adapted well to disease or to climate change.
In addition, intensive farming and improper use of fertilisers and pesticides have seriously affected soil quality in the province. Many farmers often water trees excessively, washing away nutrients needed for the plants.
Under the project, an agreement between Bình Điền Fertilizer Joint-Stock Company and Vinacafé Biên Hòa Joint-Stock Company, a member of the Masan Group Corp, was signed last month as part of the 6th Coffee Festival held in Buôn Ma Thuột City.
The agreement aims to assist local authorities to create a high-quality, productive coffee-growing area in Êa Tu Commune.
The two companies have been cooperating with the Central Highlands’ Agro-Forestry Scientific and Technical Institute to create linkages among farmers, scientists, businesses and the state in an aim to improve the Buôn Ma Thuột coffee brand.
Located in the northeast of Buôn Ma Thuột City in Đắk Lắk, Êa Tu Commune covers an area of 2,862 ha, of which the coffee plantation area accounts for 1,340 ha.
The commune has 3,617 households with 15,023 people, according to the province’s people’s committee.
The commune has 175 poor households. Their major income comes from agricultural production, mostly coffee cultivation.
Over the past 10 years, the country has exported 1.2-1.5 million tonnes of coffee annually.
Việt Nam ranks second in the world for coffee exports, following Brazil.

Fire flares again at garment factory

Fire flared up again at the Taiwanese Kwong Lun-Mekong garment factory in Cần Thơ City yesterday morning, fifteen days after an earlier fire. No casualties were reported.  
Six fire trucks and some 50 firefighters were sent to the factory, where the fire was extinguished after 30 minutes.
The fire broke out at about 9am on the first floor, where dozens of workers were cleaning up from the earlier fire that burned from March 23-27.  
Initial investigations show that the fire was caused by workers welding iron frames on the first floor, creating a fire that spread to cotton and feathers stored nearby.
The foreign-owned factory is located in the Trà Nóc Industrial Park, specialising in the manufacturing of garments.
A fire broke out at the factory on the morning of March 23, but was brought under control by firefighters that night, then flared up again on March 26. The fire destroyed one million dollars in materials, affecting hundreds of people and some 1,200 workers.

Job fair held for people with disabilities

Some 230 labourers have been hired for work and 340 for vocational training during a job fair for people with disabilities (PWD) held in Hà Nội yesterday.
Held on the occasion of the Vietnamese People with Disabilities Day (April 18), the event attracted some 1,000 participants and 61 enterprises, as well as members of the Hà Nội Disabled People Association and blind associations of the city’s districts.
Products made by disabled people were displayed and promoted at several booths at the fair.
Workshops on taking care of disabled people’s physical and mental health, on business models for disabled people, as well as on the national policies and regulations related to disabled people, were held at the fair.
Also, a festival was held in conjunction with the fair on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the Hà Nội Blind Association.
Additionally, two collectives and 32 individuals were honored at the festival for their achievements in the fields of community service, production, arts and culture, study, and applied information technology.
Several activities were organised at the festival for participants to experience the life of blind people in order to encourage empathy from society for blind people, in particular, and disabled people, in general.
Hoàng Mạnh Cường, president of Đông Anh District’s blind association, said the festival had created opportunities for members of the association to connect with the community.
Each type of disabilities has its own particularity that requires further attention, study and understanding from society, in order to provide disabled people with proper care and support, he said.

City seeks approval to speed up bridge project

The chairman of HCM City’s People’s Committee, Nguyễn Thành Phong, is seeking approval from the Prime Minister for the construction of the Thủ Thiêm Bridge 4 project.

The city has proposed to carry out the project under a build-transfer (BT) model.

The city also asked for permission to select investors among Phát Đạt Corporation Real Estate, Investment Corporation 620, 168 Construction Development JSC, and Tân Thuận Industrial Promotion Company Limited (IPC) .

The 2.16km bridge, connecting Districts 2 and 7, would have six lanes, with a total investment of over VNĐ5,200 billion (US$2.29 billion).

Last year, the city asked the central Government for early implementation of the project, but was not granted permission.

Police indict members of fraud ring

Seven members of multi-level marketing firm Liên Kết Việt have been indicted by Hà Nội police for alleged fraudulent appropriation of assets.

Investigations into the case were completed yesterday.  

Management board chairman Lê Xuân Giang, 46, general director Lê Văn Tú, 32, and deputy general director Nguyễn Thị Thủy, 47, are among the accused.

The remaining four accused are members of the business development team, including Trịnh Xuân Sáng, 42, Lê Thành Sơn, 29, Nguyễn Xuân Trường, 50, and Vũ Thị Hồng Dung, 42.

The seven were arrested in February 2016, accused of swindling some 67,000 people and appropriating a total VNĐ2 trillion (US$88.2 million).

Investigations show that Lê Xuân Giang paid investors a total of VNĐ1 trillion ($44 million), of which VNĐ870 billion ($38 million) was paid as commissions.  

The remaining money was divided among the seven accused. Giang kept VNĐ871 billion ($38 million), Thủy kept VNĐ36 billion ($1.6 million), Tú kept VNĐ62 billion ($2.7 million).

The remaining four accused received some VNĐ4-16 billion ($176,000-706,000) each.

About 9,000 clients of the firm in 49 provinces were interviewed during investigations, the police said.

Most of the clients said they were tricked into believing that Liên Kết Việt and the BQP Medical Equipment Group Joint Stock Company – founded by Giang– were under the management of the Ministry of National Defence, and that Giang was a colonel in the army, the police added.

Liên Kết Việt was established in 2010 and obtained a multi-level marketing licence from the Ministry of Industry and Trade in 2014. It focused on marketing and trading products under a pyramid scheme.

From March 2014 to November 2015, with a variety of tricks which included forging a fake Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister, the firm opened 34 branches and representative offices in 27 provinces and cities, recruiting thousands of clients, investors and sellers.

Fishing boat, 11 crew members rescued

 A fishing vessel was found drifting 140 nautical miles off the coast of Đà Nẵng City at around 2.30am yesterday morning and all its 11 crew members rescued.

The boat, DNa 90369TS, suffered an engine breakdown and was cast adrift in the seas near Việt Nam’s Hoàng Sa (Paracels) Island on Thursday.

A rescue ship from the Regional Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre No 2 (MRCC2) found the boat and towed it to safety yesterday evening.

The fishermen were in good health and taken home yesterday, officials said.

Mystery ship found

In other news, Colonel Lê Văn Phúc, commander of the city’s Border Guard force, said an investigative team has found that it was steel ship HP4054 that hit fishing vessel QNa 90191 last Saturday.

The vessel had four fishermen from Quảng Nam on board.  

Phúc said the dredging ship, HP4054, had left the Tiên Sa Port on the evening of April 8 and collided with the fishing boat before sailing away to Vũng Áng Port in Hà Tĩnh Province.

Three of the fishermen on board were rescued by the border force, while the fourth swam to safety on his own.

The dredger has been escorted by the city’s border force from Vũng Áng Port to Đà Nẵng for further investigation.

Rabies at risk of spreading in Bắc Kạn

Rabies in the northern province of Bắc Kạn was at risk of spreading during the first two months of this year, the provincial people’s committee said on Friday.
According to reports of the provincial people’s committee, from January 6 to March 4 this year, 39 dogs and one buffalo died from rabies in Chợ Đồn, Bạch Thông, Ngân Sơn and Chợ Mới districts.
Seven out of the 39 dogs bit 11 residents.
The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development asked the veterinary sub-department and local authorities to cull sick domestic animals and instruct locals to avoid transporting, trading and slaughtering dogs and cats. Domestic animals should be vaccinated against rabies, it added.
Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development asked the Vietvaco National Veterinary Joint-stock Company to support the province with 5,000 litres of Vetvaco-lodine, free-of-charge, to prevent rabies, which would otherwise cost some VNĐ735 million (US$32,600). 

Exhibition on Hải Phòng opens in HCM City

An exhibition “Hải Phòng – Nơi Đầu Sóng” (Hải Phòng – The Wavefront) opened at the HCM City War Remnants Museum on Saturday to celebrate the 42nd anniversary of the Unification Day (April 30) and the 127th birthday of President Hồ Chí Minh (May 19).

The event, organised by the museum and the Hải Phòng Museum, showcases more than 200 photos and images and 70 objects of the port city of Hải Phòng from wartime to the present.

The first part of the exhibition includes images and objects focusing on the destruction of Hải Phòng during the American war of destruction against North Việt Nam from 1965 to 1972.

The second part features Hải Phòng soldiers and the people’s fight against the war and their post-war recovery.

Hải Phòng in the present day is the main theme of the last part of the exhibition, introducing the city’s outstanding natural landscapes, sea ports and tourism areas, and its development in economics, education and culture as well.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Nguyễn Văn Phương, director of the Hải Phòng Museum, said, “The exhibition aims to introduce local and foreign visitors, especially people in the South, to a brave Hải Phòng which overcame challenges and difficulties to get victory in the war against the enemy.”

“We are proud to show the great achievements of Hải Phòng in modernisation and industrialisation,” he added.

The event will close on June 30. The museum is located at 28 Võ Văn Tần Street in District 3. 

Khánh Hoà beats HCM City 4-1, jump to third place

Zarour Chaher scored a double to help Sanna Khánh Hoà beat HCM City 4-2 in the last match of the V.League’s first leg yesterday.

Chaher opened the score at the 19th minute, before teammate Sadio Diao made it 2-0 six minutes later.

It was 3-0 for the visitors by the end of the first half when striker Lâm Ti Phông netted from a shot to the high far corner of goalkeeper Đinh Xuân Việt.

Sanna Khánh Hòa’s players were very happy after their third goal and loosened their focus, which led to HCM City’s goal by Victor Ormazabal in the remaining time.

HCM City tried to fight back in the second half, but their attempts were not sharp enough to break Sanna Khánh Hoà’s defence.

While the forwards worked ineffectively. the defence made mistake.

Former national Trương Đình Luật fouled Nguyễn Hoàng Quốc Chí in the box. A penalty was given to the visiting side and Chaher was successful, to finalise 4-1.

The win lengthens Sanna Khánh Hoà’s non-losing streak to eight and pushed them to the third position with 23 points, behind defending champions Hà Nội FC and FLC Thanh Hoá

HCM City maintain at No 9 with 15 points.
In the other game, former champions Becamex Bình Dương drew 2-2 with Hải Phòng, which seemed to have been an unexpected result for both sides.
Bình Dương, earning one more point, remains the third team from the bottom.
Hải Phòng failed to grab the leading role after the first leg and fell one step to No 4.
Bình Dương’s goals belonged to captain Nguyễn Anh Đức and Sunday Emmanuel.

Đức has scored seven goals and leads the national scoring chart.

Nguyễn Vũ Hoàng Dương and Anthony Stevens scored to claim one point for the Hải Phòng side, who were considered a stronger team this match.

In other matches during the 13th rounds, Thanh Hoá drew Sài Gòn 1-1; Long An found their first point after 11 losses in a row in a 1-1 draw with Quảng Nam; SHB Đà Nẵng was tied 2-2 by Cần Thơ; and Hoàng Anh Gia Lai ended their losing streak with a 2-2 score in a match versus Quảng Ninh Coal.

Teams will have about two months to rest before returning for the second leg. During this time, young players are called up by the U20 team will take part in the World Cup in South Korea. — VNS

Cường wins race around Pleiku City

Phạm Quốc Cường of Domesco Đồng Tháp won the eighth stage of the HCM City Television Cycling Tournament yesterday.

The 23-year-old cyclist rode 30 laps around Pleiku City of Gia Lai Province with a time of 50.37min, leaving behind veteran teammate Nguyễn Tấn Hoài and national team member Trịnh Đức Tâm of Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời An Giang.

The result of this stage, however, is not counted in the tournament’s official ranking.

The next stage is from Pleiku to đi Konplong District of Kon Tum Province in a 100 km. route. In this stage, athletes will need to overcome the 12km Măng Đen Pass. The winner will be named the King of The Mountain.

Vinh, Châu win first place at national chess tournament

Grandmaster (GM) Bùi Vinh topped the National Chess Championship’s first round yesterday in Hà Nội.

Vinh walked away after his rival, Dương Thượng Công of the Army, retired because of an illness.

The host master will next play Tống Thái Hùng of HCM City, who pocketed a surprising win over International Master (IM) Nguyễn Văn Huy.

No 1 seed Trần Tuấn Minh, who has just been granted GM title, defeated Lê Hữu Thái of Lâm Đồng yesterday. Minh stands at No 4 and will play teammate IM Tô Nhật Minh in an all-Hanoian match.

On the women’s side, Ngô Ngọc Châu of the Army won the first position. She was followed by Women’s GM Hoàng Thị Bảo Trâm of HCM City and IM Phạm Lê Thảo Nguyên of Cần Thơ.

The national championship, which kicked off yesterday, attracted nearly 100 athletes from 16 cities and provinces.

They will compete in an 11-match system in standard, blitz and rapid chess events.

The tournament is scheduled to close on April 27.

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