More doctors trained to work in disadvantaged areas

An intensive training class opened on Tuesday at the Hà Noi Medical University for doctors who will be sent to disadvantaged areas to work under a pilot project of the Ministry of Health.

Twenty-four doctors, who have been recruited for the project to send young doctors to disadvantaged areas, including mountainous, border areas and islands, will be trained in eight different specialities, including surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, paediatrics and anaesthetisation.

The project, approved by the Ministry of Health in 2013, prioritises 62 poor districts where healthcare services need to be improved at the grassroots level.

They will work in impoverished areas that they had volunteerily registered to after completing a 24-month training course, deputy head of the ministry’s Training Department Nguy?n Minh L?i said.

Male doctors will work in district hospitals in deprived localities for three years and female doctors for two years. They will have favourable conditions in terms of salary, allowances and working conditions.

The training programme was compiled by the Hà N?i Medical University and was appraised by the health ministry.

This is the fifth training course being organised under the project, so far. The first four courses trained 78 doctors for the programme.

The first seven volunteer doctors were sent to work in poor districts in the northern mountainous provinces of Lào Cai, B?c K?n and Ði?n Biên last month.

According to the ministry, these 62 poor districts need some 600 doctors. Some district hospitals in Bình Ð?nh, Qu?ng Ngãi and Thanh Hóa have only four or five doctors, and some don’t even have one.  

Loic Desriac wins fifth stage of Tru?ng Son cycling event

Frenchman Loic Desriac won the fifth stage of Return to Tru?ng Son Cycling Tournament yesterday.

Desriac of Bike Life Ð?ng Nai won the 134km stage from Ð?ng H?i City to the Tru?ng Son National War Martyrs Cemetery in Qu?ng Tr? Province in a time of 3:03.30.

Tr?nh Ð?c Tâm of G?o H?t Ng?c Tr?i and Hu?nh Thanh Tùng of  Military Zone 7 finished second and third, respectively.

After five stages, Nguy?n Cu?ng Khang of the HCM City Youth squad still holds the yellow jersey for overall leader, while the green jersey is held by Lê Nguy?t Minh of VUS-HCM City.

Today, cyclists will compete in the last stage with 20 laps around Qu?ng Tr? Citadel on 53km. The tournament aims to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the War Invalids and Martyrs  Day on July 27. 

Vietnamese young expats join summer camp in Mekong Delta

A summer camp for expatriate Vietnamese youth is underway in HCM City and some Mekong Delta provinces until July 31.

The event, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs and the HCM City People’s Committee, is themed "Tuoi tre kieu bao tu hao ve dat phuong Nam” (Young expats proud of the southern land).

Speaking at the launching ceremony on July 19, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Thu welcomed 110 young participants from 25 countries, saying the annual camp allows young Vietnamese living from across the globe to return to their homeland and meet with their peers in Vietnam.

It is also a place for them to learn Vietnamese and learn about the country’s history, tradition, culture and policies, thus maintaining strong ties between the expatriates and their homeland, she noted.

The participants are set to join students and youth in the Mekong Delta provinces in local charitable and exchange events and tour to historical relics and tourist attractions in southern Vietnam.

Conservation centre receives pygmy loris

An endangered pygmy slow loris found by a local 16-year-old boy is now in the care of the Bien Hoa city Forest Protection Sub-department in Dong Nai province.   

The loris, which weighs 300g, has reddish-brown fur and a gray underside, with dorsal stripes along its back. The boy gave the animal to the sub-department on July 18.   

Bien Hoa city’s biodiversity conservation centre will take care of the animal until it is ready to be reintroduced into the wild.

The species is listed as vulnerable in Vietnam’s Red Book, which means it is to be protected at the highest level possible.

In May, the sub-department received a small pygmy slow loris and gave it to the province’s nature and culture conservation centre in Vinh Cuu district’s Ma Da commune.

Become entrepreneurs, Prime Minister exhorts youth in Ben Tre

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on July 19 called on the youth in Ben Tre province to intensify their pursuit of entrepreneurship for self-growth, making greater contributions to the society and the country.

Speaking at the opening night of the Ben Tre Dong Khoi Start-up Festival in the Mekong Delta province, the PM hailed its efforts and achievements in promoting start-ups.

Ben Tre was a leader in implementing the Government’s guidance and plans for start-ups, he said.

“There are many young people here who have started doing business and succeeded at a very early age. I am very touched to see that many young men and women have come up with new products welcomed by the society within a year of starting the ‘Dong Khoi Start-ups and Develop Enterprises’ programme,” he said.

Phuc said Ben Tre has experienced many socio-economic changes over the past 10 years, creating a better improvement for people to start new businesses.

However, the province still lags behind other localities, facing several development challenges, he said.

“The youth need to realise the province’s difficulties and try harder to change the situation,” he added.

The “Dong Khoi Start-ups and Develop Enterprises” programme was launched last year to promote entrepreneurship as an effective means to boost economic growth and alleviate poverty.

The first start-up competition was held this February. It received 45 start-up ideas and 22 business models proposed by people of various ages, mainly the youth.

At the opening of this year’s festival, seven ideas and 11 business models were awarded prize money of 305 million VND (13,400 USD) in total.

The festival has also become a place for local companies, small and medium-sized businesses, household businesses and co-operative groups to introduce their products to customers, and look for partnership and potential investors.

It also promotes key local products, especially in the agriculture sector, to encourage the “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese products” campaign.

The festival opened a day before the Ben Tre’s investment promotion conference that is due to take place on July 20.

On this occasion, the province is calling for investment in 63 projects in 11 sectors, including renewable energy, eco-tourism, building infrastructure for industrial parks, high-tech agricultural and aquatic products processing, building urban areas and trade centres and solid and water waste treatment.

Lotus-inspired design chosen for Long Thanh int’l airport

The Transport Ministry has chosen a lotus-inspired design for a terminal at Long Thanh international airport in the southern province of Dong Nai. 

Lai Xuan Thanh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) said the decision was made after receiving public feedback in Hanoi, Da Nang, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City and from associations such as the Vietnam Association of Architects, the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association, the Federation of Civil Engineering Associations and the Vietnam Association of Aviation Science and Technology. 

Earlier, 26 experts from ministries, agencies and professional associations led by Director General of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam Dinh Viet Thang formed an advisory team to choose the design. 

On April 7, they voted on the best design out of three proposals, including one in the shape of a lotus flower (LT-03) submitted by Heerim Architects & Planners Co.Ltd from the Republic of Korea, another by a Japan – France joint venture which uses bamboo furniture (LT-04) and one which features coconut tree leaf details by a Singapore-Vietnam-Japan joint-venture (LT-07).

LT-03 won 59.09 percent of votes while the others earned 27.27 percent and 13.64 percent, respectively. 

Long Thanh international airport is set to have a total investment of 336.63 trillion VND (14.8 billion USD), with construction divided into three phases.

In the first phase, a runway and one passenger terminal along with other supporting works will be built to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year. This phase is hoped to be finished by 2025.

In the second phase, one more runway and another passenger terminal will be constructed to serve 50 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo a year.

After the third phase expansion, the airport will be able serve 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo each year.

Vietnam, Laos celebrate 55th year of diplomatic ties in China

The Vietnamese Embassy and Lao Embassy in China held a ceremony to mark the 55th anniversary of the two nations’ diplomatic ties and 40 years of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Bejing on July 19.

Reviewing the development in the friendship between Vietnam and Laos, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Dang Minh Khoi stressed that the celebration created a political and legal base for friendship and cooperation between the two peoples.

Meetings were held in both nations on July 18 to mark those historic events with high-ranking leaders from the two countries in attendance, Khoi said.

Over the past five decades, Vietnam-Laos relations have been nurtured by the two peoples, contributing to development in each nation and promoting regional and global peace, sustainability and cooperation.

Meanwhile, Lao Ambassador to China Vandy Bouthasavong said that Vietnam and Laos have close ties in the struggles for independence and national construction. 

Relations have enjoyed development in various fields, she highlighted, adding that the ceremony will help young generations from both sides continue to promote bilateral ties.

The ceremony featured art performances and traditional dishes of the two countries.

Detached houses turned into apartment buildings in Hanoi illegally

Many detached houses in Hanoi have been turned into small apartment buildings illegally through adding additional floors, however, local authorities have not yet taken strict measures to deal with the problem.

It is easy to find 30-60 square metre apartments on the internet. For example, a 30 square-metre apartment costs only VND500 million (USD22,270).

This kind of model often targets young couples who have low or medium income. 

However, without the careful consideration of legal procedures, customers can easily buy apartments which are built illegally; as a result they fail to have the land ownership certificate or red book.

Nguyen Van Tuan, a resident of a building on Phuong Liet Street, Thanh Xuan District, said that all apartments of the building don’t have a red book and the transactions were only carried out based on a contract signed by the seller and buyer.

“The building is allowed to have six floors, but the investor built two extra floors, which is the obvious violation of the construction law. So, it is impossible for each apartment to have its own red book. We did not study the related procedures before buying the apartment, but just listened to and believed in what the investor had promised,” Tuan sighed.

A house at 22 on Vuong Thua Vu Street, Thanh Xuan District is allowed to have six floors only, but the owner built two additional floors to turn it into a small apartment building. The same problem is also reported at many other houses in Cau Giay, Ba Dinh and Nam Tu Liem districts.

The owner of a house revealed that he knew it is illegal to add floors and his customers can’t be provided with red books for their apartments, but he decided he just wanted to earn more profits.

Many people recognise that they can’t have a red book for the illegally-built apartments, but still decide to buy them as the investor and property consulting firms said that to date none of these kinds of apartments have been fined by authorities or the investor would have ways to deal with officials.

Le Vinh Tinh who lives on Vuong Thua Vu Street said that after a petition by local households, authorities in Thanh Xuan District requested the owner of a house on the street to remove the illegally-built floors by late 2016. However, until now, some parts of these floors, including walls and concrete pillars, have remained.

Tran Xuan Duy, Vice chairman of Khuong Trung ward, admitted the violation of this house, noting that local authorities would consider destroying the illegally-built floors.

An official from Thanh Xuan District People’s Committee said that the district had not licensed any small apartment building, but owners of houses had built extra floors for this purpose. He acknowledged the lax management of local authorities.

Total national forest area promulgated

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development this morning held a conference to summarize investigation and inventory implementation of the nationwide forest area within three years of 2013- 2016 in Hanoi capital.

Attending in the conference was Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.

The ministry showed that over 6,427 communes of 60 provinces and cities had plans of forest and land using for forestry. 

In the period of 2013- 2016, Vietnam had nearly 14.4 million hectares of forest, including 10.2 million hectares of natural forest and 4.1 million hectares of growing forest. 

Of more than ten million hectares of natural forest, there are 8.8 million hectares of timber forest, 241,610 hectares of bamboo forest and 1.1 million hectares of mixed wood and bamboo forest, 4,787 hectares of coconut forest. 

The current coverage ratio is 41.19 percent compared to the total natural area of 33,09 million hectares.

The north- central and north-east region had the biggest coverage with 56.46 percent and 54.58 percent respectively. Next, the south- central, central highlands and northwest region had coverage ratio of 4.36 percent. 

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development affirmed that total forest coverage area has to  increase up to 42 percent by 2020.

Pregnant woman gives birth in boat

A young pregnant woman has given a birth to a baby girl weighing 2.2 kilogram in Superdong X boat which travel from Phu Quoc District to Rach Gia Town in the Mekong delta province of Kien Giang. 

When the boat departed at 2PM yesterday, the captain informed to seek a medical worker to help a pregnant woman who was going to deliver. Fortunately, nurse Nguyen Thanh Hien was on the boat who provided examination.

30 minutes later, 23 year old Nguyen Hoang Thanh Thao delivered her first child with the help of nurse Hien and two others.

One hour later, the woman and the baby were rushed to the General Hospital of Kien Giang province for further treatment.

Her husband Le Minh Nhut said that before, his wife received examination in the hospital in Phu Quoc District where doctors advised the couple to give birth in the province’s general hospital because the wife might face difficulty in laboring. Yet the wife gave birth after 30 minutes on board.

Many passengers congratulated the mother and the baby as well as complimented the nurse. Nurse Hien said that though he is not a maternity doctor, he became a doctor unwillingly. Nevertheless, he said he tried his best as he has little knowledge of medicine.”

22 year old Nguyen Thanh Hien used to learn general nurse in Ho Chi Minh City after graduating senior high school. In 2016, it was hard to apply for medical job therefore, he worked in a tourism company in the Mekong delta province's Can Tho City. 

At present, he gets unemployed and applies for International General Hospital Vinmec in Phu Quoc District.

HCMC honors 477 outstanding students

The Department of Education and Training yesterday held a meeting to honor and congratulate 477 outstanding students. 

These students representing over 1.5 million students in the city who have won tremendous achievement in domestic and international examinations in the academic year 2016-2017.

The city has 4,297 good students at municipal level and 122 at national level.

In addition, six students won international medals of IT and science; 294 students received awards in the national English competitions, science and Maths.

Local students advance to Asia-Pacific Trade Challenge finals

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp, the world’s largest express transportation company, in collaboration with Junior Achievement on July 18 announced the winners of the FedEx Express/Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge in Vietnam.

Lam Gia Vu from the Christian Academy of Western New York and Ngo Le Hoang My from Nguyen Thuong Hien High School, Juliet Bao Ngoc Doling and Tran Anh Khoa of The Western Australian International School System, and Vu Hong Anh and Chu Ngoc Anh of Luong The Vinh High School were all selected as the winners of Vietnam International Trade Challenge.

They will advance to the Asia-Pacific ITC finals in Singapore occurring August 20 to 24, 2017.

The ITC program is designed to introduce the fundamentals of global trade to aspiring young entrepreneurs, providing them with a solid foundation to build their future careers in business. 

To help Vietnamese students prepare for the intensive selection process, workshops were conducted to guide them in developing their business plans and enhance presentation skills. 

This year, the finalist teams presented market entry strategy plans on a technology product that addresses a school-related issue in the Republic of Korea to a judging panel of FedEx and Junior Achievement representatives.

The winning Vietnam teams will join this year’s regional finals that will feature a notable change from the previous competition format.  

To promote cross-cultural collaboration, finalists will not be competing in the same groups, but will instead go through a random shuffle to form a mixed team of two team members from different countries.

Beyond becoming a trend, the rapid growth of startups has served as an inspiration to aspiring young entrepreneurs in Vietnam, said Thang Dao, senior manager of Indochina and country manager of FedEx Vietnam.

We are proud to support a valuable platform like the ITC program as it provides students with the fundamentals of business to help propel their entrepreneurial aspirations.

Since 2012, over 1200 Vietnamese students have learned about the basics of business and international trade in a practical way through the International Trade Challenge, said Nguyen Duy Hoai, executive director of Junior Achievement Vietnam.

Through our collaboration with FedEx, we look forward to continuing equipping would-be Vietnamese entrepreneurs with knowledge they can build on to succeed in international trade.

Vietnam expecting fewer power cuts for the rest of 2017

There will be considerably fewer power cuts for the remaining months of 2017 as state-owned power company Vietnam Electricity (EVN) expects to achieve a higher level of redundancy in electricity supply.

EVN’s total power supply in the remaining half of this year is expected to be 102.1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), sourced from both its power plants and electricity purchases from neighboring countries.

The power corporation expects to sell 92.1 billion kWh of electricity to the market over the same period, leaving it with an excess supply of ten billion kWh.

EVN is the largest power company in Vietnam, supplying most of the electricity consumed by the local market, as well as selling energy to Laos and Cambodia.

In the first half of 2017, the corporation invested in projects worth over VND53.67 trillion (US$2.36 billion), including one hydropower plant in north-central Thanh Hoa Province and one thermal power plant in southern Tra Vinh Province.

Eighty-five EVN-invested projects to construct power grids with a voltage of 110-500 kilovolts (kV) were completed in the first six months of 2017, with 64 other projects commenced so far this year.

According to EVN, there was a 47 percent reduction in its System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period last year.

SAIDI is the average outage duration for each customer served, measured in units of time, often minutes or hours.

Specifically, EVN’s SAIDI over the first six months of 2017 was 428 minutes.

The company generated and purchased a total of 94.9 billion kWh of electricity in the first half 2017, a 7.23-percent increase year-on-year.

EVN sold 82.9 billion kWh of electricity over the same period, 8.47 percent more than the first half of 2016.

Vietnam Red Cross asked to continue ensuring social welfare

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) to continue promoting its role in ensuring the country’s social welfare at a working session with the association in Hanoi on July 19.

PM Phuc affirmed that humanitarian relief, especially for those in remote areas and victims of natural disasters, is crucial.

However, there remain several spontaneous activities, he noted, asking the VRC to cooperate with local authorities to ensure humanitarian activities are organised at right venues, and for right people.

The Government leader suggested the association intensify international collaboration to attract more assistance from the international community, and actively participate in disaster relief in the world.

The Government will create all favourable conditions for the VRC’s activities, he added.

Founded by late President Ho Chi Minh 71 years ago, the VRC now has over 8 million members working in nearly 17,000 grassroots chapters nationwide.

Over the past 10 years, the VRC has mobilised 527.8 billion VND (26 million USD), assisting more than 22.2 million people affected by natural disasters.

It cooperated with the Health Ministry to collect 4.7 million blood units during 2013-2016.

Several movements and campaigns launched by the association, such as “Tet for poor people and Agent Orange/dioxin victims” programme, and “Cow Bank” project, have produced positive results.-

Top Lao leader hails role of Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association

Party General Secretary and President of Laos Bounnhang Volachith has spoke highly of the role of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association in organising people-to-people exchange activities.

These activities will help educate the two countries’ people, especially young generations, on their special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation, he said at his reception on July 19 for a delegation from the association led by its President Tran Van Tuy.

He expressed his hope that each member of the association will have more practical contributions to further tightening the relationship between the two peoples.

Tuy, who is a member of the Party Central Committee, and deputy head of its Organisation Commission, affirmed that Vietnam always bears in mind Laos’s wholehearted support during arduous years.
 
His association will maintain close coordination with the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association to make the bilateral relations last forever, in the interests of the two peoples and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world, he added.

The Vietnamese delegation is in Laos to attend the fourth Laos-Vietnam People-to-People Friendship Festival on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the 40-year signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

The festival will last till July 22 in Xiangkhouang province.

Ministry proposes measures against rainy season diseases

The Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health has proposed measures to prevent diseases during the rainy season.

According to the department, when heavy rains and floods affect the country in July, it is the peak time for epidemic diseases such as petechial fever, malaria, typhoid, diarrhea, flu and red eyes. Microorganism, dust, garbage and waste overflow and cause pollution and diseases.

To prevent diseases during rainy season, people need to select and process food in a hygienic way, wash hands with soaps before and after processing food and going to the toilet.

People should wash daily, use mosquito nets even in daylight, wash and dry toes after touching flood or contaminated water.

People are also advised to kill larva and mosquitoes by covering water containers, wash containers and wells, and using chemicals to sterilise domestic water after floods recede.

Vinh Phuc faces difficulties in planting alternative forests

The northern province of Vinh Phuc has seen only one out of 73 projects that were approved to shift forest planting to other land use purposes planting alternative forests on an area of nearly 60 ha.

According to the province’s Forest Management Department, since 2016, Vinh Phuc has had over 460 ha of forest land approved to shift land use purposes to serve public works and business projects, mostly in Tam Dao, Lap Thach and Song Lo districts.

Two other projects have built plans for growing alternative forests on an area of over 10 ha while the remaining 70 projects, covering nearly 400 ha, need to make alternative forest planting plans.

In order to promote alternative forest planting, the department will advise the provincial People’s Committee to instruct relevant agencies to hurry project owners to either perform their afforestation responsibility or pay money to the forest protection and development fund, said Hoang Van Hao, deputy director of the department.

The department is reviewing areas for growing alternative forests by project owners to make the province’s afforestation plan, he said.

It will coordinate with the Northeastern Forestry Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to plant over 20 ha of alternative forests, he added.

Italian Communist Party leader greeted in Hanoi

Politburo member and Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education Vo Van Thuong has affirmed that the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) wants to further foster ties with the Communist Party of Italy (CPI). 

During a reception in Hanoi on July 19 for CPI General Secretary Mauro Alboresi, Thuong said the CPV is determined to build a strong and transparent Party and consistent with the policy of extending ties with major political parties worldwide. 

Alboresi, for his part, said Vietnam’s achievements over the past three decades provide a source of great inspiration for Italian communists and progressive forces which are fighting for a better world and ideals of communism. 

He said the CPI will work to reinforce friendship and cooperation between the two Parties, countries and peoples in the future, adding that the CPI highly values Vietnam’s stance on the settlement of disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), contributing to maintaining peace, stability and security in the region. 

Earlier, the CPI leader held talks with head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Hoang Binh Quan, during which both sides discussed several regional and global issues of shared concern, including the East Sea issue and agreed on measures to promote ties between the two Parties for the sake of bilateral strategic partnership. 

During their stay, Alboresi and his entourage paid a tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum, held working sessions with leaders of the Central Ideology Council, the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and the Vietnam-Italy Friendship Association, and made a fact-finding trip to the northern province of Ha Giang.

Vietnam helps boost ASEAN’s development: ASEAN Secretary General

Vietnam has an important role in fostering the development of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), affirmed ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh.

Minh made the statement in an interview with Vietnam News Agency reporters on the occasion of the bloc’s 50th founding anniversary (August 8).

He told reporters that when ASEAN was established in 1967, it mainly focused on security-related issues. 

Economics cooperation began in the 1970s, while economic integration began in 1990 with the signing of an agreement on the ASEAN free trade area.

Notably, in 2007, a roadmap to establish the ASEAN Economic Community was improved. Since then, the bloc has been successful in economic cooperation, Minh said, adding that the region is an attractive destination for foreign investors.

Since joining ASEAN, Vietnam has stepped up cooperation with other member states and integrated more deeply into the global value chain.

With its participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and signing of free trade agreements with the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, Vietnam can take advantage of the bloc’s collective strength, while trade and investment between the country and the bloc will also grow rapidly, he added.

The Secretary General also mentioned challenges facing the bloc.

According to him, the biggest challenge is a large development gap in the region. At present, average GDP of the richest country is 43 times higher than that of the poorest.

Non-tariff barriers are hampering the region’s trade development, he stated.

Also, ASEAN has an economic policy of supporting trade liberalisation and globalisation, while some major global economies are trending towards protectionism, he added.

He suggested Vietnamese enterprises learn about the opportunities and challenges of the country’s integration into ASEAN to take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the challenges.

According to him, during 2006-2016, Vietnam’s proportion in ASEAN’s GDP doubled from 3.5 percent to 7 percent. Investments by ASEAN member states in Vietnam also rose 120 percent.

Bus travel increases in Hanoi

The number of passengers who chose to go by bus in Hanoi increased in the first half of this year after previous falls.

According to Hanoi Transport & Services Corporation (Transerco), the company had 174 million bus passengers, up 5% on-year.

The bus passenger increase was attributed to the firm’s efforts to improve the bus service and open more new routes.

During the six-month period, Transerco opened 10 out of the16 planned new bus routes which focus on linking Hanoi’s suburban areas.

Meanwhile, Transerco has recently piloted the operation of the first double-decker city tour buses in the Hoan Kiem District area. The service offers passengers short tours to see the Hanoi Old Quarter.

Transerco also upgraded 150 buses and applied new technologies in bus management and operations. It has also co-operated with Viettel Group to launch e-tickets which are planned to be piloted for the Bus Rapid Transit routes from September this year.

Transerco has continued replacing old buses. The new buses can accommodate 60 passengers and finally meet Euro 3 standards on emissions. They are equipped with a GPS and a speaker system to inform passengers of destinations.