Trucks blamed for congestion on Hanoi Highway

A nine-hour traffic jam on Hanoi Highway last Friday was due to a long line of container trucks heading for Truong Tho port complex while a road widening project has yet to get off the ground.

Container trucks were moving inch by inch to Truong Tho port complex in Thu Duc District, causing serious congestion on other streets including Mai Chi Tho and Dong Van Cong in District 2.

The Truong Tho port area comprises Phuoc Long 3, Transimex and Phuc Long inland container depots (ICD), and some steel and cement factories.

At present, Hanoi Highway is the only way leading to the Truong Tho port area, so traffic often snarls this time of year as trading activity picks up in the lead up to the Lunar New Year holiday.

Le Duy Hiep, general director of Transforwarding Warehousing Joint-Stock Corp. (Transimex-Saigon), told the Daily that Friday’s heavy traffic jam resulted from a narrow road leading to Truong Tho while an increasingly large volume of goods was being transported there.

According to truck drivers, congestion will happen when there is a surge in transportation volume.

Traffic was back to normal on Saturday.

Vu Kien Thiet, director of Urban Traffic Management Unit No. 2, said the Department of Transport had already mapped out a project to expand the road to Truong Tho but a lack of funding has caused delays in the project.

“Traffic light systems have been adjusted to better regulate traffic and the traffic police have also been deployed to monitor and regulate traffic before work starts on the road expansion project,” he said.

Last November, the HCMC government required the transport department to relocate all ports in the Truong Tho area from 2015-2016 to ease traffic on Hanoi Highway.

Deadline for Bach Dang Wharf extended

HCMC authorities announced last weekend that tourist and restaurant boats can use Bach Dang Wharf until the end of this month, instead of the middle of the month.

 “We missed a trip early in the morning because the announcement came around 9 a.m. The municipal government allowed us to continue operation at the wharf while looking for an alternative place,” according to a source from hydrofoil operator Vina Express.

At the end of last month, the Transport Department announced HCMC would not renew the operation license of Bach Dang Wharf, and businesses would have to find a new wharf for their boats. However, the city government later allowed boat operators to continue operation until January 15.

According to the Department of Transport, the closure of the wharf is to make room for an upgrade project under a master development plan of the city.

The HCMC Department of Tourism last Thursday met transport firms and operators of tourist boats operational at the wharf to find a way out for the matter. The department said it would write to the city government seeking an extension of the deadline for the wharf’s closure.

“As the meeting was organized at the request of the Steering Committee for Tourism Development, we hope that we will be allowed to continue our operations at Bach Dang Wharf,” a tourist boat operator who attended the meeting told the Daily.

Thursday was the last day for tourist boats to use Bach Dang Wharf but most of the boat owners had not been able to find an alternative wharf.

Some boat operators said they had had difficulty looking for a new place so they could not leave Bach Dang.

According to the boat owners, some wharves are just suitable for large ships and that high costs may prevent them from moving there.

An Son Lam, director of Indochina Junk Co. Ltd., said he had contacted the authority of Saigon Port to find a place for three restaurant boats but the monthly rent there was around VND100 million, three times higher than at Bach Dang.

Some other wharves like Nha Rong, Mong Bridge in District 1 or Him Lam in Binh Thanh District cannot be used as they do not hold a license for tourism boats and boats may be stranded in shallow water there.

At the end of December last year, the city government decided not to renew the operation license of Bach Dang but later allowed tourist boats to continue their operations until January 15.

Jetstar Pacific adds flights on HCMC-Thanh Hoa run

Jetstar Pacific has announced to add one more daily flight on HCMC-Thanh Hoa Province route from January 17 to meet increasing travel needs.

The low-cost carrier will operate two flights per day on the route which it launched last September.

Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air are also active on the route.

Jetstar Pacific has recently put into service one more Airbus A321 jet to boost its flight frequency and prepare for the launch of five new routes in the coming time. The new airplane has 184 seats with 16 business class.

It will take delivery of two Airbus A321 aircraft from Vietnam Airlines under a dry lease arrangement before the Lunar New Year holiday, raising its fleet to 10 jetliners. Then the airline will be able to serve 66,240 passengers a month.

As scheduled, Jetstar Pacific will open five air services from HCMC to Quy Nhon, Dong Hoi and Tuy Hoa, and from Buon Ma Thuot to Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa in February and March.

Jetstar Pacific whose main shareholders are Vietnam Airlines and Australia’s Qantas Airways operates 11 domestic services and some international flights to Macau, Singapore and Thailand.

Charity walk to kick off this Saturday

Phu My Hung Corporation will organize the Lawrence S. Ting Charity Walk 2015 in HCMC’s District 7 at 6:30 a.m. this Saturday to raise funds for poor people in the city.

The 10th event will be held at the area of Crescent in Phu My Hung town.

All proceeds will go to charitable funds of District 7, District 8, Binh Chanh District and Nha Be to support the poor.

Actor/host Quyen Linh will continue his role as the charity ambassador by encouraging more people to participate in the event and make donations.

The Lawrence S. Ting Charity Walk has raised and donated nearly VND17 billion and attracted more than 120,000 participants.

Ten sailors saved on sunken vessel

Fishermen in Quang Ngai Province saved 10 sailors from vessel Xuan Lan yesterday when it was submerged by the rough wind and strong waves in the sea area of Sa Ky, Quang Ngai Province.

The vessel, which belonged to Nam Dinh-based Xuan Lan Company Ltd and was captained by 40-year-old Nguyen Van Duong, was carrying 3,000 tons of clinker from Hon La Port in Quang Binh Province to Vung Ro in Phu Yen Province.

It started sinking around midnight on Sunday in a location roughly 1.2 nautical miles west of shore. The sailors got into lifeboats and were saved by the fishermen.

Their health condition remains stable.

Ministry seeks bridge investors

The Ministry of Transport is calling for financial assistance from enterprises and philanthropists to build more bridges in remote and poor areas.

The programme aims to build over 4,000 bridges by 2017 at a total cost of VND8.3 trillion (US$389 million). So far 127 businesses have donated VND310 billion ($14.7 million) to the scheme.

The construction of 186 suspension bridges has already begun in extremely difficult-to-reach areas in 20 mountainous provinces in northern, central and Central Highlands regions.

Around 86 bridges are scheduled for completion ahead of Tet (lunar New Year) and the remainder is set to be finished before the flooding season this year.

Hand, foot and mouth disease infects 36 children

Thirty-six children have been infected by the hand, foot and mouth disease, with five outbreaks being reported in the city since the beginning of this year, announced by the Ha Noi health department.

Deputy Director of the National Hospital of Paediatrics Tran Minh Dien said that the hospital has received several cases of children infected with the hand, foot and mouth disease in recent days.

However, the condition of the patients was not serious, he added.

Head of the Bach Mai Hospital's Children Department Nguyen Tien Dung said that only one to two cases of children with hand, foot and mouth disease reached the hospital daily.

According to health experts, the development of the disease will be unpredictable this year. So far, no vaccine has been developed for the disease.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is an acute viral infection, common in children below three years old. The symptoms usually begin with a fever, sore throat and painful red blister-like lesions develop on the tongue, gums and inside the cheeks. The complications include viral meningitis, encephalitis and acute pneumonia, which can be fatal.

To prevent the risk of infection, parents should wash their children' hands with soap several times a day, disinfect touched surfaces such as toys, and isolate the infected patients promptly.

Can Tho delays moving terminal to build park

Leaders in the southern city of Can Tho planned to move a terminal to make space for a new park by the end of last year, but the building has not been moved.

Last April, the Can Tho City People's Committee asked the municipal Department of Transport to move Hung Vuong Terminal to Terminal 91B, nearly 4km away.

The Department of Transport allowed the 0.4ha terminal to operate until the end of last year and then move. However, the Can Tho Port and Ferry Stock Company asked the department for permission to move on January 3 because it wanted to serve passengers on the occasion of the New Year. Then the company proposed extending the deadline to February 25 to serve passengers during Lunar New Year, which will fall in the middle of February. Municipal authorities accepted the proposal.

Le Thuan Be, deputy director of the Can Tho Department of Transport, told Tien phong (The Vanguard) newspaper that the deadline was extended because passengers were familiar with the Hung Vuong Terminal, so changes at this time would create difficulties for both passengers and the company.

Chairman of the Can Tho People's Committee Le Hung Dung said that while the city could force the terminal to move, Lunar New Year was the peak month for the terminal's operations.

In meetings of the Can Tho People's Council during past years, voters kept asking the municipal people's committee to move the terminal and build a park as it had promised.

Construction on the 3ha Terminal 91B, intended to replace Hung Vuong Terminal, started in 1995. The new terminal was also operated by the Can Tho Port and Ferry Joint Stock Company.

However, in 2009, the company used 2ha of Terminal 91B to set up an automobile driving training centre, delaying the move.

In 2013, voters from Ninh Kieu and Cai Rang districts continued to urge the municipal people's committee to implement its promise. The committee answered in a document released in February 2014 that the move would be completed by the end of the year.

Khanh Hoa honours foreigners’ contributions to development

The People’s Committee of the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa will honour foreign individuals and units for their remarkable contributions to the province’s socio-economic development.

Under Decision No 88/QD-UBND, seven foreign companies will be awarded certificates of merit, including Hyundai Vinashin Shipyard Company, Komega-X Company, Aide Pourle Vietnam Association, and Brittany’s Hope Fund.

The provincial People’s Committee will also present certificates of merit to Daniel Mark Fisk, Director General of Australis Company; Robin King Austin, CEO of Vina Capital Fund; and Ursula Nguyen, Chairwoman of Medical Aid For Vietnam Association.

Transport Ministry to accelerate disbursement in 2015

The Ministry of Transport aims to disburse more than 86 trillion VND (4 billion USD) in 2015 and expects to see an average growth of 5 percent in freight and passengers transported in comparison with 2014.

The goals were released at an online conference reviewing the 2014 achievements and implementing tasks and goals for 2015 on January 19.

During the event, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong urged the sector to effectively implement projects in terms of ensuring progress, quality, and safety to prevent accidents.

The sector should make more concerted efforts to enforce vehicle weight limits and focus greater attention to enhancing aviation safety, Dong added.

The ministry also aims to accelerate the implementation of a number of projects on improving and widening National Highway No. 1, the section of the Ho Chi Minh Road in the Central Highlands region.

It also hopes to see a 5-10 percent fall in traffic accidents nationwide and traffic jams in big cities, especially Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. In 2014, the number of lives lost in traffic accidents was reduced to below 9,000 for the first time in history.

Additionally, as many as 43 enterprises will be equitised, 14 of which will have been completed within the year.

In 2014, the ministry implemented the equitisation of 11 State-owned corporations, said the Deputy Minister.

It has so far approved the equitisation value of 50 enterprises and equitisation plans for 39 enterprises, 37 of which have completed the launch of their initial public offering (IPO). The rest intend to implement their IPO earlier this year.

During 2014, the ministry mobilised more than 39 trillion VND (1.8 billion USD) from the private sector to invest in 19 build-operate-transfer projects, making great improvements in transport infrastructure.

Women’s Union works hard for women’s well-being

The Vietnam Women’s Union chapters across the country offered support to over 1.1 million women with disadvantaged backgrounds in 2014.

They raised funds to build more than 3,000 houses for poor women at a total cost of 62 billion VND (2.9 million USD) along with providing vocational training and job counseling sessions for thousands of women in the year.

Furthermore, the chapters maintained activities to educate laws and prevent domestic violence for women. Two Houses of Peace were built to provide shelters and assistance for trafficked women and abused children.

The outcomes were heard at the fifth conference of the Executive Committee of the 11th Vietnam Women’s Union, which kicked off on January 19.

The two-day conference also looks to discuss key tasks for 2015.

In 2015, the Union’s main task is to promote the role of women in leading a new family lifestyle of “Five Nos, Three Cleans” (which refers to No Poverty, No Criminal Offences, No domestic violence, No More Than Two Children and No Malnourished or Dropout Children, in line with Clean House, Clean Kitchen and Clean Gate) as well as in joint efforts to build new-style rural and urban areas.

At the conference, the delegates are scheduled to review the results of 10-year implementation of the Executive Committee’s resolution on some issues relating to women and girls and seek to address social issues with regard to girls and women.

Vietnam attends global young scientists summit in Singapore

Three Vietnamese scientists are attending the third Global Young Scientists Summit (GYSS) on “Advancing Science, Creating Technologies for a Better World” in Singapore from January 19-23.

They are among nearly 300 young scientists and researchers from around the world, engaging with some of the world’s top scientific minds.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai from the Ho Chi Minh City National University and one of the three Vietnamese representatives told Vietnam News Agency corespondents in Singapore that she hopes to exchange experience and engage with top science and technology speakers.

The event is an opportunity to boost scientific cooperation in the future, according to Nguyen Minh Huong, a researcher from the Vietnam Institute of Biotechnology.

The GYSS 2015 also brings together 20 leading scientists who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, Fields Medal, Millennium Technology Prize and Turing Award in their respective fields.

The summit aims to recognise innovative ideas from participants of the GYSS that address challenges related to urban development in large cities.

Nine projects have been selected out of 55 proposals to be presented on the final day of the summit, and the winning scientist with the best research proposal will walk away with a cash prize of 100,000 USD.

Professor Ngo Bao Chau, the first Vietnamese to receive the Field Medal, is also attending the event.

Central Highland province faces alarming rates of deforestation

An alarming decrease in the ratio of forest coverage in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak has pushed the province to enact measures to raise the ratio to 39.3 percent of by the end of 2015.

The province has asked localities to review and evaluate all destroyed and occupied forest areas for re-planting. So far this year, 2,000 hectares have been reclaimed for reforestation during the upcoming rainy season.

Currently, Dak Lak’s forest coverage ratio stands at only 38.6 percent, a 9.6 percent drop from 2013, said Trang Quang Thanh, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

According to the latest review, there are 507,274 hectares of total forest area within the province, including 476,322 hectares of natural forests and 30,951 hectares of planted area, 136,591 hectares less than 2013, he said.

Natural forests have been completely destroyed in the Krong Pak, Krong Buk and Cu Kiun districts, Thanh noted.

Apart from areas designed for hydropower, irrigation, and other projects, over 26,470 hectares of forest were chopped down illegally since 2008, said Thanh, attributed primarily to nomadic ethnic minorities clearing new settlements.

He also highlighted the current loose and inefficient forest management and protection, allowing the destruction of thousands of hectares of forests.

Meanwhile, the progress on reforestation has thus far failed to meet requirements. In 2014, the total newly-planted forest area of Dak Lak was only 4,000 hectares, substantially below the set target of 5,000 hectares, added the official.

RoK hospital provides free medical check-ups in Hung Yen

As many as 100 doctors and medical workers from the Asan Medical Centre in the Republic of Korea are providing free medical check-ups for nearly 1,100 impoverished individuals and workers in the Phoi Noi A industrial park in the northern province of Hung Yen on January 19 and 20.

The beneficiaries are receiving medical examinations and treatment in internal medicine, ophthalmology and dentistry.

The activity is jointly organised by Asan Medical Centre and the Huyndai Aluminum Vina Joint Stock Company as part of a series of corporate social responsibility activities launched by the two firms.

In addition to a number of charitable programmes, such as launching a campaign to repair houses for impoverished workers and granting scholarships for disadvantaged students, the company has also supported vocational training and created jobs for thousands of rural labourers in the province.-

Thanh Hoa prepares for 2015 National Tourism Year

The central province of Thanh Hoa is focusing all resources on preparing for the 2015 National Tourism Year, scheduled to be launched in March with the theme “Connecting World Heritage”.

In an effort to promote the global image of its tourist attractions and services, the province has produced several publications in multiple languages, updated road signs to prominent locations, and actively participated in regional and international festivals and fairs.

In addition, Thanh Hoa has invested in upgrading infrastructure in its key tourism sites, including the World Cultural Heritage Citadel of the Ho Dynasty, Lam Kinh National Special Relic, and Ham Rong Culture Tourism Area, in order to preserve and promote their cultural and historical values and create a clean, modern environment.

In 2014, Thanh Hoa built an additional 12 accommodation facilities, raising the total to 608 facilities offering 13,000 rooms. Most recently, the four-star, 219-room Muong Thanh Hotel was opened, diversifying choices for visitors.

The local hospitality sector has also focused on increasing the capacity of its staff. Currently, the sector has 15,000 workers, nearly 50 percent of which are considered skilled labourers.

The provincial People’s Committee has worked with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to map out specific plans for organising the 2015 National Tourism Year. Accordingly, 11 national events will be held, including a world heritage festival, a poster exhibition featuring the country’s major festivals, and the opening and closing ceremonies of their tourism year.

This year, Thanh Hoa expects to receive 5.5 million tourists, an annual increase of 21.2 percent. Among them, 125,000 are foreigners.

Police identify foreigner who died in Da Lat

Vietnamese police have identified the foreign man who was found dead hanging from a tree on a mountain in the Central Highlands tourist city of Da Lat on Saturday as a Russian national.

Police officers in Da Lat on Sunday afternoon said the dead man was Rubpeov Aleksand, 36, of Russian nationality, according to Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper.

About a month ago, the foreigner arrived in Da Lat and stayed at the H.B Hotel on Truong Cong Dinh Street.

The man left the hotel on January 11 and was not seen until his body was found hanging from a pine tree on Hon Bo Mountain in Ward 12, about 12 km away from the heart of the city, on Saturday evening.

Locals who discovered the body reported their finding to police, who then took the foreigner’s body down from the tree, examined the scene, and launched an investigation into the death.

The body was transported to Cho Ray Hospital’s Forensic Medicine Center in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday, pending procedures for a handover to Russia.

Competent agencies are coordinating with the Russian Embassy in Vietnam to handle the case.

Over 1,500 hand-foot-mouth children reported since beginning of 2015 in Vietnam

The Department of Preventative Medicine, a part of the Ministry of Health, yesterday said that the country has recorded of 1,551 cases of hand-foot-mouth since the beginning of the year.

Of 1,551 children infected and one succumbed to the disease. The figure is down by 31.2 percent compared to the same period last year. However, the development of the disease is very complicated as the virus is acute. Infected children have with similar symptoms such as high fever, sore throat, and fluid-filled blisters appeared on the hands, feet, and inside the mouth.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease can occur year-round and the peak season is in summer and fall months. The viruses that cause hand, foot and mouth disease can be spread in respiratory droplets. It is spread when poor hand-washing after a diaper change or contact with saliva (drool) allows the virus to be passed from one child to another.

Robotic engineering course launched in primary schools

Recently the Department of Education and Training in Ho Chi Minh City held a basic robotic engineering course for primary students in the city.

Speaking at a seminar on the course,head of the Section of Primary Education and Training Nguyen Quang Vinh said that the course aimed to create a playground for primary pupils beside sports and cultural activities.

The course is not compulsory. The tuition fee is VND450,000 (US$21) per student in three months. It includes 12 periods each 2 hours.

The tuition is not a big sum for urban students but their rural peers.

After a basic course, those who love robotic engineering can continue pursuing the knowledge of the field.

However, as the course is new, just a few schools launched it. Lac Long Quan Primary School in District 11 opened the course and 150 pupils have registered to learn.

Fertilizer company fined VND350m over pollution case

Ha Bac Chemical and Fertilizer Company has been fined VND350m (USD16,700) for polluting the Thuong River with an accidental discharge of untreated waste water that killed tonnes of fish, Bac Giang Province authorities said.

Bui Van Hai, chairman of Bac Giang Province People's Committee, fined Ha Bac Company for letting waste water contaminated with ammonia enter the Thuong River, killing fish.

Ha Bac Company was ordered to deal with the pollution and report to the provincial authorities, police and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment by the end of January.

"The final results show that this is an unintended incident," said Nguyen Manh Hung, deputy head of the Police Department for Environment Crimes.

Hung said there was a misunderstanding during a change of work shift, leading to the waste-water discharge.

Authorities accepted the company's argument that the discharge was an accident. Had investigators determined Ha Bac Company deliberately discharged untreated wastewater into Thuong River, the fine would have been VND1.8bn. Moreover, Bac Ha Company has a clean record on water treatment.

On January 1, tonnes of dead fish were found floating in the Thuong River at a section of the river near discharge outlets of the Ha Bac Company. The Police Environmental Crimes Department collaborated with local authorities to take water samples and investigate the case.

According to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Ha Bac Company had not checked the waste-water treatment system or drawn up pollution prevention plans before conducting tests on an expanded production chain.

On January 5, the company explained it had been testing an expanded urea production chain on December 30 and some valves in the system leaked. The chain was shutdown for maintenance.

The provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment has ordered the company to draw up a response plan for potential future environmental incidents and submit it to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consideration.

Dong Nai-Binh Thuan road section opened to traffic

The Ministry of Transport on Saturday opened to traffic an upgraded section of National Highway 1A connecting the southern provinces of Binh Thuan and Dong Nai.

The 114-kilometer section connects Trang Bom District of Dong Nai and Ham Thuan Nam District of Binh Thuan.

The investor of the VND2 trillion (US$93.6 million) project has been allowed to recover capital by collecting toll fees at Song Phan toll station for a period of 22 years and eight months starting from January 1 this year.

The upgrade project included reinforcing the foundation, improving the road surface and building a road divider. The section was not widened as it will run parallel with Dau Giay-Phan Thiet Expressway which will be constructed soon.

The Transport Ministry estimated nearly 50,000 automobiles and 120,000 motorbikes use this section a day.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong said the project would help reduce traffic congestion in Binh Thuan and Dong Nai as well as around the gateway to HCMC, thus speeding up cargo transport in the key southern economic zone.

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