Netherlands to hold seminar on Mekong Delta's sustainable development

The Netherlands will organize a seminar themed “Sustainable Development for the Mekong Delta” in collaboration with Vietnam as part of the “Netherlands Day in Can Tho,” set to take place on November 9, heard a press conference in Can Tho City.

“The seminar is aimed at partly implementing the resolution (Government’s Resolution 120) on developing the Mekong Delta region sustainably and adapting it to climate change,” Anouk Baron, Second Secretary for Political, Press and Cultural Affairs at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Vietnam, said. She expected many enterprises, scientists, social organizations and representatives from relevant departments and agencies to attend the seminar to contribute to the success in implementing the resolution.

Anouk said that the Netherlands would be willing to help Vietnam boost the Mekong Delta region’s economy through agricultural programs which have successfully been conducted in the Netherlands with a low terrain like the Mekong Delta.

Anouk also noted that it is necessary to turn challenges such as flooding and salt penetration into opportunities and exploit positive factors from challenges to further develop the Mekong Delta.

The “Netherlands Day in Can Tho”, scheduled for November 9 and 10, is co-organized by the Consulate General of the Netherlands, Can Tho City's government and the Union of Friendship Organizations in Can Tho on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Netherlands and Vietnam.

In addition to the seminar, a delegation of Dutch enterprises will make on-site visits to some agricultural projects in Can Tho City, and participate in a study-abroad workshop at Can Tho University.

The People’s Committee of Hau Giang Province in the Mekong Delta region has approved a project to construct a freshwater reservoir in the province to cope with climate change, especially salinity intrusion and the rising sea level. The project will cost an estimated VND165 billion, funded by the Central and local State budget.

Truong Canh Tuyen, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, recently signed Decision 1638/QD-UBND, approving the project.

The project site is in Vinh Tuong Commune, Vi Thuy District, and has a holding capacity of 1.57 million cubic meters. It covers an area of 50 hectares, with some 35 hectares of water surface area.

Of the total investment capital, construction costs will make up nearly VND82 billion, while some VND52 billion has been set aside for site clearance. The project is scheduled to be executed between 2018 and 2020, and the reservoir should be operational for 20 to 50 years.

Apart from that, the freshwater reservoir project is expected to provide high-quality water for cleanwater treatment plants in the province and to ensure the freshwater supply for 260,000 local residents in Vi Thanh City and neighboring areas such as the districts of Vi Thuy, Long My and Chau Thanh A.

Moreover, the project is expected to pave the way for the development of ecotourism and to help enhance the surrounding landscape and the natural environment.

The main investor in the project is reportedly the provincial Management Board of Investing and Constructing Agricultural and Rural Development Projects.

The HCMC High-level People’s Procuracy on Thursday proposed the dismissal of the appeal by Hua Thi Phan, former senior advisor of the now-defunct TrustBank, currently known as Construction Bank, who challenged the first instance court's verdict against her for involvement in causing financial damages of more than VND6.3 trillion (US$273 million) for the bank, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

Phan, 71, who was also chairwoman of Phu My Investment and Development JSC, stated in her request at the appeal court which was opened on October 22 that the entire first-instance verdict against her was wrongful because it did not take all the evidence and the “nature of truth” into account. She was earlier given a maximum jail term of 30 years in late May after a three-week trial.

However, according to the agency, Phan abused her power as the owner of roughly 85% of the bank’s charter capital to take over the management of all TrustBank activities, including taking control over its directors’ board, executive board and staff at the Saigon and Lam Giang branches.

As the mastermind, Phan instructed her subordinates to commit unlawful acts for her own gain. They inflated the value of her house at No.5 Pham Ngoc Thach Street in HCMC’s District 3 before selling it to TrustBank, which caused the bank a hefty loss of more than VND1.1 trillion (US$47.4 million).

Besides this, they were alleged to have drawn up false payment papers, which exaggerated the outstanding loans for Phuong Trang Investment JSC. Consequently, they violated the Accounting Law, leading to a loss of over VND5.2 trillion (US$225 million) for the bank.

The Procuracy stated that the HCMC People’s Court had made a rightful and fair decision to find Phan and her accomplices guilty of abusing trust to misappropriate assets and deliberately breaching State regulations on economic management, resulting in serious consequences.

As a result, the agency suggested the HCMC Superior People’s Court uphold the first-instance verdict against Phan. In particular, she must pay compensation of over VND6.3 trillion in combined principal amounts and VND10 trillion in incurred interest to the bank.

Construction Bank also proposed the higher court review the civil liability for the credit loans between the bank and Phuong Trang Investment JSC, as well as consider the legality of the house sale contract for Phan’s house in District 3.

A representative of the Procuracy noted there were no grounds for demanding that Phuong Trang pay roughly VND27 trillion in principal and interest sums to the bank.

According to the Procuracy, Phan was aware that Phuong Trang was seeking investment capital to expand its business activities. She forced the company to sign 82 loan applications in advance, as well as to provide a number of bonds and all of its assets as collateral to borrow VND9 trillion from the bank. However, the company merely received loans worth VND3.936 trillion in total.

Therefore, the first instance verdict only forces the company to pay the actual amounts of the loans and their proportional interests, as well as further distraints its assets proportional to the loans to guarantee that payment obligations are met. The representative stated that this verdict was in line with the law.

Earlier, the panel of judges asked Phuong Trang to pay more than VND6.4 trillion, including VND3.9 billion in combined principal amounts.

The Procuracy noted that the first instance judgment was merely accountable for proving that inflating the value of the house was an offense. Thus, checking the legality of the house sale contract was beyond its authority.

The agency also suggested the higher court throw out the appeals of 15 people and organizations with rights and obligations relevant to the high-profile case.

Launched on Monday, October 22, the hearing is expected to last until the end of this month.

Nghệ An to scrap hydropower projects

Bản Vẽ hydropower plant in Nghệ An Province. 

Local authorities in central Nghệ An Province have decided to stop granting licences to new hydropower projects in the province, highlighting the damage caused by the plants.

During rainy season, water discharged from the plants along with flooding from upstream inundate a number of areas, causing landslides, sweeping away homes and bridges, and damaging roads.

Local residents have complained about the issue and proposed authorised agencies stop granting licences to hydropower projects.

In August and September, Nghệ An was one of the localities most affected by heavy flooding, with thousands of houses inundated. Many mountainous areas in the province suffered huge losses after water was released from hydropower plants.

After the incidents, hydropower plants paid compensation to affected residents but according to local authorities, the financial support paled in comparison to the damage they suffered.

There are 32 approved hydropower plants in Nghệ An Province with total capacity of more than 1,300 MW. Three of the biggest are in Bản Vẽ, Khe Bố and Hủa Na. Other small plants are mostly located close to rivers and streams in remote areas.

Many provinces in the Central Highlands which have seen serious loss of forest cover in recent years have also scrapped plans for hydropower plants and stopped the operations of others because of their adverse effects on forests and the environment.

According to the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development, this along with climate change has seriously affected local people’s lives and the environment and hit socio-economic development. 

Lawlessness in construction

The number of construction works without a permit in the country has amounted to hundreds – if not thousands – in the past few years, and damages caused by lawlessness in the construction sector are immeasurable.

In the past week, local media was awash with news stories about violations by project owners, punishments by authorities, or proposals to authorities to get tough on such violations.

On October 26, the owner of a sprawling pig farm started demolishing the project located by Tri An water reservoir in Dong Nai Province as ordered by local authorities, after spending a year building the facility covering 1.4 hectares without a license. On the same day, Lao Dong newspaper reported how a cluster of large-scale buildings, including one structure looking like that of a hotel, being rapidly developed in Phu Tho Province without a construction permit, although the project owner was already slapped a fine of VND25 million in March this year.

October 27, Danang City authorities asserted in Thanh Nien that the local government approved a proposal by the municipal Department of Construction to handle the unlicensed construction of a component at Bach Dang hotel complex.

Over the past month, the media coverage of unlicensed constructions in the country has been phenomenal, from hundreds of houses being illegally built in nearly 15 hectares of military-controlled land in Haiphong City to dozens of illegal houses, villas and resorts being developed in Soc Son and Ba Vi in Hanoi, to name but a few.

The approaches by authorities in handling construction violations have not been unanimous. In certain cases, authorities have demanded coercive demolition of such illegal works. In many other cases, however, authorities allow project owners to continue work, provided that they pay a steep fine and complete procedures for a post-construction license.

No matter which approach is taken, it is apparent that great harm has been inflicted. For coercive demolition, there have been disputes about the waste of resources, and questions about the ignorance of local authorities in supervising construction activities in areas within their jurisdiction. For projects allowed to be continued after financial sanctions and completion of post-construction licenses, the rule of law has been compromised, which may encourage such violations to recur in the future.

During a group discussion at the ongoing National Assembly sitting in Hanoi on October 26, Deputy Duong Trung Quoc of Dong Nai Province proposed the Prime Minister take a tough stance against illegal constructions. The deputy explained that financial sanctions cannot be a remedial measure as it may sound, since such an approach after “a long period of accumulation” will destroy the legal system and the State machine of the country as well.

Lawlessness in the construction sector is not only ripe among project owners who break the law, but also rampant among grassroots authorities who fail to execute their official duties, are enable to enforce regulations, or simply ignore violations. As violations are poised to escalate, it is high time to restore order in the sector.

A house in Nà Đứa Village, Đà Vị Commune of Na Hang District is damaged by landslides. 

The northern province of Tuyên Quang has failed to relocate households living in landslide-prone areas to safety due to a lack of funds.

About 31 households with 138 people in Nà Đứa Village, Đà Vị Commune of Na Hang District, are still waiting for relocation plans from the province.

Dương Ngọc Lâm, a resident of Nà Đứa Village, said long cracks had appeared along the ground in the village, with some spanning hundreds of metres. New cracks appear when it rains, measuring up to 20cm wide and 1m deep, causing houses to lean and seriously affecting people’s lives.

According to another local resident, Vi Thị Tuyền, cracks appeared along the walls of her house three years ago and the foundations have also subsided.

Prolonged rainfall in 2017 has made the situation worse.

In April, seven out of 31 households had to be evacuated to temporary shelters due to heavy rain and landslides.

Tô Hưng Khánh, an officer at the Agriculture and Rural Development Office in Na Hang District, said local authorities have an urgent relocation plan to evacuate affected households to safe places with funds of VNĐ8 billion after conducting a review and determining the level of financial support.

But due to difficulties in allocating funds, they are still awaiting approval from the province.

The province planned to move 95 households living in landslide-prone areas to safety before the rainy season starts.

The relocation of the households aims to minimise damage caused by natural disasters and contribute to the province’s efforts to reduce poverty, protect the environment and ensure security and defence. 

The resettled families include households in Lâm Bình, Na Hang, Chiêm Hoá, Hàm Yên, Yên Sơn, Sơn Dương districts and Tuyên Quang City. 

A total of 18 households in Lâm Bình, Hàm Yên, Yên Sơn and Na Hang have been relocated to date. 

Localities to strengthen HIV/AIDS control and prevention

A patient receives an HIV quick-test service at a health clinic in community. — Photo tiengchuong.vn

The Ministry of Health has asked provinces and cities to strengthen HIV/AIDS control and prevention activities as part of the Central Party Steering Committee’s goal of eliminating HIV/AIDS in the country by 2030.

The health ministry asked localities to improve HIV preventive measures, especially distribution of syringes and condoms to high-risk groups like drug addicts and prostitutes. Methadone programmes will be maintained and expanded to treat drug addicts. Communication activities will strengthen the community’s awareness and eliminate stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV/AIDS.

To strengthen HIV supervision and detection activities, HIV consultation, test and screening forms will be diversified at medical facilities, community and households. HIV test programmes should be carried out at the district level in mountainous and remote and ethnic minority areas, especially residential clusters with many people living with HIV/AIDS. The health sector encouraged localities to also establish HIV test laboratories at the district level in remote and mountainous regions for early detection of new HIV cases in the area.

The ARV treatment programme will be expanded widely as soon as possible to reach HIV carriers. HIV treatment facilities will be strengthened to meet the regulations of the health sector. The expense of ARV drugs for HIV/AIDS treatment will be covered by the health insurance fund from the beginning of 2019, according to the instruction.

The ministry also suggested provinces and cities allocate more local budget for HIV/AIDS prevention and control with the goal of providing health insurance cards to all people living with HIV/AIDS. Human resources specialising in HIV/AIDS prevention should be maintained and strengthened for the establishment of the provincial and city disease control centres.  

The Việt Nam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) director Hoàng Đình Cảnh said that HIV/AIDS epidemic is still widespread and with a high fatality rate. Việt Nam has about 10,000 new HIV cases and around 2,000 deaths by AIDS yearly.

“The increasing number of drug addicts and prostitutes has made the epidemic situation more complicated and out of control. Lack of financial resources is also a barrier that minimises coverage of consultation and treatment services, especially services for high-risk groups. About 45,000 managed HIV carriers still have no access to the ARV treatment programme,” said Cảnh.    


Statistics from the VAAC showed that there are currently about 209,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Việt Nam, of which 175,000 receive regular care from the health sector and only 130,000 are treated with the ARV drug programme. 

Đà Nẵng project asked to demolish illegal construction

The unlicensed shopping area in front of the Bạch Đằng Hotel-Hilton Luxury Apartment complex. The city asked the project investor to dismantle the construction. 

Đà Nẵng’s construction department has asked the investor of the Bạch Đằng Hotel complex to dismantle illegal construction connected to the twin Bạch Đằng Hotel-Hilton Luxury Apartment complex on Bạch Đằng street.

Chief inspection of the construction department Lê Văn Tuấn said the project investor – the Bạch Đằng Hotel and Service Joint Stock Company – had intentionally built a 200sq.m shopping area on the façade of the twin-building project without seeking permission.

Tuấn said the department’s inspection agency also fined the investor VNĐ110 million (US$4,700) for their violations and asked them to demolish the unlicensed shopping area in the building’s garden area.

The hotel-luxury apartment project, which covers 6,900sq.m in downtown Hải Châu District with total investment of VNĐ700 billion ($31 million) from 2012, comprises a twin-tower including a 29-storey hotel and a 25-storey apartment and office building.

A series of illegal construction projects have been found in the city since early 2018 as investors intentionally built or expanded projects without permission or licences, including the Eden Hotel project, the entertainment CocoBay complex, the Mường Thanh Apartment project and The Song-Đà Nẵng Beach Villa. 

HCM City mindful of importance of urban planning: seminar

Urban planning is one of the most important factors in HCM City’s socio-economic development. 

Urban planning is one of the most important factors in HCM City’s socio-economic development and has always received special attention from authorities, a seminar heard yesterday.

“HCM City has been facing many challenges to urban development like population increase, flooding, traffic congestion, environmental pollution, land subsidence,” Nguyễn Thanh Nhã, director of the city Department of Planning and Architect said in his opening speech at “HCM City Urban Planning: Current Situation and Investment Opportunities”.

In HCM City 17.8 per cent of the land area will be inundated if the sea level rises by 100cm.

“Related authorities must have strategies to manage flooding and develop the city adapting to climate change," he said.

His department would continue to renovate the downtown and connect it with the new urban area of Thủ Thiêm and expand public transport.

“Land usage, population and housing will be properly planned. The city will be linked closely with neighbouring cities.”

Michel Fanni, planning and architecture, urban improvement and development director of Marne la Vallee, a satellite urban area in Paris, said in 1965 the French capital had the same traffic problems as HCM City.

“To improve the situation requires strong political will.

“Next a comprehensive urban development strategy must be developed with flexible management to attract investors.”

Hoàng Tùng, deputy director of the Planning and Architect Department, said the most difficult task in planning was ensuring the active participation of various stakeholders.

“In future our department will take more planning information to the public and create more forums to get feedback from the public, enterprises, experts, and scientists.

“The department would like to apply information technology in planning to catch up with changes in the field.

“Humans play an important part in smart cities and technology is the connection. If we lack effective policies to update precise information, everything will collapse.

“Building a common database will need time but it is a very important task and all related authorities must join to provide information, receive feedback, improve improper management.”

Fanni agreed: “Planning needs strong collective intelligence with many experts in various fields to solve a problem together.

“Technology is only a part of smart cities.”

KC Ho, ASEAN representative of AutoDesk, said: “If planning is to successful, 80 per cent should come from humans, 10 per cent from policies and 10 per cent from technology.

“In moving towards digital technologies, Việt Nam needs more collaboration between relevant authorities. This is a very common situation in many countries, not only Việt Nam, because each authority has different tasks, different visions.”

The Department of Planning and Investment also announced a list of public-private partnership (PPP) projects seeking investment, including nearly 4,000 apartments for an urban renovation programme, the 9,000ha North-West Urban Area and a 14km road from District 4 to link Hiệp Phước Port Urban in Nhà Bè District.

The total projected requirement for the projects is VNĐ17.5 trillion ($761 million).

“The city budget can only provide 12 per cent of the VNĐ816 trillion ($35 billion) needed for four urgent programmes: anti-flooding, easing traffic congestion, preventing environmental pollution, and urban renovation,” Nguyễn Hồng Văn from the department said. — VNS

Vinmec to become top ASEAN hospital for surgical anaesthesia

Vinmec Medical System and the World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) signed an agreement on conforming to the Helsinki Declaration on patient safety in anaesthesiology October 29. — Photo courtesy of Vingroup

Vinmec Medical System and the World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) signed an agreement on October 29 to ensure the systems will conform to the Helsinki Declaration on patient safety in anaesthesiology.

As the first medical facility in Việt Nam signing a commitment with WFSA, Vinmec is looking forward to becoming the safest hospital for surgical anesthesia in ASEAN.

Introduced in 2010, the Helsinki Declaration is a standard of ensuring surgical anesthesia safety that is now being applied throughout Europe. Under the framework of the agreement, all medical facilities of Vinmec Medical System will conform to standards recommended by the European Anaesthetic Association in the operating room and ICU areas. The Vinmec medical system is committed to develop treatment plans and medical facilities for infection control, anaphylactic shock, multiple bleeding and postoperative pain management.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, WFSA president Jannicke Mellin Olsen, who is also the author of the Helsinki Declaration, said that anaesthetists were protectors for patients during anaesthetisation, intensive care and pain management processes. In that spirit, the goal of preventing anesthesia-related incidents was a challenge throughout the world.

Olsen said that the WFSA hailed Vinmec’s ability to comply with strict safety requirements. WFSA will continue to provide training to improve the quality of anesthesia practice for Vinmec doctors and nurses in efforts to expand this model to other hospitals in Việt Nam.

“With instruction and support of WFSA, Vinmec can perfect its anesthesia safety model and realise the goal of becoming a painless hospital, providing the optimal quality of care for patients,” said Prof. Bùi Đức Phú, deputy director of Vinmec Medical System.

As the first medical facility signing international commitment on patient safety in anaesthesiology, Vinmec not only realises the goal of becoming the safest hospital on anesthesia in Southeast Asia, but will also become the best place for world-class health care services for people in Việt Nam and in the region.

Vinmec Medical System is non-profit health system launched in 2012 by the Vingroup. The system consists of three components following the standard model of the world’s leading health system, with hospital chain, research institute and universities. The system currently has seven general hospitals, of which two have had Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditations. It is expected that Vinmec will have 10 hospitals nationwide by 2020. — VNS

University students join Safety Delivered driving campaign

University students arrive for the Safety Delivered campaign in HCMC last week 

More than 1,000 students of the University of Economics HCMC took part in the Safety Delivered public awareness parade with the slogan “Leave your phone alone, or you could be next!” across all 10 campuses of the university to discourage mobile phone use among youth while driving on October 27.

The event started with road safety games, stage performances, and a commitment pledge from students and participants not to use mobile phones while driving. The event concluded with a parade of 100 motorcycles driven by the students.

The students and Safety Delivered road safety ambassadors were joined by volunteers from multinational package delivery and supply chain management company United Parcel Service (UPS), who are working to promote distracted driving knowledge and skills as a part of UPS Global Volunteer Month.

Additionally, representatives from UPS Vietnam, National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), the Ministry of Education and Training, traffic police, and the HCMC Traffic Safety Committee were also present.

“Mobile phone use while driving is a pervasive traffic violation,” said Uong Viet Dung of NTSC. “If we don’t address this problem, road crashes related to mobile phone use will increase dramatically. An alarming 82% of surveyed students at 10 target universities responded that they have used a mobile phone while driving a motorcycle within the last six months before the survey. This problem cannot be ignored because a driver talking on a mobile phone is four times more likely to be involved in a road crash than one who is not.”

AIP Foundation conducted baseline surveys with 1,543 students at 10 target universities in HCMC and Hanoi in order to gauge the impact of distracted driving behaviors on Vietnamese students. The results of this survey revealed that only 46.6% of surveyed university students have correct distracted driving knowledge. Furthermore, 71% of surveyed students stated that distracting driving behaviors were normal, less dangerous or even not dangerous at all.

“AIP Foundation created this event as a part of its Safety Delivered program, which is supported by The UPS Foundation, in coordination with NTSC and the Ministry of Education and Training,” said Mirjam Sidik, CEO of AIP Foundation.

“The program focuses on improving distracted driving behaviors with young, inexperienced motorcycle drivers through combination of school-based road safety education and public awareness campaigns. The program also increases child helmet use through quality motorcycle helmet distribution and education.”

Year end, the best time to visit Đà Lạt

Than Thở (Lament) Lake in Đà Lạt. 

The resort town of Đà Lạt is well-known at home and abroad thanks to its year-round cool climate, green pine forests, misty landscape, and resplendent architectural gems dating back to the colonial era.

Nicknamed ‘Little Paris’, Đà Lạt, the city of eternal spring, flowers and love, has gained popularity as a romantic place for couples to enjoy their honeymoon.

The town, situated 1,500 metres above sea level, has repeatedly been praised by the media and travel websites around the world.

The New York Times named Đà Lạt among the world’s 52 must-visit places in 2016 while TripAdvisor readers ranked it in the top 10 list of rising destinations in Asia.

Local travellers are recommended to plan a holiday in Đà Lạt during the year end.

According to Nhân Dân newspaper, the town welcomed 3.38 million visitors in the first six months of this year, including 245,000 foreigners.