Central Highlands province awards winners of contest on Vietnam-Laos ties

Six groups and 28 individuals from the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum were awarded on October 25 for their outstanding works in the writing contest on Vietnam-Laos ties.

The provincial contest drew nearly 3,000 entries from government officials and employees, members of the Communist Party of Vietnam, workers, soldiers, teachers, students and pupils across the province.

The writing contest on the history of Vietnam-Laos special ties launched by the Central Committee for Communication and Education in response to the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Year, the 55th anniversary of Vietnam-Laos diplomatic ties and 40th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. 

It contributes to educating the revolutionary tradition of the special ties between the two countries during the struggle against the common enemies, national liberation and construction and enhancing Vietnam-Laos ties. 

Tests confirm Nghệ An stations selling diluted gasoline

Eleven out of 12 gasoline samples taken from gas stations in the province of Nghệ An are diluted, low quality A92 gasoline with octane numbers lower than regulated.

Chief inspector of the central province’s Sciences and Technology Department, Nguyễn Mạnh Hà, told dantri.com.vn that the samples taken from seven local gas companies were tested by the Centre for Standards, Metrology and Quality in the central city of Đà Nẵng.

Test results can be used as evidence of producing and trading fake gasoline.

Accordingly, three out of four samples of Thanh Ngũ Ltd Company have octane numbers 70.7/92, 46/92 and 46.4/92.

Two samples from Kiên Lục Company have octane numbers 68/92 and 73.1/92.

Kỳ Phương Commercial Ltd Company has octane number 59.1/92, Sáu Hằng Commercial Ltd Company has 61.3/92, Phùng Pha Company has 70.8/92 and two samples from Thuận Thành Private Company has 71.3/92 and 84.7/92.

An octane rating or octane number is a standard measure of the performance of an engine or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating (igniting). Use of gasoline with lower octane numbers may lead to the problem of engine knocking.

Late last month, inspectors from Nghệ An Department of Sciences and Technology detected 12 gas stations violating regulations on gasoline quality. A further investigation and co-operation between the inspectors and police revealed that two companies – Thanh Ngũ Ltd Company in Diễn Châu District and Kiên Lục Company in Quỳnh Lưu District – made fake A92 gasoline.

The company owners admitted to the police that since August 2017 to late last month, they bought hundreds of thousands of litres of solvents to be mixed with A92 gasoline, and then sold over 2 million litres of fake gasoline in Nghệ An Province.

Kiên Lục Company confessed it had bought solvents from the southern city of Cần Thơ and then resold it to some gas stations, while mixing the remaining with RON 92 gasoline to be sold to customers.

According to the invoice of the Mekong gas company, under the State-owned Cần Thơ Petrolimex, the price for each litre of solvent is VNĐ10,600 (US$0.46), but RON 92 gasoline is nearly double the price, at VNĐ18,000 per litre ($0.79).

Vietnam News Agency reported earlier that a working group – including the provincial economic police and science department – caught red-handed employees of Thanh Ngũ company offloading solvent-infused gasoline from its trucks to fuel tanks in gas stations on October 10.

MBI announces smart city innovation challenge Vietnam finalists

The Mekong Business Initiative (MBI) released the list of 15 finalists invited to pitch innovative urban solutions at the Smart City Innovation Challenge Demo Day in Hanoi. 

Innovative city solutions in 12 key focus areas identified by the city governments and the smart city steering committees of Vietnam focused on affordable housing, energy efficiency, traffic management and smarter parking, drainage, sewerage and waste management, urban agriculture, water purification and delivery, public security and monitoring of natural disasters, ecotourism and environmental planning, health care, education, e-government services, and more greenery and public spaces.

This is the latest in a series of innovation challenges by MBI, which also pioneered the MIST: Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism challenge earlier this year. Innovation challenges in other industry verticals include MATCh for Agritech and the Vietnam Fintech Challenge. The MBI challenges are funded and supported by the Australian Government and the Asian Development Bank.

The details of the 15 shortlisted teams can be found in Annex B.

All finalists will compete in the Demo Day to showcase their solutions to local government authorities, potential corporate partners, and investors. Leading up to the Demo Day teams will be matched with noteworthy mentors within the Vietnamese ecosystem, offered co-working space, and connected with local companies and stakeholders.

Finalists will be evaluated on their concept’s relevance to address real urban challenges in Vietnam, the company’s business potential, uniqueness of idea, and the team’s ability to execute the plans.

Up to three winners will be selected at the Demo Day. They will receive cash prizes and be fast-tracked to the cities’ acceleration programs to help localize their solutions, thereafter securing projects if agreed milestones are met.

Other teams who applied for the Smart City Innovation Challenge still stand to gain from attending the demo day as it provides a platform for them to work with potential corporate champions and industry mentors, network with key stakeholders within Vietnam’s smart city community, meet investors and accelerators, and connect with co-creators within the industry.

The Demo Day is being organized by MBI in cooperation with The National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Development (NATEC-MOST), HCMC Department of Science and Technology, Da Nang Business Incubator (DNES) and Vietnam Angel Investor Network (iAngel).

Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line moves to new stage

The Management Board of Urban Railways yesterday hosted a ceremony to start work on rail track installation for HCMC’s first metro line Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien with the attendance of deputy chairman of the city People’ Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen and agency representatives. 

Head of the management board Le Nguyen Minh Quang said that the rail track installation is a step to move into the significant new stage of the project.

According to the plan, contractors will complete the work by the end of 2018 before moving to the next stage of installing electromechanical system, locomotives and coaches. The project will start pilot operation in 2019 and come into operation in the following year.

At present, the bid package of building 17.1 kilometer above ground stretch with 11 stations has completed 72 percent of work volume. Bid package 1b from Saigon Opera House station to Ba Son station comprising two underground stations and 781 underground rails has done 53 percent of work volume.

Bid package 1a comprising Ben Thanh depot and an underground stretch from the depot to Saigon Opera House station has completed 18 percent.

Technical design has been done for 10 out of 11 manufacturing items of the third bid package including purchase and installation of electromechanical system, locomotives, coaches and rail tracks and maintenance.

At the ceremony, Mr. Akito Takashahi, deputy head of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam was glad to see the good construction implementation of above ground and underground items of the first metro route.

Still, JICA expressed concern about slow capital allocation which has affected the project’s progress.

Mr. Takashahi said that the project is progressing well and JICA is willing to disburse official development assistance (ODA) source which the Japanese Government has committed to providing for the project. Nevertheless payment for contractors has stopped for the last several months as the central government’s capital allocation has failed to meet the project’s demand.

Meantime, the HCMC People’s Committee has temporarily advanced on its budget to pay contractors.

JICA proposed the Vietnamese Government to consider the special circumstance of the project and have proficient solutions to supplement funds as soon as possible.

Deputy chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen stressed that Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line is one of major works which have been built from Japanese ODA source and HCMC’s reciprocal capital.

The project plays an especially significant role to connect traffic between HCMC and neighboring provinces to solve residents’ travel demand; create motive power for urban, commercial and service development in the main directions of the city and contribute in the city’s socioeconomic development in the phase of 2020-2025.

Mr. Tuyen proposed the Management Board of Urban Railways to work closely with consultant firms and contractors to speed up construction progress and ensure quality in order to put the work into operation in 2020 as per schedule.     

More companies evade social insurance payment

Deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City Social Security Nguyen Thi Thu yesterday said that the agency announced 495 enterprises purposely find ways to evade paying social insurance from six months to years. 

Ms. Thu said that the amount of social insurance debt companies failed to pay currently fluctuated from VND300 million to VND35.5 billion ($1,562,648).

She added if companies avoid paying social insurance in three months up, they would be filed in court. In 2015, the agency filed some 1,800 cases in court.

However, since January 1, 2016, as per the law, the agency is not eligible for filing companies in court any more but it must transfer the task of suing to trade unions. From the time of transferring till now, no more business has been filed in court because legal inconsistency hinders social insurance debt lawsuit efforts.

As per the agency, Mai Linh Company in district 1 leads the black list with the debt of VND35.5 billion. Followed are Nam Phuong in Ho Chi Minh City’s Cu Chi District with the debt of VND26.6 billion; Sai Gon Telecommunication Company (SPT) in Binh Thanh District owing VND14 billion and Vietnam Petrol Transportation Company in District 3 owing VND13.2 billion.

Lately, the city’s labor union has won the case of social insurance debt in March, the first of its kind. Additionally, after five years of filing the case in court, Cu Chi labor union won the case over Sae Hwa Vina which had to pay the debt of nearly VND4 billion.

Local authorities eligible to keep 70 percent of traffic fines

People’s Committee in Ho Chi Minh City came to an agreement with the Ministry of Finance to allow its local governments to keep 70 percent of administrative traffic fees. 

HCMC authority yesterday agreed with the Ministry’s proposal to give the green light for district authorities to use 70 percent of payment for traffic violations.

From 2018, to simplify the accounting, the city asked the Ministry to re-consider the division rate of traffic fines in localities; for instance, the state budget will receive 30 percent while local budgets will use 70 percent.

Additionally, the Ministry of Finance will liaise more with the Ministry of Public Security to work out how to spend the sum to facilitate the implementation.

HCM City prepares for world cultural festival with Gyeongju

Ho Chi Minh City will continue working with stakeholders to prepare for the HCM City–Gyeongju World Cultural Festival 2017, said Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem.

Liem made the remark at a meeting with Kim Jang Joo, Deputy Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do province in the southern city on October 24.

Liem lauded the effective cooperation among related bodies of HCM City and the Korean province in preparing for the festival, saying that the two sides need to continue working closely for the event.

The city will give a warm welcome to RoK delegates, particularly leaders of the government and localities, Liem said.

The city also pledged to ensure security, traffic safety and communication work during the festival.

For his part, Kim Jang Joo called on HCM City to continue its assistance for the Korean side in installing advertisements on streets and facilitating customs clearance for festival tools, and encouraging local students to join the festival.

According to Kim, some 1,500 RoK delegates will attend the event, including high-level officials. The HCM City–Gyeongju World Cultural Festival 2017, the RoK’s only long-time cultural activity held abroad is expected to boost ties between the two nations.

The two sides also expressed their hope to complete preparations for the signing ceremony of the agreement on promoting cooperation between HCM City and Gyeongsangbuk-do during the festival.

The HCM City- Gyeongju World Cultural Festival 2017 is set to begin on November 11 and last for 23 days.

Featuring cultural-art events, sport and youth exchanges as well as trade cooperation activities, it will take place across popular public gathering sites such as the Nguyen Hue pedestrian street, 23/9 Park, and Ben Thanh theatre.

Hanoi police arrest suspected drug trafficker

Police in Hanoi’s Thanh Xuan district have arrested Giang A Senh, a local of Mai Chau district, the northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh for allegedly transporting about 7kgs of drugs.

Senh, 20, was followed from October 19 before he was seized at My Dinh bus station in Nam Tu Liem district the same day, along with two mobile phones.

He confessed that he was transporting the drugs from Hoa Binh to Hanoi. 

Thanh Xuan police are investigating the case.

On October 24, the National Steering Committee against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeiting (Steering Committee 389) praised police of the central province of Ha Tinh for arresting a drug trafficker transporting 10kgs of methamphetamine and 200,000 amphetamine tablets through Cau Treo border gate on October 14.

Xong Dua Dong, born in 1984 from Na Ngoi commune, Ky Son district of Nghe An province and residing in Laos’ Borikhamsay province, admitted that he transported the drug from Laos to Vietnam for sale in a third country for 500 USD.

According to Steering Committee 389 of Ha Tinh, since June 2017, the province detected and handled 2,539 cases of smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeiting, a drop of 3 percent over the same time last year. Local authorities seized 4.196 billion VND worth of products and levied fines exceeding 7 billion VND.

Degraded bridges worry locals in Lâm Đồng

The Department of Transport in the Central Highland province of Lâm Đồng reported 200 degraded bridges across the province, threatening the safety of users.

Director of the department, Trương Hữu Hiệp, told Vietnam News Agency that of the degraded bridges, as many as 112 ones were listed as “seriously degraded” and required urgent maintenance.

However, because of funding shortage, only 21 bridges had been fixed, he said. Local residents are worried about using the degraded bridges.

In the last two weeks, three people reportedly fell into Đa Nhim River, leaving one of them dead while crossing Ông Triều Bridge in Thạnh Mỹ Township in Đơn Dương District.

A local resident, Phan Công Thành, said that the bridge has been degraded for a long time and local residents have asked the relevant authorities to look into it but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. He said that now, the need of the hour is for lights and fences to be installed on the bridge to make travelling safer.

Huỳnh Ngọc Sơn, a policeman, said that police have been assigned to help people maneuver their way across the bridge until it was fixed.

Cai Bảng suspending bridge in Bảo Lâm District is on the key road connecting Lộc Thắng Town to Lộc Phú Commune. People have to use the bridge to reach their tea and coffee farms. However, holes have appeared on the bridge surface, cables are rusty and the bridge begins to vibrate every time vehicles use it.

Local authorities have put warning signs there.

In Bảo Lâm District only, at least ten bridges have been reported to be seriously degraded. The problem is bound to get worse for users during harvest time when they have to transport farming products across the bridges.

Nguyễn Đình Gắn, chairman of Lộc Ngãi Commune, Bảo Lâm District, said that the commune’s budget could afford small fixing costs and the commune has been asking for funding from higher levels to build new bridges.

Conference centre construction suspended in highlands city

Workers were seen working at a site in Central Highlands’ Đà Lạt City on Monday even though construction was suspended.

The workers were working on the construction of a conference centre, located inside the five-star Dalat Palace Hotel on Trần Phú Street, despite the city People’s Committee’s decision to suspend work following an illegal extension last Friday, the Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper reported.

The project was allowed to have two storeys and two levels of basement, but its investor, ĐL Royal JSC, built an extra part on top of the building without a permit.

The city People’s Committee, on Friday, decided to impose a fine worth VNĐ40 million (US$1,760) on the company for the violation. It also requested the company to prepare paperwork required for a building permit for the extended part of the convention centre.

The extension must be removed if the authorities deny permission, the committee said.

The committee also requested the head of the city’s urban management division and chairman of the People’s Committee of Ward 3 to identify personnel that did not fulfill their management responsibilities in connection with the extension.

Nguyễn Bảo Sơn, deputy director of ĐL Royal JSC, told the Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper on Monday that the workers were working on permitted parts of the construction site, and not on the extension. 

Rescue vehicle driver loses control, kills two women

Two middle aged women died and another was left injured early Tuesday morning after being hit by a speeding rescue vehicle.

The vehicle was travelling on the approach road to National Highway No 5 from Võ Nguyên Giáp Road in Hà Nội’s Đông Anh District.

The women were reportedly doing their morning exercises on the pavement, when the driver lost control and swerved the car onto the pavement.

The driver reportedly fled the scene after the incident.

Local police examined the scene, and ensured traffic returned to normalcy.

Include material, spiritual support in social assistance: experts

Models of social assistance need to be diversified and require comprehensive collaboration between the State, society and citizens, a Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) official said.

The statement was made on Monday at an international conference on increasing the participation of society in supporting vulnerable groups, held in Hà Nội on October 23-24.

With the participation of representatives from MOLISA, development foundations, women’s and children’s associations, and international non-governmental organisations, the conference aims to share and discuss experiences while providing support to vulnerable groups in Việt Nam.

The number of vulnerable citizens is increasing as a result of the country’s processes of industrialisation and urbanisation being under the influence of the market economy, Đồng Huy Cương, deputy director of the Department of Multilateral Affairs of the Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), said.

Over the years, the State and international organisations have implemented several policies and projects to support vulnerable groups, he added.

“However, loopholes in regulations and the lack of expertise of a number of officials somewhat diluted these efforts,” he said.

The number of citizens belonging to vulnerable groups accounts for some 20 per cent of the country’s total population, according to statistics from the labour ministry.

They include 9.2 million elderly, 7.2 million people with disabilities, 1.5 million children living in “special circumstances”, 1.8 million households affected by natural disasters every year, as well as hundred of thousands of HIV/AIDS patients, drug addicts and victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Phạm Đại Đồng, head of the policy and social assistance division of MOLISA’s Department of Social Assistance, said ensuring social welfare for vulnerable groups is an important task for the whole political system and society.

“Models of social assistance must be diversified and include both material and spiritual support,” he said.

The State, society and citizens should all join in providing assistance to vulnerable groups and ensure they receive timely support in difficult times, he added.

Sharing her country’s experience in social assistance, Iris Assenmacher, counsellor in charge of social issues at the German Embassy in Việt Nam, said the German government’s view on social welfare for the disabled is to combine regulations and policies in all fields, from social assistance and social insurance to employment aid, while respecting their self-determination.

Social welfare is also incorporated into the active labour market policy, education policy and basic social services, she said. 

Communication campaign kicks off to address gender imbalance

A communication campaign was kicked off at a ceremony in northern Vinh Phuc province on October 24 to raise public awareness of imbalanced sex ratio at birth in Vietnam.

The campaign, launched by the General Office for Population and Family Planning (GOPFP) of the Ministry of Health, aims to urge the nation to provide girls with all possible conditions to promote and heighten their status in society.

It will increase people’s awareness of gender imbalance at birth occurring in Vietnam and its impacts on the country’s sustainable development for the enforcement of the government’s policies in gender equality and the prevention of sex selection abortion.

In his remarks at the launching ceremony, GOPFP Deputy Director General Le Canh Nhac said Vietnam is facing a rising imbalance in the male-to female sex ratio at birth in Vietnam since 2001.

According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in 2000, the country’s sex ratio at birth was at normal levels and was estimated to be fairly close to normal (105 boys to 100 girls). 

The ratio increased to 112.2 in 2014 and climbed to 118 in 2015, Nhac said, warning that if it continues, about 2.3 – 4.3 million Vietnamese men will have no chance of finding partners by 2050.

During the event, local authorities of Vinh Phuc province signed a commitment to participating in the joint effort to address gender imbalance at birth and facilitate the development of local girls.

Flood-hit Ha Tinh, Son La provinces receive rice support

The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Finance to provide nearly 3,597 tonnes of rice from the national reserve to the central province of Ha Tinh and the northern mountainous province of Son La to support people hit by the recent devastating flood.

Of the total, Ha Tinh will receive 3,525 tonnes, while Son La will get 72 tonnes.

The two provinces were asked to ensure timely distribution of the rice as well as right beneficiaries.

In case the localities still face difficulties after receiving the aid, they are advised to report to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs for further assistance.

Continuous downpours from October 10 triggered floods and landslides in Vietnam’s northern and north central regions, causing huge human and property losses. 

Statistics released by the Government show that as from October 16, floods killed 75 people, injured 38, left 28 others missing and forced 2,604 households to evacuate.

National shooting event begins in Hà Nội

The National Shooting Championship began at the National Sports Training Centre in Hà Nội on October 23.

The event attracted the participation of 218 shooters from 12 teams from across the country, such as Hà Nội, HCM City, Hải Phòng, Thanh Hóa and Đồng Nai.

The Hà Nội team sent the maximum number of players to the event at 44, followed by the Military team with 43 and Hải Dương with 26.

The shooters are competing in 14 events, including 50m rifle, 50m pistol, 10m air pistol, 25m rapid fire pistol and double trap.

The event’s best shooters will be selected to compete at international tournaments.

The tournament continues until October 28.