Airlines adjust domestic flight schedules due to Typhoon Usagi

Vietnam’s airlines have announced their plans to adjust flights on November 24 to avoid impacts from Typhoon Usagi, which is forecast to make landfall the south central region in the night of November 24 or the morning of November 25 

Vietnam’s airlines have announced their plans to adjust flights on November 24 to avoid impacts from Typhoon Usagi, which is forecast to make landfall the south central region in the night of November 24 or the morning of November 25.

Accordingly, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will delay the departure of six flights, including VN1556, VN1557, VN1944, VN1945, VN1344 and VN1345, on the routes between Hanoi/Da Nang/Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang city of Khanh Hoa province by 40 minutes to two and a half hours on November 24.

Meanwhile, two flights BL344 and BL345 on November 24 morning of the low-cost airline Jetstar Pacific between Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat city were cancelled.

The carriers said they will keep a close watch on the weather situation to update theirs schedules. Passengers who plan to move to or from airports in Nha Trang, Da Lat and Buon Ma Thuot cities and other localities in the southern region are advised to update the weather forecast and the carriers’ announcement.

For more information, passengers can enter the website www.vietnamairlines.com or the official Facebook page www.facebook.com/Vietnam Airlines, and contact the carrier’s ticket offices or the customer service phone number 1900 1100.

Jetstar Pacific’s passengers can enter the website www.jetstar.com/vn or contact the carrier’s customer service phone number 1900 1550. 

Vietnamese central and southern coastal localities have been urged to take urgent measures to brace for Typhoon Usagi – the ninth storm to hit the East Sea this year said to be heading to the south central region.

HCM City launches crackdown on cyclists

Traffic police officers talk to cyclists caught using car lanes in HCM City. — Photo vnexpress.net

Traffic police in HCM City have this week launched a crackdown on cyclists who use car lanes.

The move was made after the police received complaints from locals about cyclists on Phạm Văn Đồng, Mai Chí Thọ and Võ Văn Kiệt roads. It was reported that a number of cyclists were using lanes designated for cars only and passing through red lights, posing a high risk of traffic accidents.

The cyclists were usually travelling in a group for early morning exercise.

The fines for anyone caught violating traffic laws are between VNĐ100,000-200,000 ($4.1-8.2) for those who use car lanes and VNĐ60,000-80,000 ($2.5-3.3) for running red lights.

There have been a number of accidents caused by cyclists flouting traffic rules.

Last October, a cyclist was killed after being hit by a car on Phạm Văn Đồng Road in Thủ Đức District. The cyclist was reportedly in the car lane at the time of the collision.

In July, two cyclists were hit by a truck on Nguyễn Văn Linh Road in Bình Chánh District. One was killed and the other was seriously injured. 

13,000 rats killed to protect paddy fields

Rats killed to protect the paddy fields in central Quảng Bình Province. – Photo dantri.com.vn

Farmers in central Quảng Bình Province’s Tuyên Hoá Mountainous District said they have collected 13,000 rats in an attempt to curb rat infestation on paddy fields.

The rats were been purchased by local authorities at the cost of VNĐ 2,000-3,000 ($0.08-0.10) per animal.

The move was made after the district’s People’s Committee announced its campaign on deterring rat infestation to protect crops early this week.

The volume of rain water in the area was reported to reach only 30 per cent of total rainfall on average. The hot weather, together with low rainfall, created good conditions for rat development.

As many as 11,000 local people have joined the campaign. 

Two men prosecuted for falsifying company documents

A view of the Hải Phòng Port. Two companies have been prosecuted for illegally importing scrap via the port. 

Police in Hải Phòng, in co-ordination with the municipal customs department, have started legal proceedings against two men for allegedly making fake import licences and illegally importing scrap.

The two men are Nguyễn Ngọc Hiếu, 44, director of the Hà Nam Trade and Services Co Ltd, from Hải An District, and Nguyễn Bá Toàn, 26, from An Dương District.

The two men allegedly falsified documents for two companies including the Hương Quỳnh Cẩm Hưng Co Ltd in Cẩm Hưng Commune, Cẩm Giàng District in the northern province of Hải Dương, and the DFG Joint-stock Company in Quang Trung Ward, Hải Dương City in Hải Dương Province.

The two companies used the fake papers together with customs documents to illegally import more than 10,500 tonnes of scrap worth more than VNĐ11 billion (US$478,200).

After searching the homes and offices of the two men, police seized several seals relating to both individuals and companies.

In July this year, police in Hải Phòng also started legal proceedings against two men on the same charges.

The two men were Nguyễn Đức Trường, 48, from the northern province of Ninh Bình, director of the Đức Đạt Trade and Export Co Ltd, and Dương Văn Phương, 35, from Ninh Bình Province, who was an employee at the company.

The two men made fake papers alongside their customs documents to import nearly 3,000 containers of scrap via different ports in Hải Phòng City, HCM City and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province. 

Police seize 200 tanks containing N2O, gas inside funky balloon

Young customers can easily buy funky balloon at bars.— Photo tienphong.vn

The northern province of Quảng Ninh’s Drug Criminal Investigation Police Department in co-ordination with Hạ Long City police this week seized 221 tanks of nitric oxide (N2O), a gas often inhaled through a balloon.

On Wednesday night, policemen inspected Trần Bình pawn shop at Hạ Long Street, Bãi Cháy Ward.

The shop’s owner couldn’t present any invoice of origin of the goods so police seized all these goods to make a record of the administrative violation.

Nitric oxide is a stimulant gas commonly injected into a balloon, called a “funky balloon”. The excessive use of the balloons can lead to depression or even death, according to some doctors.

According to a Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper source, the Trần Bình pawn shop was a warehouse for the sale of nitric oxide to Bãi Cháy and Hạ Long cities.

The warehouse was reportedly providing supply for funky balloons for karaoke bars. The price of a funky balloon was from VNĐ30,000 (small-size) to VNĐ150,000 (big-size).

The inhalation of funky balloons has become common among young people in Hạ Long City, where it’s easy to buy funky balloons at an outdoor bar or karaoke joint. 

More than 3,500 locals benefit from flood-resistant housing project

A flood-resistant house in the Mekong Delta province of Hậu Giang. Photo courtesy of Nhà Chống Lũ project

Twenty seven poor households in Quảng Bình, Quảng Nam and Hậu Giang are expected to receive funds to build flood-resistant houses, bringing the total to 700 families over the past five years thanks to donations from the community.

Hoàng Yến, a co-ordinator from Nhà Chống Lũ (Flood Resistant House- FRH), said the project had so far allowed 3,500 locals to live in a safer environment.

The project will celebrate its five year anniversary on Sunday.

Founded in November 2013 with initial funding of VNĐ200 million raised from donors, to date the project has mobilised VNĐ30 billion from benefactors, painters, singers, business people and supporters nationwide, Yến said.

Nearly 40 painters donated artwork, 30 singers held fundraising concerts and 20 companies supplied construction materials. These efforts helped make it possible to build the houses. She added that many individuals donated household appliances.

Started from Hà Tĩnh and Quảng Bình where locals regularly faced with severe flood, FRH had successfully trial built FRH in these provinces and Quảng Ninh, Quảng Nam, Khánh Hòa, Sóc Trăng, Bến Tre, and Hậu Giang.

“We carefully researched and designed the FRH based on the potential for natural calamities in each locality, and talked with household owners about ways to prevent natural disasters so we could be confident in improving their living standards,” Yến said. 

After five years, Nhà Chống Lũ’s Sống Foundation was officially granted a licence on November 7 this year.

The foundation aims to help those affected by floods build safe houses and supports them to earn a stable living by promoting talents in science and technology. 

Public spaces key to urban green growth

Children play in a pedestrian area around Hoàn Kiếm Lake in Hà Nội. The area is a popular public space in the capital city. 

Public spaces are a key measure of urban green growth and sustainable development. With increasing urbanisation, Việt Nam’s cities have paid more and more attention to developing public spaces – but they still face a lot of challenges.

In 2015, Việt Nam and 192 other United Nations member countries adopted the document “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” with its 17 goals and 169 targets.

The 11th goal on sustainable cities and communities requires its adopters to ensure universal access to green, safe and user-friendly public spaces for all citizens, particularly children, elderly people and people with disabilities by 2030.

According to the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN Habitat), public spaces are sites which are accessible and enjoyable by all without a profit motive. They take on various spatial forms, including parks, streets, sidewalks, markets and playgrounds. Good public spaces enhance community cohesion and promote health, happiness and well-being for all citizens.

Trần Ngọc Hùng, chairman of the Việt Nam Federation of Civil Engineering Association, spoke at a conference yesterday titled “Public spaces towards urban green growth and sustainable development.” Hùng said countries that developed urban public spaces in line with socio-economic development saw much improved living conditions.

In Việt Nam, public space development has been given more attention in urban planning in recent years, Hùng said.

Projects on parks, trees, markets, playgrounds, cleaning polluted rivers and upgrading urban drainage have been implemented in cities around the country.

Projects that violated public spaces have been cancelled, he said, pointing to a restaurant project in Hà Nội’s Thống Nhất Park as an example. Housing projects in Đà Nẵng’s Sơn Trà Penisula and projects that threatened to close the roads to beaches in Đà Nẵng were other notable instances.

“The development of public spaces in urban areas in Việt Nam faces challenges,” Hùng said, noting that there were still shortcomings in planning, implementing and granting construction licences.

For example, cities removed offices, factories and coach stations from city centres to make room for public works. These prime locations were given to housing projects which increase population density and pressure on existing infrastructure such as transportation systems, schools and hospitals.

Nguyễn Hồng Hạnh, director of the Institute of Construction and Urban Economics, said: “What factor shapes a city? It is public space, not private space.”

“Public space will create a foundation for community activities, strengthen cohesion and create an identity for the city with its own natural, historical and cultural factors,” she said.

According to “World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision,” written by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division, about 54 per cent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 66 per cent by 2050. In 1950, only 30 per cent of the population lived in cities.

In Việt Nam, the rate of urbanisation increased from 19.6 per cent with 629 urban areas in 1999 to about 37.5 per cent with 813 urban areas in 2017. The size, structure and appearance of the county’s urban areas have changed. Public spaces played an important role in improving quality of life and health in cities, making urban areas more attractive, healthier and more livable.

However, Hạnh said that during urbanisation, existing public spaces had been reduced, and their functions were changed or even disappeared.

In newly developed urban areas, public spaces were often planned but not implemented, meaning Việt Nam’s cities faced more shortages of public spaces.

Daniel Kristie from KTH Royal Institute of Technology – a university in Stockholm, Sweden – said rapid urbanisation presented challenges for the planning and management of cities including housing deficits, congestion, urban sprawl, overwhelmed infrastructure, underemployment and unemployment, crime, inequality and land shortages.

She said public spaces were important to cities because of their essential economic, social and environmental benefits.

“The economic interactions of a city are dependent on a well-connected, well-functioning public space system,” she said. “To the extent this system is degraded or non-existent, the city’s economy will under-perform.”

“Well-designed streetscapes can increase walking and public transit use and help to reduce vehicular traffic congestion,” she said, adding that a degraded street system would contribute to increased automobile travel, resulting in greater congestion, infrastructure costs and other negative impacts. 

HCM City orders district to speed up site clearance for new medical facilities

The design for a new facility and practice hospital for the Phạm Ngọc Thạch University of Medicine in the Tân Kiên medical cluster in HCM City. — Source http://www.medinet.hochiminhcity.gov.vn

The HCM City Department of Health has asked the city People’s Council to order Bình Chánh District to speed up compensation and site clearance procedures so that new medical facilities can be built in the area.

The new facilities are being built for various hospitals, including Phạm Ngọc Thạch University of Medicine and its practice hospital, Bình Dân Hospital, Blood Transfusion Hematology Hospital, Hospital for Trauma and Orthopaedics, and others.

Bình Chánh District has handed over an additional area of 2,568sq.m, increasing the total area for the new facility belonging to the Hospital for Trauma and Orthopaedics to 27,851sq.m.

The new facility, which will have 500 beds, needs 50,080sq.m in Bình Hưng Commune. Its estimated total capital is VNĐ1.7 billion (nearly US$76,000).

The project was approved by the then Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng in 2010, and in 2016, the department said that it would begin construction in the second quarter of 2017.

At that time, construction of a new facility and practice hospital for Phạm Ngọc Thạch University of Medicine was also supposed to begin on 12.7ha in the Tân Kiên medical cluster in Bình Chánh District.   

Ground clearance and compensation, however, have not been completed, Nguyễn Tấn Bỉnh, the department’s director, told the People’s Council in recent meetings.

The two projects are part of overall health sector planning to 2020.

To reduce overcrowding, the department has instructed An Bình and Sài Gòn hospitals to temporarily become satellite hospitals for the Hospital for Trauma and Orthopaedics.

Meanwhile, the People’s Committee has approved the upgrade of the existing Hospital for Trauma and Orthopaedics in District 5.

Former Eximbank staff sentenced

Hồ Ngọc Thủy, a former Eximbank branch banker, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison, while Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Trâm, Trần Nguyễn Xuân Lan, Nguyễn Thị Thi, Cao Lan Phương and Lương Quốc Anh received sentences of two to three years probation.

The HCM City People’s Court yesterday gave imprisonment and probation sentences to five former workers of Việt Nam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank)’s HCM City branch for “lack of responsibilities that caused losses to the State, agency, organisation and enterprise” as well as causing losses of VNĐ264 billion (more than US$11.3 million) to the bank.

Hồ Ngọc Thủy, a former Eximbank branch banker, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison, while Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Trâm, Trần Nguyễn Xuân Lan, Nguyễn Thị Thi, Cao Lan Phương and Lương Quốc Anh received sentences of two to three years probation.

According to the indictment, all bankers failed to follow the bank’s regulations in money transaction and savings withdrawal so they falsely created conditions for Lê Nguyễn Hưng, former deputy director of the branch, to misappropriate assets of three customers who had savings at the branch.  

Between January 2012 and March 2017, Hưng (born in 1971) forged the signature of a customer’s bank account and set up a forged account under the name Nguyễn Thị Hồng Lê.

Chu Thị Bình, the customer at the bank whose savings were stolen, was present at the People’s Court.

Hưng forged a procuring order on Bình’s account, the court said. Bình had previously allowed Nguyễn Thị Hồng Lê and Nguyễn Đăng Phong to withdraw money from 11 saving books belonging to Bình, a savings book of Phùng Thị Phẩm, and one of Lê Thị Minh Quí.

Hưng carried out transactions with Eximbank’s HCM City Customer Service Department whose staff were charged by the court with irresponsibility. Police are continuing their search for Hưng, who remains at large.

After negotiations with Bình, Eximbank’s HCM City branch paid customer Chu Thị Bình VNĐ245 billion which had been stolen from her saving books.

Domestic and international efforts boost landmine cleanup

A staff member from Norwegian People’s Aid Vietnam surveys an area contaminated with landmines. — Photo courtesy of NPA

As many as 2,000 people were killed by post-war landmines between 2010 and 2014, while an estimated 6.1 million hectares accounting for more than 21 per cent of Việt Nam’s land remains contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO).

This information was released by Đặng Văn Đồng, deputy director of Việt Nam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC) under the Ministry of National Defence, at a Friday conference on promoting international partnerships and supporting victims of UXO and Agent Orange (dioxin) in Việt Nam.

Victims of left-over bombs and mines have mostly been in the Central Highlands and central provinces. High-risk groups include children under 16, scrap collectors and people living in isolated areas.

The centre operates a livelihood assistance programme and provides aid of up to VNĐ5 million (US$213) to each landmine victim’s family.

In collaboration with the governments of the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and other international organisations, capacity building projects for victims are also conducted.

VNMAC focuses on UXO clearance, assistance for landmine victims, communication on UXO prevention and international resource mobilisation.

As the cost for UXO cleanup is high, raising awareness for people living in severely contaminated area is prioritised.

Last October, a project to remedy the consequences of post-war bombs and mines in Quảng Bình and Bình Định provinces from 2018 to 2020 was launched by the governments of Việt Nam and South Korea.

With $20 million of assistance from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the project expects to clear 8,000ha of landmine-contaminated area in Quảng Bình Province and survey 20,000 additional hectares.

Data about victims in the two provinces will be collected to better assess action plans moving forward.

In April, the National Steering Committee on the Settlement of Post-war Unexploded Ordnance and Toxic Chemical Consequences, or Committee 701, under the Ministry of National Defence, was established.

”With Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc as the committee’s head and ministers as members, Việt Nam’s Government shows its commitment to overcoming post-war consequences of UXO and toxic chemicals,” said Đỗ Văn Duân, a representative of the committee.

Reporters receive prizes for sustainable development

Director of the Institute for Research on Development Communication Trần Nhật Minh gives a speech at the awarding ceremony. 

A total of 10 prizes were granted to outstanding reporters on Friday at the ‘Journalism for Sustainable Development Award 2018’ awards ceremony.

The ceremony was held by the Institute for Research on Development Communication (RED), the Global Affairs Canada and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The ‘Journalism for Sustainable Development Award 2018’ was launched five months ago, receiving more than 500 writings from 173 reporters nationwide.

Four of the winning works wrote about gender equality, another four about environmental protection and the remaining two on enterprises’ sustainable development.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Trần Nhật Minh, director of RED, said sustainable development was an urgent issue of the nation’s development.

Joining the development process was the responsibility of the whole society, he said.

“The prizes not only access media writings’ quality, but also urge the process of implementing the country’s sustainable development targets,” said Minh. 

Cần Thơ plans vocational training

The Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ plans to provide vocational training to at least 30,000 people by 2020. 

The Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ plans to provide vocational training to at least 30,000 people by 2020, 10 per cent of them poor, ethnic minority and rural people whose lives are affected by industrial and other projects.

Of the 30,000 to be trained, 80 per cent would get jobs afterwards, authorities said.

Trần Thị Xuân Mai, director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said training provided to rural people usually met their actual needs in terms of occupations.

This year 123 courses had been organised to train people in 30 agricultural and non-agricultural occupations to enable people to work in handicraft villages, industrial parks and export processing zones, and trainees had got jobs at companies based in the city or started their own business to escape poverty, she said.

According to the Cần Thơ e-newspaper, Võ Minh Chính, head of the department’s labour, invalids and social affairs division in Cờ Đỏ District, said weaving courses attracted many locals.

Nguyễn Vi Kim Thu, head of the Women’s Union in Trung Thạnh commune’s Thạnh Phước 2 Village, said many women who attended the course were able to earn an extra income by weaving in their free time.  

Cao Văn Sơn in the district’s Thạnh Hưng 2 Village said he attended a five-month electrician’s training course last year.

Afterwards he has been operating an electrical repair shop at home, earning some VNĐ4 million (US$171) a month on top of his income from farming, according to an online newspaper published by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

He said demand for electrical repairs in his neighbourhood was very high, with many people coming around to have fans and light bulbs repaired.

Many people in Cờ Đỏ District have also benefited from training in rice-growing techniques.

Phương Tuấn Tiền of the district’s Thạnh Lợi Village, who attended a course, said thanks to it he was able to earn more than VNĐ900 million ($38,560) a year from his four hectares of paddy. He has been recognised as an outstanding farmer.

The city’s steering committee for a project to provide vocational training in rural areas said it focused on improving quality, just learning about skills that local people need was essential.

Nguyễn Thanh Dũng, vice chairman of the Cần Thơ People’s Committee, said the city focused on training human resources in rural areas based on local strategies and socio-economic development plans.

He instructed the departments of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and Education and Training to co-operate with each other to achieve the project’s goals.

As of last September the city had trained more than 7,000 people in its rural areas and nearly 75 per cent of them have got jobs.

The training schools update their programmes to meet employers’ needs and use modern equipment for training.

To provide jobs to trainees, the city has set up many small co-operatives in various localities, including for making sewing products in Xuân Thắng and Trường Thắng communes in Thới Lai District and making handbags in Cái Răng District’s Lê Bình Ward.

Meanwhile, vocational training schools have various programmes to attract trainees and also send them to companies to work for hands-on training.

Yên Sở Coach Station suitable with capital planning

An artist’s impression of Yên Sở Coach Station. — Photo cafef.vn

The construction of Yên Sở Coach Station near Hà Nội’s Belt Road 3 is believed to fit with the city’s planning.

As scheduled, the city plans to construct the coach station in Hoàng Mai District, with total investment estimated at about VNĐ100 billion (US$4.4 million) by 2020. It promises to be the most modern coach terminal ever built in Việt Nam, with most services automated, facilitating up to 1,000 coaches a day.

The information was released as part of document No 7942/SGTVT-VP from the capital’s Transport Department, sent to the city’s Party Central Committee’s Commission for Publicity and Education on Thursday.

The move came after many transport experts expressed their concern that constructing the medium-term coach station was a waste of investment and might “affect the city’s urban land reserves.”

In the document, Vũ Hà, head of the department, explained that the coach station is part of the Hà Nội Transport Master Plan by 2030.

Accordingly, the coach station, covering 3.5ha, will be located to the south of Belt Road 3 near Hoàng Mai District’s Yên Sở Ward. The project has been verified in accordance with the provisions of law, Hà said.

Currently, the flow of inter-provincial passenger transport from southern provinces to Hà Nội is on the rise, he said.

It put the two existing coach stations of Giáp Bát and Nước Ngầm under growing pressure, he said.

Thus, it is necessary to build an additional coach station to serve the increasing demand of passengers as well as reduce the pressure on the two existing coach stations, he added.

Additionally, after a new Southern Terminal is open – in 2025 at the latest, Yên Sở station will fulfill its initial purpose and then serve as a bus transit station and car park, he said.

The planning and construction of the coach station had been carefully considered and comprehensively assessed with consultation of experts and scientists, he said.

The construction of the coach station is in line with the transport planning project approved by the Government in March 2016. The People’s Committee of Hà Nội already reported contents relating to the planning and construction of the coach station to Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc via document No 217/BC-UBND in August 2018. 

Đăk Tô District households suffer water shortage

The Đăk Tô water plant sits abandoned while 1,000 households face clean water shortages.- Photo tienphong.vn

Over 1,000 households in Đăk Tô District, the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum have been living without clean water despite the construction of a Thailand company–managed water supply plant several years ago.

Ngô Văn Liêm, Deputy Director of Đắk Tô District People’s Committee, said that until June 2016 the plant was operated under Đăk Tô Clean Water Joint Stock Company, owned by the district People’s Committee.

On June 9, 2016 the Kon Tum Province People’s Committee decided to sell the plant to Thailand’s Utility Water Company at a cost of VNĐ12 billion (US$514,200).

According to the contract, the Thai company committed to investing more than VNĐ100 billion ($4.3 million) in upgrading infrastructure and increasing the plant’s capacity to 10,000 cu.m per day. Construction was expected to last from 2016 to the end of 2018.    

After nearly three years, the company has only succeeded in constructing a road linking the town with the plant and dredging the mud in the tanks. Then it deserted the plant, causing a clean water shortage in the district.  

Over the last year grasses have grown around the area. The tanks are sandy and mossy, and filled with empty bottles of pesticide and herbicides.

According to a plant staff member who spoke to Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper on the condition of anonymity, seven employees who were responsible for managing and operating the facility have not received any pay since September 2017.

Đăk Tô District People’s Committee asked representatives of the managing company to attend a discussion to resolve the legal procedures, but the company has yet to respond.