HCM City sunk floodwater

An one hour heavy rain shouldered in the area of Ho Chi Minh City, causing serious flooding several streets in the evening of September 30.

Floodwater unexpectedly rise up and caused traffic jam and motorcycle engine failure during many hours in main roads like Binh Thanh district’s Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, Ung Van Khiem street; district 2’s Luong Dinh Cua, Tran Nao street; district 9’s Do Xuan Hop and others.

Due to influence of heavy rains, most of piped drainage systems were overloaded and the construction projects stopped the flow, making rain water could not go down.

To cope with such bad situation, city need to build nine drainage systems to prevent flood tide pursuant to city’s flooding control project.

Hand-foot-mouth disease kills one infant in HCMC

Hand-foot-mouth outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Phu District has killed one eight month infant while earlier medical experts warned of the threat of the disease and high risk of mortality.

The Children Hospital No.2 receives around 20-30 infants with hand-foot-mouth a day while the other children hospitals receive 30-40 babies infecting with the disease daily.

Dr. Truong Huu Khanh , head of the Infectious Division of the Children Hospital No.1 said that hand-foot-mouth disease occurs year round and it is not a peak season.

However, the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health warned of a possibility of re-occurrence of the disease in the beginning of the new academic year because the country has over 10,000 cases of hand-foot-mouth so far.

The Ministry of Health issued prevention measures including regularly wash hand with soap or sanitizer before meals and preparing food; before feeding children; disinfecting toys and floors, isolating infected children from healthy peers and always clean houses and schools.

52 people from Ebola-hit areas under close surveillance

Around 52 people from Ebola-hit areas are being tracked their health in the community as they has not passed 21 days from the day they left the affected areas, reported at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on October 1.

Since August 11, Vietnam has strictly monitored 242 arrivals, including 40 Vietnamese, from affected areas in Africa including Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal. 190 of them have completed monitoring time.

All people who are being isolated at hospitals and monitored their health in the community entered Vietnam via Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai International Airports.

The Department of Preventive Medicines (DPM) said Ebola virus is likely to penetrate Vietnam through Vietnamese citizens returning from Ebola-hit areas, citizens of affected countries entering Vietnam or those who contact with animals died of Ebola.

Head of the DPM Dang Quang Tan said those medical staffs who take care of Ebola patients are easily exposed to the deadly virus if they are not protected.

People should not go to affected areas, Tan advised.

At the seminar, the Ministry of Public Security proposed a fine to passengers who give wrong information which may cause difficulties to monitoring and management activities. If the epidemic spreads on the community, the ministry will apply isolation and coercive measures and limit travelling of all citizens from the affected areas, he said.

Roadworks on hold to celebrate holiday

Ha Noi will stop granting licences to dig pavements and repairing roads and take down construction fences so that public activities can commemorate the 60th anniversary of the city's Liberation Day (October 10, 1954).

Deputy head of the municipal Department of Transport Nguyen Xuan Tan said the department would work with the police and local authorities to hasten construction projects. These included the opening of Belt Road 2 from Nhat Tan Bridge to Xuan La Road and Route 5 from Long Bien District to Thang Long Bridge, as well as the opening of a traffic light control centre in Hoan Kiem District and a bus route using smart cards.

The department would also mobilise buses to meet increasing demand and strengthen inspections of wharfs and tourism sites around West Lake, Thu Le Lake, Bay Mau Lake and the Hong (Red) River. Police would be on duty in places where cultural events were held to divide lanes and ensure smooth traffic flow.

About 494,500 cars and more than 4.8 million motorbikes are operating in Ha Noi. There are 89 bus routes serving five million passengers annually.

Since early this year, 15,780 traffic violation cases were found and 301 vehicles were seized. Total fines were estimated at VND17.4 billion (US$828,000).

PM orders stop to tobacco smuggling

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung issued a directive on Tuesday ordering ministries and relevant agencies throughout the country to curb tobacco smuggling.

The practice has increased in many localities, primarily Quang Tri, Tay Ninh, Long An, Dong Thap, HCM City, Ha Noi and Hai Phong, due to poor management by authorised agencies as well as the fact that smuggling has become increasingly lucrative. Nearly 8,000 smuggling cases were discovered in the first eight months of 2014, according to the Market Watch Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Dung assigned the Ministry of National Defence to order border soldiers to conduct more patrols, while the Ministry of Finance was required to encourage people to inform authorised agencies if they knew anything about smuggling cases. He told the Ministry of Information and Communications to raise public awareness about the negative impacts of smoking on human health.

The National Steering Committee 389, which was set up to prevent and control smuggling, trade fraud and fake commodities, was asked to send a report about tobacco smuggling every three months to the Prime Minister.

The People's Committee head of each locality would take responsibility if tobacco smuggling was discovered in the locality, he said.

IT can help climate change adaptation

Scientists and government officials yesterday discussed how to apply IT in sustainable agriculture and fishery development to adapt to climate change during a seminar held yesterday on Phu Quoc Island.

Scientists shared expertise on applying IT to weather forecasting systems and using GIS (geographic information system) to determine areas vulnerable to climate change and disaster alerts in the Mekong Delta region.

Professor Le Quang Tri, director of the Research Institute for Climate Change under Can Tho University, said the Delta was an important source of rice for the country and using high-tech agriculture was needed to maintain quality of exports as well as local products.

He said new cultivation systems and strains that can adapt to the condition of climate change were needed.

Besides IT, the seminar also focused on environmental technology, biotechnology and other fields.

Ha Noi ward lacks water for one week after supply cut

More than three hundred households in Ha Noi's Ngoc Khanh Ward have had to live without potable water for a week after the water supply company stopped its service without notice.

Ward resident Pham Xuan Diem said his family had suffered a shortage of fresh water for five days.

"We have a small water tank, which is enough for two days' use. Now it's dry and the company has not supplied anything," he said.

Diem added it was the longest period of water shortage he had experienced since 1976, when he began living in the ward.

Nguyen Quoc Binh, another resident, said that his family had a water tank with a capacity of 1.5 cubic metres, and thus was able to help out some neighbours for a few days before the tank became empty.

Binh also said that after three days of not receiving any fresh water, households made numerous calls to the Ba Dinh Clean Water Trading Enterprise, only to be told that the water pipeline was being upgraded and low pressure was interrupting water supply. The company said they would resume supply as soon as possible.

Diep Tu Phuc, Chairman of the ward's People's Committee said his administration had asked the company to supply clean water by alternate means (delivering water in tankers) until normal supply can be resumed.

WB supports northern mountainous cities

The Ministry of Construction and the World Bank (WB) launched a results-based national urban development programme in the northern mountainous region on September 30.

The programme will be carried out from 2015-2021 at a cost of US$250 million funded by a loan from the WB’s International Development Association.

The project aims to improve urban infrastructure, protect the environment, and enhance local residents’ livelihoods in a bid to ensure sustainable socio-economic development in the cities and townships of the northern mountainous provinces of Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Dien Bien, Hoa Binh, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, and Yen Bai.

The programme will strengthen local authorities’ capacity for urban planning and management, while helping ministries develop policy frameworks.

Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung said investment is needed not only in big cities, but also in small ones, particularly in disadvantaged areas such as the northern mountainous region.

He added that the development of infrastructure in mountainous urban areas will release traffic, health care and education pressures on central cities, thus creating a more harmonious urban system.

Ha Noi opens hotline for tax advice

The Ha Noi Department of Tax has set up a hotline number, 04-38512436, at its office to give advice to citizens and enterprises about tax policies and procedures.

Citizens can also register complaints about the department staff's attitude through the hotline.

Nguyen Cong Cuong, one of the two employees in charge of the hotline, said that they have received several calls since the department announced the setting up of the hotline. The complaints were mostly about new tax regulations and procedures to shorten the tax payment time of businesses.

The department has asked 30 sub-departments of districts and wards to publicise the hotline number to receive queries from people and enterprises.

Nguyen Thi Hai Yen, head of the department's taxpayer support office, said that the department has also organised 100 training courses on new tax regulations. It will help shorten 200 hours of tax procedures as per the government's target.

Nguyen Thanh Hoc, deputy head of Ha Noi's Party Committee's Department of Publicity and Education, said that his department will work with the tax department to do a survey of people's opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of the tax procedures and the tax staff's attitude.

This will help improve the efficiency of tax operations in the future, he said.

Vinh Phuc provides health care help for disadvantaged

The northern province of Vinh Phuc is providing financial assistance to financially disadvantaged members of the community to access medical care services from October onwards, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

Beneficiaries include members of poor households; ethnic minorities from the disadvantaged communes of Yen Duong, Dao Tru and Bo Ly in Tam Dao district; social welfare recipients; the homeless; people living in the province’s State-sponsored social centres; and patients with terminal diseases from needy families.

Those who have health insurance will receive subsidies ranging from 100,000 VND to 5 million VND for medical check-up and treatment costs each time they visit hospital, for a maximum of three times a year.

Meanwhile, those without health insurance will receive financial assistance worth 30 percent of their medical bills but not exceeding 10 million VND for each period of treatment.

In addition, patients will be given money for meals and fuel, covering their travel costs to hospitals.

The money will be provided by the Fund for Medical Care for the Poor of the province.

The province’s health insurance system spends 69.1 billion VND (nearly 3.26 million USD) on medical check-ups and treatment for around 80,000 disadvantaged and ethnic minority people each year.-

Northern province steps up efforts to reduce disaster risk

The northern province of Nam Dinh has been implementing a number of measures as part of a mangrove plantation and disaster risk reduction (MP/DRR) programme in recent years, helping local residents respond more actively to climate change.

Nam Dinh is one of the ten Vietnamese provinces to benefit from the programme, which has been jointly carried out by the Vietnam Red Cross, the Japanese Red Cross Society, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies since April 2011.

The province is one of the localities most vulnerable to disasters during the flood season due to its geographical features, which boost 91km of sea dykes and more than 300km of river dykes.

The areas surrounding the Red, Dao, Day, and Ninh Co Rivers, major riverine ecosystems, are particularly prone to natural disasters.

Since the beginning of 2014, the MP/DRR project has been implemented in 16 communes in the three coastal districts of Giao Thuy, Hai Hau and Nghia Hung.

Apart from providing the necessary equipment, the provincial Red Cross trained more than 91,000 people in courses on disaster risk mitigation, climate change adaptation, and rescue and first-aid skills.

In Giao Thuy alone, the Red Cross worked with the local People’s Committee to protect more than 625ha of forests in Giao An, Giao Xuan, Giao Lac and Giao Phong communes and Quat Lam town.

It also built bridges, implemented early warning systems, and constructed drainage systems in many other localities.

At the same time, two emergency response teams with more than 50 members were set up in Nghia Hung’s Nghia Thang commune and Hai Hau’s Hai Chinh commune. They were trained in rescue and first-aid skills and equipped with the necessary tools, including lifebuoys, medical kits, and torches.

Vice Chairman of the provincial Red Cross Pham Minh Phuong said the project’s management board would soon complete and inaugurate disaster resilience infrastructure and commence training courses on climate change risk prevention and mitigation for teachers and primary school students in Nghia Thang commune and Rang Dong town in Nghia Hung district.

In addition to the MP/DRR project, Nam Dinh is also implementing the Forests and Deltas project, funded by the US Agency for International Development and Winrock International, on climate change adaptation in Giao Thuy, Hai Hau and Nghia Hung districts.

Wildlife still widely consumed in Vietnam

A recent report shows that consumption of products made from wild species is on the rise recently in Vietnam due to superstitions about the uses and lack of standard regulations.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has just released the results of the survey on Vietnamese behaviour and attitudes toward the consumption of products made from wild animals as well as a survey on current legislation to protect these animals. The survey on people’s attitudes was conducted among people aged from 20 to 69 in 10 districts of Hanoi.

The results suggested that 69% of people said they have regularly used such food products, 67% used them as medicines and 12% purchased jewelry made from wild animals.

Snakes such as pythons were the most consumed as food with 49% saying they ate it, 29% said they ate wild deer. These were followed by pangolin, turtles and langurs.

Meanwhile, products from bears and tigers were mostly used as medicine, with 49% of people admitting to having consumed these products. Products made from elephants, tigers, birds and crocodiles were used for jewelry and decorations.

More men than women used products made with wild animals. Those between the ages of 20 and 34 consumed the most.

The majority of consumers used these products as a result of a traditional belief that they can treat certain ailments and improve health. Others view such dishes as delicacies.

Conservationists have pointed out the danger of viewing consuming these products as normal. Around 19% of people questioned said they would continue to use these products.

There are also loopholes in the laws set up to protect at risk species.  Some researchers have proposed that the government amend current regulations in order to more comprehensively protect the nation's wildlife.

Japan unveils visa requirement relaxation for Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan on September 30 issued a new regulation on the substantial relaxation of visa requirements for nationals of Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

According to the announcement by the Japan Embassy in Hanoi, from September 30, the relaxation of multiple visas will commence for these three countries. Specifically, in addition to the relaxation of visa issuance requirements, the period of validity will be extended for up to five years.

Additionally, for those applicants residing outside their country of origin, it will now become possible to apply at the diplomatic mission which has jurisdiction over their place of residence.

Also in November, the application procedure for single tourism visas for participants of package tours that are handled by registered travel agencies will be simplified for these three countries.

Additionally, visa exemptions based on a system of pre-registering e-passports at diplomatic missions is scheduled to begin from December 1 for nationals of Indonesia.

These measures are expected to contribute to Japan's image as a tourism-oriented country with the goal of attracting 20 million foreign visitors, as well as the promotion of people-to-people exchanges.

France offers EUR20 million in preferential loans to assist climate change response in Vietnam

An credit agreement worth EUR20 million provided by the French Development Agency (AFD) has been reached to support the fourth tranche of the Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change (SP-RCC) in Vietnam.

The agreement was signed in Hanoi on September 30 between Ambassador of France in Vietnam Jean-Noël Poirier, Vietnam Deputy Minister of Finance Truong Chi Trung, and AFD Director in Vietnam Rémi Genevey.

This brings the total contribution of AFD to the SPRCC programme up to EUR80 million.

In 2009, AFD and Japanese International Co-operation Agency jointly initiated the SP-RCC programme by proposing to the Vietnamese authorities tri-annual budgetary support (2010-2012) to assist actions against climate change. Several international donors have since joined the programme, including the World Bank, Canadian International Development Agency, Korea Eximbank and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The SP-RCC aims to support the implementation of the National Target Programme in Response to Climate Change (NTP-RCC) approved in December 2008, the National Climate Change Strategy approved in December 2011 and the National Green Growth Strategy approved in September 2012.

The programme has contributed to creating a platform of discussion between donors and the Vietnamese Government around climate change issues, both in terms of adaptation and mitigation. Budget support for SPRCC is endorsed by the implementation of public policies and reforms, in order to efficiently respond to climate change and to promote low carbon development.

AFD, the main operator of France's official development assistance, has been actively involved in Vietnam since 1994. The accumulated ODA financing of the AFD group to Vietnam has now reached EUR1.5 billion for 70 projects. Over the 2006-2013 period, AFD provided EUR382 million through 14 development projects which aim at coping with climate change and adapting to its effects in the country.

HCMC offers free parking for student bus passengers

Two free motorbike parking lots for passengers who are students will be opened tomorrow at two bus stations in Ho Chi Minh City, the municipal public transport agency said.

Two free motorbike parking lots for passengers who are students will be opened tomorrow at two bus stations in Ho Chi Minh City, the municipal public transport agency said.

One of the lots is located at the Saigon Bus Station in Zone B of 23/9 Park in District 1, and the District 8 Bus Station on National Highway 50 in Ward 5, District 8, said the HCMC Public Passenger Transportation Management and Operation Center.

From October 1 on, passengers who are students can park their bikes for free at these facilities before getting on a bus.

The parking time is from 4:30 am till 10:30 pm everyday.

To be eligible to use the free facilities, students are required to show student cards to the parking staff when they park their bikes and a bus ticket when the take their vehicles out, the center said.

If students use the free parking service outside the above hours or they fail to show a bus ticket, they are required to pay a fee in accordance with current regulations.

In related news, the city transport authorities are developing four underground parking projects in Le Van Tam Park, Trong Dong Stage, Hoa Lu Stadium and Tao Dan Park in District 1 to ease the overload of current parking lots in the city.

U.S. CDC and Vietnam - New Agreement to Strengthen Global Health Security

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) and Vietnam’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has entered into a new 5-year cooperative agreement to build a stronger foundation for Vietnam to be better prepared to prevent, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks. The cooperative agreement will enhance collaboration between the U.S. and Vietnam and will provide technical support focusing on several key health security areas - the emergency operations center, laboratory and information systems, and workforce capacity.

On Friday, September 26, 2014, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and her delegation attended the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Summit in Washington D.C. with President Obama and 40 other nations and international organizations to make a commitment to implement the GHSA. Vietnam has committed to share responsibility to provide health security for our world, to be a leader in the prevention of infectious disease transmission from animals to humans and to continue to strengthen the emergency operations center, Vietnam’s centralized hub for responding to public health emergencies.

The GHSA was launched on February 13, 2014 to advance a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats; to bring together nations from all over the world to make new, concrete commitments; and to elevate global health security as a national leaders-level priority. The cooperative agreement with Vietnam is part of the U.S. commitment to assist at least 30 countries over five years to achieve the objectives of the GHSA.

Jetstar Pacific to open Hanoi – Vinh roundtrip route

The low-cost carrier, Jetstar Pacific will offer a roundtrip flight per day between Hanoi and Nghe An province’s Vinh city from October 27, using Airbus A320-180 aircraft with 180 economy class seats.

The flight, coded BL421, departs from Vinh at 9.25am, while the return flight, coded BL422, leaves Hanoi at 10.45am the same day.

Tickets for the new route will be on sale from October 2 at the website www.jetstar.com and ticket offices across the country.

On the occasion, Jetstar Pacific will offer special discount programmes for tickets purchased between 12am to 12.59pm on October 2. Accordingly, a two-way ticket will be sold at VND450,000 per person for flights scheduled from October 27 to December 11.

Several domestic and international routes will also have their Jetstar flight tickets discounted from 12am of October 2 to the end of October 6.

Jetstar Pacific also plans to exploit the international routes from Hanoi to Singapore and Bangkok beginning on October 27 and December 10 respectively.

Da Nang to host East Asian Seas Congress next year

The East Asian Seas Congress 2015 and 5th Ministerial Forum will take place in central Da Nang city from November 17-21, municipal authorities have said.

Under the theme of ‘Global Targets, Local Benefits: Setting the Sustainable Development Agenda for the Seas of East Asia beyond 2015’, the triennial event is co-organised by Partnerships in the Environmental Management of the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, and Da Nang municipal People's Committee.

A range of activities is scheduled for the event, including senior government officials' meetings, EAS Partnership Council Meeting, East Asian Seas Youth Forum, an international workshop on water resources, and a forum on sustainable management of coastal and marine zones, as well as exhibitions of international organisations and field trips.

On this occasion, Da Nang will also host the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG), scheduled to take place on November 16, 2015.

Since its launch in 2003, the triennial EAS Congress has been held alternately in PEMSEA member countries, namely Malaysia (2003), China (2006), the Philippines (2009) and the Republic of Korea (2012).

Hanoi moves to become nation’s high-tech hub

Hanoi authorities are planning to develop the capital into a modern, creative, and environmentally friendly industrial centre that produces high-quality, globally competitive goods by 2030.

So far, Hanoi has made a name for itself as a major manufacturer of mobile phones, printers and motorcycle spare parts.

The development of support industries has also sharpened the city’s capacity to utilise advanced technology to produce high-quality and reasonably priced goods.

Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, Le Hong Thang said the city aimed to expand its production facilities to three high-tech parks, 24 industrial parks and 154 craft villages from 2015-2020.

The northern districts of Soc Son, Me Linh, Dong Anh, Long Bien, Gia Lam, and Tu Liem will specialise in electronics, engineering, chemicals and garment-textiles, while the southern and western districts of Thuong Tin, Phu Xuyen, Hoai Duc and Chuong My will focus on biotechnology, agricultural production and support industries.

Hanoi is currently home to nine industrial parks, with Thang Long, Noi Bai and Sai Dong parks being the most attractive destinations for international high-tech firms.

Vietnamese, Lao policy banks agree to share expertise

The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies’ Da Nang branch and the Savannakhet branch of the Policy Bank of Laos (NBB) have agreed to share experience and support each other in exchanging professional skills and building cooperation documents.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed in Da Nang on September 30.

In 2014 and 2015, the two sides will share expertise in personnel training and debt management and boost cooperation in realising the Core Banking programme.

Tran Thi Phuong Lan, Director of the Da Nang branch, affirmed that the branch is committed to  implementing cooperation programmes reached between the two sides while strengthening connection with the Lao counterpart.-

Rome willing to share preservation experience with Hanoi

Rome city of Italy is willing to support Hanoi in preserving and restoring its ancient relics, Maurizio Anastasi, head of the Technical Office of the Rome Superintendence for Archaeology, said in a meeting with visiting Hanoi officials recently.

With its long-standing experience in managing and preserving famous relics and archaeological works and developing museum projects, Rome can help Hanoi in this work.

During the meeting, representatives of the Rome Superintendence for Archaeology shared their experience in using advanced technology in ancient relics, including light effects and videos, to help visitors understand the historical and cultural values of the sites as well as their architectural features and origins.

They also stressed the importance of donations from individuals for preservation efforts as well as the significant role of the city and its residents in managing and organising the work.

The Hanoi delegation, led by Standing Vice Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Cong Soai, highly appreciated the experience shared by the Italian side, expressing their hope that Vietnam will have a chance to cooperate with the specialists from the Rome Superintendence for Archaeology.

Rome, the 2,700 year-old capital of Italy, is the cradle of Roman culture and architecture. Generations of city authorities have implemented policies that support archaeological research, and relic preservation and restoration.

Programme launched to develop northern mountainous cities

The Ministry of Construction and the World Bank (WB) launched a results-based national urban development programme in the northern mountainous region on September 30.

The programme will be carried out from 2015-2021, costing 250 million USD and funded by a loan from the WB’s International Development Association.

The objective of the project is to improve urban infrastructure, protect the environment, and enhance local residents’ livelihoods in a bid to ensure sustainable socio-economic development in the cities and townships of the northern mountainous provinces of Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Dien Bien, Hoa Binh, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, and Yen Bai.

The programme will strengthen local authorities’ capacity for urban planning and management, while helping ministries develop policy frameworks.

Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung said investment was needed not only in big cities, but also in small ones, particularly in disadvantaged areas such as the northern mountainous region.

He added that the development of infrastructure in mountainous urban areas would release traffic, health care and education pressures on central cities, thus creating a more harmonious urban system.

Quang Ninh commits to labour force development

The northern province of Quang Ninh has built a master plan on human resources development to 2020, with a vision to 2030 thus meeting the requirements on renovation and development of modern economic sectors.

The plant was developed by Quang Ninh’s Department of Planning and Investment in cooperation with the US-based Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm.

The 3,860 billion VND (181 million USD) plan comprises 18 projects on human resources development, with some of them being launched in 2015, such as a public awareness campaign on vocational training, capacity development measures for civil servants and incentives for skilled workers.

The plan will contribute to the modernisation process and will transform the province’s economy into a modern service and industrial economy with highly-developed services, green production methods and advanced technologies by 2030

Furthermore, it aims to support market orientation through the improvement of the workforce, develop a suitable training base, and strengthen the quality of education.

The plan is to boost the province’s labour force to 870,000 workers, with 89 percent being highly trained. The workforce in the service and industry sector are expected to increase to 44 percent, and 35 percent, respectively in the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sector is expected to shrink to 21 percent in 2020.

The vision to 2030 foresees a total labour force of 990,000 workers for the province. Productivity is expected to to rise from 110 million VND in 2013 (5.100 USD) to 197 million (9.200 USD) in 2020.

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