Contractors warned over delayed Hanoi An Duong overpass

The overpass is behind schedule

Hanoi People's Committee have reprimanded and urged the contractors to complete the An Duong-Thanh Nien overpass which is already one month behind schedule.

An Duong-Thanh Nien overpass is one of eight key projects in Hanoi. After eight months, many parts of the project are still incomplete. Pedestrians have to walk on the road as the pavement and parts of the road have been turned into a construction site.

The remaining road surface is damaged and the manholes are either too high or sank too low compared to the road surface. The project is hoped to ease congestion for Tay Ho and Ba Dinh districts but it may become a congestion hotspot if it is unable to meet the schedule.

The overpass will have seven spans that are 30, 45 and 60 metres long depending on the position. The project will cost over VND311bn (USD9.33m) and is expected to be completed by October 10. If the deadline is not met, Hanoi’s authorities said they would punish the related parties. 

Hanoi People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said the contractors must sign a commitment to complete each part of the overpass on time. Violations during the construction process will also be recorded.

According to the authorities, the Transport Engineering Design Inc., Thuan An Group, Construction Machinery JSC, Thanh Long Group and Thang Long SCQ., JSC failed to up in effort and cooperation to complete the construction.

The construction projects and investment management board in Hanoi to tighten management and improve the plan to regulate the traffic. Construction units were asked to keep the site tidy so that the road will not be blocked by construction materials.

Green asparagus offers high profits for Ninh Thuận farmers

Farmer Diệp Bảo Thu in Ninh Thuận Province tends his green asparagus.

Farmers in the south-central province of Ninh Thuận are growing more green asparagus as the vegetable is offering higher profits compared to other crops.

Diệp Bảo Thu, who shifted from growing grapes to asparagus on his 2,000 sq.m farm in Ninh Hải District’s Xuân Hải Commune last year, now harvests about 18 - 22 kilo of asparagus shoots a day.

He sell the vegetable for VNĐ50,000 – 90,000 (US$2-4) a kilo and earns a profit of more than VNĐ1 million ($44) a day during the harvest.

Vũ Văn Thuấn, who has grown asparagus on his 4,000sq.m land plot in Xuân Hải for four years, said the cost for 1,000 sq.m of asparagus was about VNĐ15 million.

The asparagus plants are harvested for five to seven years, he said.

“Green asparagus can be harvested continuously for three months, and then is stopped for one month to help the plant recover,” he said.

Previously Thuấn planted grape, jujube and spring onion on his 4,000sq.m land plot but the profit was not high.

The province’s dry, hot weather and loamy sand are suitable for growing green asparagus, according to local farmers.

Ninh Thuận has the least rainfall compared to other provinces and cities in the country.

Nguyễn Đình Thi, deputy chairman of the Xuân Hải Commune People’s Committee, said that green asparagus had provided high profits for farmers for a number of years.

The profit is five to seven times higher than that of other crops, he said.

The commune has 110 households planting a total of 21.5 ha of green asparagus, but supply has not met demand, he said.

Ninh Thuận authorities have encouraged farmers to expand the area under asparagus in drought-prone areas.

Local authorities also provided advanced farming techniques to asparagus farmers in recent years.

In 2016, the province’s Farmers Association started a project to grow green asparagus under Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) standards in Ninh Phước District.

The quality and yield under the project was 10 – 20 per cent higher than from traditional farming.

Early this year, the province’s Department of Science and Technology transferred the technique of using drip irrigation to asparagus farmers.

The technique was first used by four farmers at the Tuấn Tú Agricultural Services Co-operative to plant 1.4 ha of green asparagus in An Hải Commune.

Hùng Ky, director of the Tuấn Tú Agricultural Services Co-operative, said previously asparagus shoots were often infected with fungus when spray irrigation methods were used.

The use of drip irrigation has helped solve the problem, he said, adding that farmers in other areas have visited the co-operative to learn about the technique.

The province has more than 100ha of green asparagus, mostly in Ninh Hải and Ninh Phước districts.

The province will develop asparagus areas with advanced farming techniques in a zone of 200ha in Ninh Phước and Bác Ái districts.

The province’s asparagus shoots are sold in the province and to HCM City, Hà Nội and Đà Lat City and other provinces.

The vegetable was first planted in the province’s Ninh Phước District eight years ago.

Employers, employees neglect labour safety

Statistics from the Việt Nam – Germany Hospital showed that the hospital received 1,138 patients due to workplace accidents in the first six months of this year.— Photo infonet.vn

A builder was taken to the Emergency Department of Việt Nam – Germany Friendship Hospital last Tuesday in a critical condition after receiving an electronic shock while at work.

The man had sustained severe burns to over half of his body.

Bùi Minh Bình, of Thái Bình Province, took the builder to hospital. He said he had only just met the man a day earlier when they worked together on a construction site in Hà Nội’s Đống Đa District.

Bình said he had moved from his hometown to Hà Nội to earn a living, Nhân Dân Cuối Tuần (The People Weekend) magazine reported.

He sometimes worked as a builder and other times as a porter. Bình would take on almost any work as long as it was legal.

“I just thought of going to the capital to earn a living, I never considered the dangers I could face working here,” Bình said.

Bình admitted he worked at the construction site without protective equipment.

Not only Bình and the builder who was electrocuted, but many labourers nationwide are in the same situation. They work without protective equipment and are liable to suffer a workplace accident at any time.

For example, four workers were killed and three others injured in June 2016, in the central province of Nghệ An’s Hạ Sơn Commune. The workers were hired to install a telecommunication pole in the commune, however, the pole made contact with a live electric cable. The workers, without protective equipment, received deadly electric shocks.

Earlier this year, three people were killed and three others injured in a workplace accident on Nam Từ Liêm District’s Tố Hữu Street.

In May, another accident killed three people and injured four others at a construction site in the northern province of Hải Dương’s Kinh Môn District.

More recently, two workers died and another was injured in an accident in the Central Highlands’ Đà Lạt Province.

The common theme to these workplace accidents was that victims were manual labourers, working without protective equipment and social insurance cards.

Shocking numbers

Statistics from the Việt Nam – Germany Hospital showed that the hospital received 1,138 patients due to workplace accidents in the first six months of this year.

This means that 200 victims of workplace accidents are being hospitalised each month.

Nguyễn Xuân Hùng, head of the hospital’s Examination Department said “Half of the victims suffer serious injuries.”

“It’s terrible,” he added.

A report from the Labour Safety Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs pointed out that nearly 9,000 workplace accidents occurred nationwide last year, killing 928 people and injuring 1,915 others.

This was nearly 1,000 more cases than in 2016.

Just 2,600 workplace accident reportedly occurred each year during the period 1995-2005 and 6,000 during the period of 2006-16.

Nguyễn Tiến Tùng, chief inspector of the ministry said the real number of workplace accidents was thought to be much higher than the reports suggest.

Tùng said employers often found ways to satisfy victims’ families after a workplace accident occurred to keep the case secret. Thus, statistics by authorised agencies might be incorrect.

Causes and solutions

According to experts, employers that do not hold training courses for their workers were to blame for the situation.

Other reasons were that employers did not periodically check machinery and equipment to ensure the safety of labourers, or they failed to provide protective equipment at all. The poor management of employers in supervising construction sites also added to the issue. Additionally, labourers themselves neglected their safety while at work, experts said.

Tùng, chief inspector of the ministry added that pre-warning employers before inspecting labour safety as per regulations was partly to blame.

In response, Nguyễn Anh Thơ, deputy director of the ministry’s Labour Safety Department said the department is launching a range of activities in an attempt to improve the situation this year.

The activities include organising dialogues with employers and forums on labour safety for labourers, as well as training courses on labour safety for both employers and workers in all localities, he said.

Further, authorised agencies would tighten control over areas with a high risk of workplace accidents, such as construction or mining sites.

Deputy Minister Lê Tấn Dũng said the ministry planned to fix shortcomings of the Labour Law so that it conforms with Labour Convention 81.

If the shortcomings were fixed, inspectors would not give pre-warnings to employers before an inspection of labour safety. Then, the real number of workplace accidents would be revealed, he said.

Dũng also said the ministry would raise the level of administrative fines for violations on labour safety so that employers were forced to obey the rules.

Hùng, from the hospital, said at a construction or mining site, employers should arrange for two medical staff to promptly give first aid to victims in an emergency.

Vehicle registration centres equitised

A bus is tested for roadworthiness at a registration centre in the northern province of Vĩnh Phúc. — Photo baogiaothong.vn

By the middle of this month, 14 registration centres which are responsible for testing and certificating vehicles’ roadworthiness will have been equitised, meaning that the private sector can now provide transport administration services.

According to Việt Nam Register, the centres include two in Tây Ninh Province and three in Quảng Ninh Province. The provinces of Lạng Sơn, Đắk Nông, Lào Cai, Đồng Nai, Hà Tĩnh, Sơn La, Quảng Nam, Bắc Kạn and Ninh Bình each have one centre to be equitised.

In the future, a further eight centres will be private, including those in Hải Dương, Kon Tum, Tuyên Quang, Thanh Hóa, Hà Giang, Hà Nội, Hưng Yên and Thái Nguyên.

There were 156 registration centres across Việt Nam by the end of last year.

Under Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc’s Decision No 31/NQ-CP dated July, 2017 on the equitisation of State-owned administrative organisations, vehicle registration centres were to be equitised during 2017-20.

Public administrative services in the transport sector are now provided by State agencies which have the authority to grant licences, permits and certificates.

Currently, there are about 490 administrative procedures and about 250 types of licences in the transport sector. Agencies under the Transport Ministry are reviewing and selecting some administrative services to transfer to private certificators. 

Francophone students attend summer school in Vietnam

As many as 70 Francophone students from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, China, Thailand, and the Republic of Korea are joining a summer school programme held in Hanoi from July 30 to August 4.

The event is organised by the Hanoi University with the support of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie’s (Francophone University Association, AUF) Asia-Pacific branch.

It aims to help Francophone students in regional universities improve their language skills and explore the city’s culture. 

The students will participate in various cultural exchange programmes, discussing the social and cultural aspects of Hanoi. They will also visit traditional craft villages and learn how to make their products.

The week-long event also includes seminars on craft villages, sustainable development, and tourism, along with sightseeing trips to the city’s famous spots such as the Temple of Literature, the Hanoi Opera House, and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.

This year, the AUF Asia-Pacific will join hands with five universities in Vietnam, China, Cambodia, and Mongolia to organise the summer school event. 

Vietnamese, Lao free language classes open in Vientiane

Buddhist monks at the pagoda present gifts to poor students 

Classes providing free lessons of Vietnamese and Lao language were opened for Vietnamese people at Bang Long Pagoda in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on July 29.

This is the first language class for the Vietnamese community in Vientiane, with the curriculum designed by and being taught at the Nguyen Du Vietnamese-Lao Bilingual School.

It is hosted by Bang Long Pagoda in partnership with the Embassy of Vietnam, the Vietnamese community association in Vientiane, the Nguyen Du Vietnamese-Lao Bilingual School, and Vietnamese students in Laos.

The first group of 120 students includes those Vietnamese permanently residing in Laos and those temporarily working in the country’s capital, spanning a variety of ages. Most of them can speak Lao fluently but cannot read nor write in the language. This has caused them many difficulties in their daily life.

Some others are Laos-born Vietnamese that are interested in learning their mother tongue as they may be able to speak Vietnamese but are not able to read nor write the language.

Lao people wishing to study Vietnamese are also welcome to the course.

Each course is scheduled to have one Vietnamese and three Lao language classes, which will take place in the evenings for a period of three months. These classes will be taught by teachers from the Nguyen Du Vietnamese-Lao Bilingual School and Vietnamese students who have been studying at the National University of Laos. 

Rare python released back to the wild

A rare python which was kept by a family in the central province of Ha Tinh has been released back into the wild.

According to the provincial Department of Forest Protection, the reticulated python was found by Phan Thi Hanh’s family in Thai Yen Commune, Duc Tho District eight years ago when it weighed just less than a kilo. 

After efforts by the department to persuade the family, they agreed to hand over the animal to be released back to the wild.

This kind of python often lives near rivers and streams. They can swim very well and are mainly active at night.

A rare pheasant in Ha Tinh was also recently set free.

HCMC among world's 15 fastest-growing tourist cities

Ho Chi Minh City has been listed among the 15 fastest-growing tourist cities in the world.

Vietnam’s largest city was 13th on the list from the TravelSupermarket website, a market-leading price-comparison service in the UK for package holidays.

As flights between cities around the world become more frequent and more air routes are forged between countries, international tourism continues to rise. TravelSupermarket used data from British market research firm Euromonitor International to compile the list of the fastest-growing-tourist destinations in the world by projected visitors in 2025.

International travel is set to increase by 35 per cent in the next ten years alone. Asia will be the biggest winner, according to its research, as 24 of the 25 highest performers are found in the continent, while India had the highest number of destinations set to grow the fastest by 2025.

Ho Chi Minh City is forecast to welcome 10.2 million international visitors by 2025; double the figure of 5.5 million last year.

On average, foreign visitors to Ho Chi Minh City spent $145 a day and stayed for 5.21 days last year, according to a study by the city’s Department of Tourism and the General Statistics Office.

Hong Kong topped the TravelSupermarket list, with an estimated 40 million tourists expected by 2025, followed by Bangkok, Singapore and Macau.

Earlier this month, Ho Chi Minh City was also ranked third on a list of the best destinations in Asia this year from renowned travel guide site Lonely Planet. Last year it was also listed among the Top 50 most beautiful cities in the world by CnTraveler and featured in the ten most dynamic urban areas in the world in the City Momentum Index from real estate group Jones Lang LaSalle.

The city welcomed more than 3.83 million foreign tourists in the first half of this year, up 26.5 per cent year-on-year.

Agreement reached to improve capacity of Vietnamese customs officials

A new cooperation agreement was reached between the General Department of Vietnam Customs and the UK Border force on July 26, aiming to improve capacity of Vietnamese customs officers.   

The cooperation programme will be implemented within one year, offering training on capacity building for Vietnamese customs officers, especially the control staff, on risk assessment, risk records making and enforcement at seaports and airports, as well as at several departments of the General Department.

In the long term, the two sides will promote exchanges and request that the governments of both sides consider and approve a governmental agreement on cooperation and mutual administrative assistance in the customs between Vietnam and the UK.

The two sides have witnessed positive progress in their bilateral trade and economic cooperation, especially after the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2010.

In 2017, bilateral export turnover reached US$6.2 billion and has been increasing steadily over recent years. At present, the UK is Vietnam's third largest trading partner in Europe.

Vietnam Customs attaches great importance to its bilateral cooperation with UK partners. The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on anti-cross border smuggling and anti-cross border customs violations in 2007, as well as cooperating in capacity building in 2008. They have collaborated in the work of verification, anti-smuggling and trade fraud, and exchange delegations.

New urban development plan for Ha Long City

The authorities in Quang Ninh Province are working on a new urban development plan for Ha Long City.    

Ha Long City's general planning to 2030 with a view to 2050 was approved in 2013. After five years, it has seen significant socio-economic development, urbanisation and services.

The Hai Phong-Ha Long-Van Don-Mong Cai Highway project, Ha Long Ocean Park, provincial library and new stadium project have helped to realise the goal to make Ha Long a national tourism centre. At such a rapid rate, the old plan has proved no longer suitable with the new zoning or population. It also has many shortcomings which cannot maximise the advantages of Ha Long or ensure sustainable development.

According to the provincial authorities, strategic investors have proposed measures to ease congestion, develop infrastructure, control high-rise buildings and environmental pollution. 

Ha Long is divided into 20 wards on nearly 277km2. In 2017, Ha Long's population was 384,000. The provincial authorities aim to develop the city to meet the estimated population of 570,000 in 2030 and 720,000 in 2040. The demand for land is about 110-130m2 per person. The area of green space per capita is 10 to 15m2.

They are also considering proposals to build pedestrian tunnels under Cua Luc Bay, a coastal road from Ha Long to Cam Pha and the Hanoi-Haiphong-Ha Long-Mong Cai railway.

The Ministry of Construction has approved the proposal to adjust Ha Long's general planning. Quang Ninh Province People's Committee must report to the prime minister about any partial adjustments on the general.

Sanest Khánh Hòa beat Vietfootball in National Beach Football Champs 2018

Sanest Khánh Hòa becomes winner of the National Beach Football Championship 2018. — Photo vff.org.vn

Sanest Khánh Hòa beat Vietfootball in the final match of the National Beach Football Championship 2018, which concluded on Sunday at the beachfront at 62 Trần Phú Street, Nha Trang City.

After three halves, Sanest Khánh Hòa beat Vietfootball 5-1 and also became the winner of the tournament.

“We deserve this triumph after many years of making it to the final match and then missing the opportunity to win,” said a representative of Sanest Khánh Hòa.

In another match competing for second runner-up, the Đà Nẵng team defeated Gia Hồ Cam Lâm 7-4.

At the awards ceremony, the organising board gave a gold cup and medals to Sanest Khánh Hòa, silver to Vietfootball and bronze to the Đà Nẵng team, along with other awards.

HTV3 seeks young generation of ambassadors

HTV3 Dreams TV has unveiled a reality show that will search for talented and compassionate children to develop their talents, “nourish their souls” and instil a sense of community service.

“Dreams Generation”, announced on the occasion of the channel’s 10th anniversary, will invite people between the ages of four and 14, who love to be on TV and can sing, dance, act, or host to participate.

Participants will get a chance to become ambassadors of the channel.

HTV3 Dreams TV attracts the largest number of child viewers in HCM City and the Mekong Delta.

Last year HCM City Television tied up with Purpose Media Company to develop HTV3 into an edutainment channel targeted at children, youths and families.