Passengers get refunds for long flight delays

Airlines will have to refund fares and other charges to passengers of those flights at least five hours later than scheduled if requested, according to a new circular of the Ministry of Transport.

Circular 81/2014/TT-BGTVT with effect from on March 1 regulates that airlines are responsible for providing passengers with full and updated information about their long-delayed flights, along with food and accommodation for the affected passengers.

For flights postponed for two hours or longer, airlines must arrange appropriate flights for the affected passengers to travel to their destinations. In case of flights delayed for more than five hours, airlines shall refund fares and related fees to passengers.

The circular also specifies that if flights are canceled, operators must announce the reasons and provide the affected passengers with accommodation and food.

The number of delayed flights soared at this year’s Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday compared last Tet. From February 15 to 22 (the 27th of the twelfth lunar month to the 4th of the first lunar month), 928 flights departed later than scheduled, three times higher than the number at Tet last year, while 35 flights were canceled.

The flight delays and cancellations were attributable to overloads at airports during the biggest holiday in Vietnam and late arrivals of planes.

Hanoi solicits investment for 20 land-using projects

The Ha Noi People's Committee has approved a list of land-using projects for drawing investors in 2015. The projects are scheduled to use a non-municipal budget during the first phase.

Accordingly, the Hoan Kiem District will seek investors for the construction of a vocational training centre; the Hoang Mai District will invite investors to construct a public market in the Hoang Liet Ward, and complexes of supermarkets, housing, offices and parking lots for rent; while the Tay Ho District will ask investors to build conduits from the Ho Tay (West Lake) sluice gate to the Xuan La Road, and two parking lots.

The Dong Anh District is inviting investors for its parking lot construction, while the Gia Lam District will develop projects for housing and public works, such as a stadium, a swimming pool, a kindergarten, a primary school and a secondary school.

The Quoc Oai District plans to build a trade centre in Quoc Oai Town and a secondary school in the Thanh Oai District with the help of investors.

Investment is also being solicited for projects to build kindergartens, housing, offices, and trade centres, among others in the Thanh Tri District; and for the construction of an industrial complex in the outlying Thuong Tin District.

Also, the city has assigned the municipal Department of Planning and Investment to publish soon land-using projects to select investors; and to conduct the process of inviting contractors in line with the current regulations of the State and the city.

1 killed, 13 injured in Phu Yen accident

At least one person was killed and 13 others injured after two passenger buses collided yesterday night on National Highway 1, near Hoa Kien Commune in Tuy Hoa city.

According to the police, a passenger bus with the license plate 53S-4736 was transporting 48 persons from north to south. Driver Dinh Ngoc Dung, who resides in the Tan Binh District of HCM City, suddenly had to switch gears to avoid a person crossing the road and as a result crashed into another passenger bus coming from the opposite direction.

The person who had been trying to cross the road was killed on the spot and 13 others were injured.

The Deputy Director of Phu Yen Transport Department, Vo Ngoc Kha, said other passengers on the bus driven by Dung, had received assistance in boarding another vehicle to reach HCM City.

Phu Yen gets new seaport

The Tuy Hoa City People's Committee is expected to complete a new port today, about 80m from the present Da Dien Seaport.

The new port has been constructed to help local seamen prevent large ships from running aground.

Nearly 600 fishing ships enter and leave the Da Dien Seaport every day. The tuna-fishing ships are from Phu Dong Ward and Ward 6. However, there is a serious problem of the Da Dien Seaport being clogged with silt, which prevented nearly 350 ships from going out to sea during the past two weeks and caused huge losses to local seamen.

At the urging of the seamen, the local authorities decided to set up the new port, so that the fishing boats can go out to sea.

The new port is 40m long, 30m wide and 2m deep.

Animal health department destroys 8,000 eggs

The Lang Son Department of Animal Health yesterday destroyed more than 8,000 eggs that were of unclear origin and were not accompanied by any valid papers.

The eggs were handed over to the department by the Lang Son City Market Watch Team No 1.

The owner of the goods, 35 year-old Chu Van Truong who lives in the northern province of Bac Ninh, admitted that he had hired an automobile to transport the eggs from Bac Ninh Province to Lang Son Province for sale.

Vietnamese French nabbed for using fake credit cards

Police in the south central province of Ninh Thuan on March 1 caught red-handed a Vietnamese French man withdrawing money at ATM booths using fake credit cards.

Nicolas Nguyen, 31, is being detained while local police are working with the French consulate in Ho Chi Minh City on the case.

Police said Nguyen entered Vietnam on February 11 at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC and used fake credit cards to withdraw the money. They did not elaborate further.

Motorcycle escort dies while on duty in sport event in Vietnam

A member of Ho Chi Minh City’s motorcycle sport team died and another broke a leg in an accident on March 1 when the team members were escorting cyclists of a women’s bicycle race in the southern province of Dong Nai.

The dead victim was Lin Ma Sang, 53, and the escort who had a broken leg was Tran Ngoc Thach.

The accident occurred when Sang, Thach and other members of their team were escorting the racers of the Binh Duong International Women’s Bicycle Race Open Championship from the southern province of Binh Duong to Dong Nai's Dinh Quan District for the race’s second section, which stretches from the district to Bao Loc District in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, on March 1.

When the cyclists and their escorts were about one kilometer from the starting line in Dinh Quan, a group of tourists on about seven motorcycles tried to overtake the escorts at very high speed, causing collisions between the motorcycles of both sides, a Tuoi Tre (Youth) correspondent reported from the scene.

During the collision, Sang fell to the ground and was run over by one of the motorcycles, while Thach dropped to the ground and broke one of his legs.

Some other members of the escort team were slightly wounded.

The race’s health workers gave Sang first aid and took him to a hospital for emergency treatment but he died later.

When the accident occurred, the motorbike escorts were running at about 40 kph while members of the tourist group passed them at higher speeds and encroached on the wrong lane, new website VnExpress quoted deputy chairman of the Vietnam Motorcycle Federation Ngo Quang Vinh, who is a member of the race’s organizing board, as saying.

Members of the motorcycle tourist group were on their way from the Mekong Delta to the Central Highlands region, according toVnExpress.

Sang’s relatives took his body to Ho Chi Minh City and the race later finished safely in Bao Loc, the newswire said.

Police are probing the accident.

Bac Lieu seafood firms disobey law on workers

The seafood industry in the Mekong Delta's Bac Lieu Province commonly committed Labour Law violations such as hiring without signing contracts and not paying premiums for workers' insurance, local authorities found in an investigation.

More than ten thousand workers, two thirds of them women, at 35 seafood factories in the province were being victimised despite authorities' efforts to reinforce labour regulations.

Factories often avoided paying fees and other obligations by only giving workers short-term labour contracts – up to three months.

"The majority of them started working for those factories as seasonal workers without ever entering in a contract," said Vo Duy Khanh, secretary of Tan Phong Ward's Youth Organisation. "It made protecting their rights and benefits very difficult."

A dozen seafood factories operate in Tan Phong Ward, and employ a total of 6,000.

Local authorities' recent investigation revealed that most factories were found with Labour Law violations during the hiring process.

As more and more young workers leave their hometowns to seek jobs in cities, local businesses have had to come up with new ways to keep them around.

Youth associations often held job fairs in collaboration with local businesses, but equipping them with legal knowledge to help them protect themselves had never been a top priority.

Also, youth associations have not made efforts to follow through and ensure businesses fulfilled their contractual duties.

"Once local businesses and workers reached an agreement, many youth associations considered their responsibility over," said Truong Hong Trang, the provincial youth association's secretary. "Because of this way of thinking, they didn't try to see if agreed terms were fulfilled after."

The province and the local department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs were preparing to open information seminars on workers' rights, she said.

Youth associations will also be charged with the task of overseeing and reinforcing regulations set out in the country's Labour Law.

North to experience cold spells in March

The northern provinces will experience three to four cold spells in March, the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Weather Forecasting has predicted.

The cold spells will result in a cold weather conditions at night and during pre-dawn.

The average rainfall and temperature in the northern and central provinces will be similar to those seen in previous years.

Meanwhile, the Central Highlands and southern provinces will also experience a dry season this month. These areas will see little rain: under 15 millimetres. Water levels of the main rivers in these areas are forecast to be lower than previous years by 20 to 72 per cent.

HCM City safer for int’l tourists

The city has become safer for international tourists, with fewer robberies reported in the first month of the year than previously.

The HCMC Department of Tourism last month reported 12 robbery and theft cases in which foreign visitors were victims, down by five cases compared to the same period last year. The police have successfully handled half of these cases.

The city police have busted a ring that stole assets from foreign tourists in Pham Ngu Lao backpackers area.

The number of foreign tourists harassed by stubborn street vendors is down with 227 cases thwarted. The overcharging cases involving cheating taxi drivers were also down.

The city government has beefed up security in HCMC while the tourism department is looking into four locations for a tourist information center.

In January, more than 412,000 international tourists came to HCMC, up 8% year-on-year. The city expects to welcome some 4.7 million foreign visitors this year.

Vehicles may be banned on pedestrian street in certain hours

The HCMC Department of Transport has suggested vehicles be prohibited from the forthcoming pedestrian-only street of Nguyen Hue in the downtown area between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

To prepare for the opening of the revamped Nguyen Hue Boulevard, the department has asked its Urban Traffic Management Unit No. 1 to determine the hours for banning vehicles from the pedestrian street after it is re-opened in April this year.

The department also wants all trucks to be kept away from the street around the clock. For special cases, truck drivers should get permission from the transport department.

Urban Traffic Management Unit No. 1 has been urged to find suitable areas near the pedestrian street for cars to park. The agency has suggested using the streets with wide sidewalks for motorbike parking.

After the upgrade project is finished, the entire Nguyen Hue Boulevard will become a pedestrian street measuring 670 meters in length and 64 meters in width. The project also covers the upgrade of the boulevard’s pavements, construction and relocation of water supply and drainage, power supply and public lighting systems, trees, and public restrooms among others.

The project costs VND428 billion (over US$20 million).

Cross-border drug trafficking ring to Laos busted

Customs officers at Cha Lo international border gate in central Quang Binh province have detected a large drug trafficking ring from Laos to Vietnam.

The information was revealed by senior lieutenant colonel Ha Ngoc Viet, head of border guard station at Cha Lo international border gate.

Customs officers and local police arrested Dau Xuan Cuong, born in 1991 in central Nghe An province, and seized 495 pills of synthetic drug.

Cuong admitted that he packaged the pills of synthetic drug in his luggage and took a car from Laos to Nghe An via Cha Lo border gate.

Relevant agencies are broadening the scope of investigation into the case.

98 percent of Kien Giang households to access power

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang aims to raise the rate of households accessing the national electricity grid to over 98 percent this year, said Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Huynh Van Ganh.

To achieve the target, a project worth 90 billion VND (4.28 million USD) will be implemented to supply power to targeted households, including a substantial number of Khmer ethnic minority families. Kien Giang will install power facilities in nine communes expected to fulfil all 19 criteria in the Government’s new-style rural area building programme this year, he said.

It will also work with the Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) and its Southern Power Corporation to provide the Lai Son island commune in Kien Hai district with power from the mainland An Bien district. Once completed, this project will lay the foundations to link the An Son and Nam Du island communes with the grid.

The province will also survey other offshore communes this year to prepare for the connection of these islands with the national grid, Ganh added.

The official said tens of thousands of households in 13 communes of rural U Minh Thuong district, the border area of Giang Thanh, and Kien Hai’s Hon Tre Island gained access to electricity in mid-February.

All but one of 22 power facilities built in 2014 have become operational, he noted, adding that about 3.03 trillion VND (144.28 million USD) was spent on developing local power networks including 116 kilometres of 110 kV transmission lines, the 110 kV undersea power cable to Phu Quoc island, 115.9 kilometres of medium voltage lines, and 120 kilometres of low voltage lines.

The EVN targets access to electricity for nearly all rural households in Vietnam by 2020. Currently, all districts, over 99 percent of communes, and 98 percent of rural households nationwide have access to electricity.

Vietnam sees decrease in February exports

Exports in February saw a 28.4 percent drop from the previous month hitting 9.6 billion USD, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The domestic sector generated 3 billion USD and foreign-invested enterprises earned 6.6 billion USD, representing respective declines of 25.3 percent and 29.7 percent from January.

However, exports in the first two months of this year still saw a rise of 8.6 percent over the same period last year and reached 23 billion USD, reported the GSO.

Of the figure, domestic firms contributed 7 billion USD, up 0.7 percent, while FDI projects added 16 billion USD, an increase of 12.4 percent.

February imports were estimated at 9.3 billion USD, a 32.4 percent fall from January’s figure.

Notably, during the month, automobile imports surged by nearly 62 percent, with assembled car imports rising by 169.4 percent.

As a result, there was a 300 million USD trade surplus in February.

Primary hard currency earners in February were telephones & accessories, garments & textiles, computers, electronics & spare parts, and crude oil.

Lac Hong University wins first prize at Shell Eco Marathon 2015

Team LH – Gold Energy of Lac Hong University, Vietnam has became the winner of Shell Eco Marathon 2015 in Urban Concept Alternative Fuel category with 164 kilometer per liter on ethanol E 100.

Two Indonesian teams won the second prizes with achievements of 102, 6 and 85, 7 kilometer per liter on ethanol E100.

Team LH – Gold Energy of Lac Hong University named aslo the best video in the contest.

Shell Eco Marathon was established in France in 1985. In Asian region, Shell Eco Marathon was held in Malaysia in 2010 for the first time.

This year’s contest was organized in Philippines’s Manila city on March 1, with the participations of 127 student teams from 17 countries.

Three student teams from Lac Hong University, Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Pedagogical and Technological University took part in the contest.

HCMC builds more hospital in Binh Chanh District

Ho Chi Minh City authority March 1 began construction of a hospital in Tan Tuc Town of suburban district Binh Chanh in a bid to reduce pressure for big hospitals.

The hospital covers an area of 3 hectare with total investment capital of VND490 billion (US$22,983,071) for the first phase.

The main section of the hospital includes one basement, one ground floor, five upper storeys, a top floor, a special section for patients with infectious diseases, the morgue and the campus covering nearly 13,000 meter square.

It is expected to be built 300 beds and is scheduled to put into operation in December, 2016.

Stressing the ground-breaking ceremony, Deputy Chairman of People’s Committee Hua Ngoc Thuan said that though the city's budget has limited, the city always gives priority attention to the essential services.

Locating in the city gate, Binh Chanh Hospital will receive patients in the district and from the Mekong delta provinces. Therefore, the health sector must focus on training skilled medical workers for the hospital.

Exchange honoring Cu Chi female guerrilla fighters to be held

An exchange with Cu Chi female guerrilla fighters celebrating International Women’s Day (March 8) and the 40th anniversary of the South's Liberation Day (April 30th) will be held on March 1.

Heroines Vo Thi Mo, Tran Thi Gung, Nguyen Thi Thuoc and Cao Thi Huong who were guerrilla fighters will join the event and  review the glorious victories during the country's struggle for national liberation and sovereignty.

Writer Ma Thien Dong, author of the book titled “Cu Chi female guerrilla fighters- underground legend” will also meet readers.

The event called “Cu Chi female guerrilla fighters- underground legend” is organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Culture Palace.

Sea gives up bumper Tet harvest for happy fishermen

Fishermen in the central provinces of Quang Ngai and Quang Nam are happy, bringing in their best catches in years and getting high prices, raising hopes of a bumper Year of the Goat ahead as profit grows.

Dozens of fishing boats riding low in the water from their overnight trips jostle for space at Ly Son Wharf in Ly Son District, Quang Ngai Province, to unload their catch.

One fishing boat owner, Nguyen Van Tri, said he was delighted to have had a big catch on his first trip on the Lunar New Year, netting five tonnes of scad, and at a price of VND25,000/kg, he could be looking at a profit of VND80m (USD3,800).

“This is the first time in 20years I have had such a big catch after Tet," Tri said. "I hope it will be a good year for us."

Another fisherman Pham Tien Thanh, said his boat caught three tonnes of a variety of fish on his first trip out on Wednesday (February 25), earning a profit of VND80m. He said he had sold most of his catch before even returning to the wharf, with traders calling him at sea offering high prices.

Many other boats in Ly Son Island District reported large catches on their first voyage of the year.

Even small-scale fishermen are doing well, with Thanh Nien Road lined with fences and poles heavy with drying ribbonfish.

Pham Minh Duc, of Tinh Thuy Village in Tam Ky City, said dried ribbon fish was attracting good prices, far higher than the VND50,000/kg being paid for the fresh fish. Many villagers can been seen carting first back to the village early in the morning to be cleaned and dried.

Quang Binh cuts poverty rate

Poverty alleviation efforts by the central province of Quang Binh have lifted approximately 10,000 households (3.5-4 percent) out of poverty annually.

The achievement can be attributed to the development of specific programmes for provincial departments and grassroots agencies to jointly implement based on surveys of poor households and their resulting effective solution recommendations.

The province has also provided land, agriculture development, and production stimulation assistance to poor households.

Rural infrastructure for remote mountainous or disadvantaged areas has been improved.

Quang Binh currently has around 18,000 poor households, 7.93 percent of the province’s entire population, and 41,500 nearly-poor households, accounting for 18.24 percent.

HCM City: Additional 27 communes recognised as new-style rural area

An additional 27 communes in five districts in Ho Chi Minh City have been recognised as new rural development communes.

The declaration was made at a conference reviewing the implementation of the National Target Programme on New Rural Development in 2014 by the city’s Steering Committee on March 2.

At the event, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Le Thanh Hai requested authorised bodies to focus on and prioritise manufacturing development and socio-technological infrastructural projects.

The city targets to have all 56 communes meeting all 19 criteria for new-style rural development by May 2015.

According to Director of the city’s Department of Agricultural and Rural Development Nguyen Phuoc Trung, all 56 communes are very near accomplishing the criteria set forth in the New Rural Development Plan.

After six years of programme implementation, the city has seen significant achievements in over 1,100 transportation projects and 321 constructed or upgraded irrigation works.

The city improved and repaired 133 schools and 445 cultural material facility units, Trung added.

The living standard of farmers has improved considerably, with household incomes rivalling those of urban areas.

Income per capita of individuals in rural areas was only 1.3 million VND (62 USD) a month in 2008, and nearly tripled to 3.3 million VND (157 USD) a month in 2014.

The National Target Programme on New Rural Development, launched in 2010, sets 19 criteria for new-style rural areas, covering infrastructure, production, living standards, income and culture, among others.

60 years of Air Forces founding marked

The Air Defence – Air Force Service held a ceremony in Hanoi on March 2 to mark the force’s 60 th founding anniversary (March 3, 1955).

Vietnam ’s Air Forces have rapidly expanded and contributed to a number of glorious victories during its 60-year history.

Highlights are the “Hanoi – Dien Bien Phu in the air” victory, the historic battle against US B-52 bomber-led air strikes in December 1972 which forced the US to sign the Paris Peace Accord ending the war.

During the US war, the air force shot down 320 US jet fighters.

The force has been bestowed the medal of Gold Star Order and the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” by the Party, State and Army.

Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Defence Minister, stressed the need for the Air Defence – Air Force Service to increase its vigilance and military readiness in the context of complicated and unpredictable situations in the region and the world.

The ceremony was to honour three soldiers who was posthumously conferred with the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” for their dedication to the US war.-

30-ton precious rock 'detained' in central Vietnam

Police in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong are holding a huge precious piece of rock weighing up to 30 tons recently excavated by a farmer in Dak Mil District while gardening, local authorities reported.

The value of the piece of rock is estimated at dozens of billions of dong (VND1 billion is equivalent to roughly US$47,000), Hoang Xuan Vinh, a senior official at the district People’s Committee, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday.

“The committee has yet to receive a specific report on the finding, so we do not know details about it. Locals accidentally found the piece of rock. Competent agencies have made a document to temporarily retain it,” Vinh said.  

Truong Xuan Anh, deputy head of the district Natural Resources and Environment Office, said the huge piece of rock was discovered inside a mountain field owned by Nguyen Chi Thanh, a resident of Dak Gan commune.

The volume of the piece of rock is about 18 cubic meters and its weight is between 27 and 30 tons, Anh said.

Regarding the value of the rock, Nguyen Huu Trung, head of the Mineral Office under the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said it belongs to the Canxedon species, which has been formed in the process of geological weathering.

“Naturally, a piece of rock of this kind is as small as a fist. People often exploit it and sell it for VND20,000-50,000 ($0.93-2.34) per kilogram. It is used to make art stones or feng shui stones,” Trung said.

Canxedon rock varies in color, including pink and slight yellow, and the bigger the piece of such rock is, the higher value it has, Trung added.

A senior official from the Dak Nong Province Police Department said on Friday afternoon that a unit of the department has issued a decision to hold the rock pending resolution.

Further details related to the piece of rock and how it will be handled will be announced next Monday, the official said.

Northern province suggests building $122mn road linking expressway to Sa Pa

Over $120 million may be earmarked for the construction of a road which would link the longest expressway in Vietnam to Sa Pa, a famous resort town in the northern region.

According to a proposal put forward by the People’s Committee of Lao Cai Province, Provincial Highway 155 will be built under a project which costs a total of 2.6 trillion (US$122.1 million), the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism cited Dau Tu (Investment), a local newswire, as saying.   

The proposed new road will link Sa Pa with the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway, which is the country’s longest of its kind, and the neighboring province of Lai Chau and run along with the existing National Highway 4D.

Most of the road will have two traffic lanes, while the sections shared by National Highway 4D and Provincial Highway 155 will have four lanes.

The construction of the road is expected to ease traffic in the area as the section of National Highway 4D spanning Lao Cai and Lai Chau Provinces and Sa Pa will be overloaded by 2016.

The provincial People’s Committee proposed the project adopt the BOT (build-operate-transfer) model with state assistance.

Under this plan the government will spend VND1.2 trillion ($56.86 million) on building Provincial Highway 155, while the investor will put aside a BOT investment sum of VND1.4 trillion ($65.24 million) for renovating the existing National Highway 4D.

Sa Pa is expected to receive around five million tourist visits each year by 2020, with the traffic volume estimated to reach roughly 5,000 vehicles each day by 2016, which is beyond the existing National Highway 4D’s capacity.   

The 245-km Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway was opened to traffic in September 2014, halving the travel time between Hanoi and Lao Cai.

The expressway runs from Hanoi’s Noi Bai through the provinces of Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, and Yen Bai before reaching Lao Cai, the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC), the road’s investor, said in September last year.

The expressway features 120 bridges, including two large ones that span the Hong (Red) and Lo Rivers. It also has a 530-meter long tunnel, 13 toll collection stations, and five rest stops.

The expressway helps shorten the travel time from Hanoi to Lao Cai from the current seven hours to 3.5 hours, the VEC said.

In addition, vehicles using the expressway can now use less fuel, as they will not have to stop so frequently.

The road also helps relieve traffic density, as well as traffic accidents, on National Highways 2, 2B, 32C, and 70.

The expressway is part of the Kunming-Hai Phong Transport Corridor and belongs to the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperative program linking Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and China.

New Zealand supports Vietnamese students

The New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam recently announced 30 New Zealand-ASEAN scholarships for full-time postgraduate-level study available for Vietnamese students.

The scholarships will cover all expenses for studying in New Zealand, including flight tickets, tuition fees and living expenses.

The academic award responds to Vietnam’s priority needs in agricultural development, renewable energy, disaster risk management, public sector management, private sector development and education.

Ambassador Haike Manning said his country has welcomed a number of Vietnamese students over the last 50 years, gradually becoming a popular academic destination for the Southeast Asian nation.

The scholarships are part of New Zealand’s efforts to facilitate the Vietnamese Government to enhance domestic human resources, he added.

The New Zealand-ASEAN Scholar Programme has offered up to 180 scholarships to ten ASEAN member states each year in a bid to empower individuals with knowledge, skills and qualifications to contribute to the socio-economic and political development across the region.

Vietnam and New Zealand established bilateral diplomatic relations in June 1975 and will celebrate the 40 th anniversary of their ties this year.

Bac Lieu focuses on traffic infrastructure

The Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu aims to complete more than 200 rural traffic construction initiatives across the locality in 2015 in an attempt to fulfil the modern rural area building programme criteria.

The works include the construction of inter-commune and inter-ward roads, bridges and upgrades valued at over 134 billion VND (6.2 million USD).

The construction of other large-scale projects will also be boosted to serve the local transportation system.

In 2014, Bac Lieu made as economic growth of 12 percent and its economic structure has been transformed with higher proportions of industry and service sector.

Currently, industry-construction contributes 24.71 percent to the province’s total GDP, while services make up 25.59 percent and agriculture, 49.70 percent.

Per capita GDP was raised to 39.33 million VND per year, while 97 percent of local households have access to the electricity grid.

Four communes in Bac Lieu completed all 19 criteria of the new-style rural area building programme, while six others fulfilled 15-18 criteria.

Tourism has been set a key economic sector of the locality in the time to come.

VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR