Japan to help Hanoi improve underground water quality

Tap-water ​treatment at the Hanoi Water Limited Company.

Japan will help Hanoi to improve its water quality through a project on non-chemical treatment for underground water.

The project signing ceremony was held in the capital city on February 4 with the participation of representatives from the Hanoi Water Limited Company (Hawaco), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and relevant authorities.

The project is an initial effort in improving water quality by using Kemiresu, a fast processing, low cost, and environmentally friendly system to treat impurities in underground water which does not require the presence of chemical substances.

The Japanese-funded project has a total investment of 100 million Yen (851,000 USD) with an implementation duration of one and a half year starting in 2016.

Hawaco supplies 80 percent of tap-water for the city with 12 water filtration plants. However, water filter system degredation at all 12 units has hindered eliminating impurities in underground water such as iron, manganese and ammonia.

According to the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association (VWSA), a small-sized Kemiresu system will be initially applied at water-filter plants in Hanoi and southern Ho Chi Minh city.

The project will be trialed at the Hawaco’s Tuong Mai plant and is expected to provide locals with safe drinkable tap-water.

Lang Son province strives to prevent cross-border disease transmission

The northern province of Lang Son is taking various measures to prevent the cross-border transmission of diseases amidst different epidemics being reported around the world.

Sharing a 253km land border with China, Lang Son has two international border gates (Huu Nghi and Dong Dang), two national border gates (Chi Ma and Binh Nghi), and several auxiliary ports of entry, through which thousands of people enter Vietnam every day, posing a high risk of disease transmission.

Dang Viet Truong, Deputy Director of the province’s Centre for International Health Quarantine, said his centre has ordered relevant agencies to increase personnel and body temperature monitoring equipment at all border gates.

Medicine and isolation wards have also been prepared in case there are persons detected with symptoms of dangerous diseases such as Zika virus, Mers-CoV virus, and influenza strains A/H7N9 and A/H5N1.

People who enter or exit Vietnam through the gates will also receive advice on disease prevention measures, Truong added.

Particularly, more efforts are being made to prevent disease transmission through the Huu Nghi International Border Gate, which receives a large number of people, a majority of whom are tourists from other countries who have visited China before entering Vietnam.

In January, the Ministry of Health requested all provinces and centrally-run cities to intensify prevention and quarantine preparation for Zika virus during the approaching Lunar New Year festival.

Measures put forward to improve rural water supply, sanitation

As water shortages have left critical impacts on the socio-economic development of rural areas, the Vietnam Institute of Fisheries Economics and Planning (VIFEP) has come up with a number of solutions to improving water supply and sanitation in underprivileged areas.

The VIFEP gave top priority to raising public awareness on the issues through enhancing dissemination, which covers information on health and environmental sanitation, water supply systems, financial support systems as well as efforts that can be made by society.

Local residents should be encouraged to use clean water and keep latrines hygienic while applying suitable measures to treat solid waste.

The VIFEP said that the Government should pay attention to developing human resources with a focus on the training of management capacity, consulting and communication skills, and water supply evaluating skills, among others.

In addition to recommending financial institutes and banks to provide rural residents with preferential loans to build water supply facilities, the VIFEP also suggested that local authorities need to mobilise capital to develop clean water supplies and sanitation systems. The institute considered these as basic measures to deal with water scarcity in rural areas across the country, as it encouraged the involvement of society.

According to statistics from the Labour Medicine and Environmental Sanitation Institute, about 17.2 million Vietnamese residents, accounting for 21.5 percent of the total population, are using untreated water, causing about 9,000 deaths every year. And nearly 200,000 others were diagnosed with cancers because of using polluted water.

Moreover, the average surface water per capita in Vietnam is estimated at 3,840 cubic metres per annum, which falls behind the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) standard of 4,000 cubic metres per year.

The Vietnam Environment Administration said that 30 percent of the population has not been aware of the importance of fresh water. Every day, over 300 water treatment plants are providing water for residential areas through treating millions of cubic metres of ground water, which is facing severe pollution due to large-scaled salt intrusion, heavy metal pollution and a lack of planning to protect the water supply.

According to reports from ministries, branches and provinces involved in the National Target Programme for Rural Water and Sanitation, by the end of 2011, 78 percent of the rural population had access to fresh water, but only 37 percent of them had water that passed national technical regulation on domestic water quality. About 52 percent of rural households had hygienic latrines and 39 percent of rural families had sanitary breeding facilities.

Binh Duong: Migrant workers begin journeys home

Coaches carrying thousands of migrant workers home for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday departed from the southern province of Binh Duong on early morning of February 4.

Provincial Party Committee Secretary Tran Van Nam arrived to bid farewell to the workers, wishing them a holiday of enjoyable family gatherings.

Nguyen Van Viet, an employee of the foreign-invested Wonderful Saigon Electrics company, said he is moved by the support he and his co-workers have received from local trade unions of different levels.

“This assistance has enabled us to access social housing, health services and training courses”, he added.

In recent years, workers have been assisted with free coach tickets to go back home for Tet, and everyone seems so pleased, shared Viet.

This year, the local labour confederation has sponsored 2,000 bus tickets for migrant labourers, while almost 100 businesses operating in the province have thus far organised vehicles to provide free rides to over 12,000 employees.

Binh Duong is now home to 26 industrial parks, covering a total area of 8,800 hectares. The average occupancy rate is 65 percent. A large number of workers in these industrial parks come from other provinces and cities, with some as far as the northern region.

The locality plans to lure 1.4 billion USD in FDI in 2016. It vowed to continue to improve the local business climate and its provincial Competitiveness Index by giving support to investors, stepping up administrative reforms and ensuring social welfare.

Hanoi leader makes pre-Tet visit to top Buddhist monk

Standing Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Hong Khanh paid a pre-Tet visit to Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue, Supreme Patriarch of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS), at Vien Minh Pagoda, Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi on February 2.

At the meeting, Vice Chairman Khanh extended wishes for health and a happy Lunar New Year to Supreme Patriarch Thich Pho Tue.

The VBS, under the leadership of the Most Venerable, has been spiritually looking after the community of its followers and greatly contributing to the development of Hanoi and the country, the city official said.

Khanh expressed his hope that Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue, who will turn 100 years old this year, will continue leading the VBS and fostering the new-style rural area process in Phu Duyen district.

The Supreme Patriarch thanked the Vice Chairman and the municipal authority for the city’s preferential policies for Buddhist practices, and wished them a peaceful and prosperous holiday.

Hanoi’s Quang An flower market busier ahead of Tet

Quang An flower market on Au Co street in Tay Ho, Hanoi, has offered transactions round-the-clock these days as Tet or Lunar New Year festival will come shortly.

As a big and well-known market in the capital city, the market place is getting busier and busier prior to Tet, the most important holiday and the occasion when every Vietnamese family decorates their homes with flowers to welcome a new year.

Flowers sold in the market are transported from different areas, with peach blossoms and chrysanthemum from Nhat Tan, Tu Lien kumquat, apricot blossoms from Ho Chi Minh City, roses from Soc Son, and cymbidium orchid and lys flowers from Da Lat.

Quang An market took shape from a temporary market in Nhat Tan district established to sell flowers grown at some well-known flower villages by West Lake such as Nhat Tan, Quang Ba.

When Tay Ho district was set up in 1996, the market was moved to its present location in Quang An district.

From Quang An market, which is open at night to early morning, except for Tet holidays, flowers are distributed to elsewhere in the city with most of the buyers being wholesale dealers.

Visiting the flower market has become a hobby for many Hanoians as colorful and fragrant flowers displayed there are a special treat.

Son La: nearly 98 percent of households to access power

The northern mountainous province of Son La aims to raise the rate of households accessing the national electricity grid to 97.5 percent this year.

Thanks to efforts made by local authorities and the power sector, all the communes in the province have gained access to the national grid, and the rate of rural families, especially those in remote and border areas and ethnic minority communities accessing electricity, is on the rise.

Power facilities have been improved, significantly contributing to the locality’s socio-economic development and poverty reduction.

An additional 26 power plants with a total capacity of 3,150 MW were put into operation over the last five years, generating an increase of 1,000 kwh of electricity a year, reported the provincial People’s Committee.

The increased development of power plants is helping bring electricity to remote and disadvantaged areas of the locality.

As of the end of 2015, about 232,200 households or 86.7 percent of the total in Son La were being supplied power, including 190,000 of those in rural areas. “We have reached breakthroughs in bringing power to rural areas”, said Le Quang Thai, director of the Son La electricity company.

Son La has set a target of bringing power to an additional 28,600 local households by 2020.

Supports continue for students of very small ethnic minority groups

The Prime Minister has recently agreed to prolong the implementation of policy on education supports for students of very small ethnic minority groups regulated in the Decision No 2123/QD-TTg from January 1 until it is replaced by other regulations.

The funds for the policy will be sourced from the localities’ annual budget estimates on education and training.

The Ministry of Education and Training was asked to preside over and collaborate with the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and relevant ministries to build schemes on education supports for students of ethnic minority groups with a population of less than 10,000 in accordance with Decree No 05/2011/ND-CP issued on January 14, 2011.

The scheme should be submitted to the Prime Minister before October 1.

Hanoi’s Tay Tuu flower village on days before Tet

Farmers of the Tay Tuu flower village, about 15 km from downtown Hanoi are working hard in the flower fields to timely meet the capital city’s needs as Tet, the traditional Lunar New Year, is very near.

The Tay Tuu flower village in Bac Tu Liem district is now considered the biggest flower granary in Hanoi, providing a variety of flowers such as daisies, roses, purple heart-bells, and colorful carnations.

Chu Huu Hien, a Thuong villager, told the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) his family has invested in more than 2,500 square metres to grow daisies. To date, they have to take turns to prune and water the flower beds to ensure they will bloom beautifully.

Hien shared his experience of flower cultivation for Tet: “it often takes three months for daisies to be harvested but if it’s too cold it can take up to three and a half months. Generally, floriculture depends on natural conditions and it’s necessary to carefully calculate the time to grow flowers to avoid them from blossoming too far ahead of or after Tet, which will devalue the products. But my wide experience will help my daisies blossom exactly on Tet. It’s not sunny like in the summer so the flowers are very beautiful.”

In recent years, in addition to common varieties of flowers like daisies, gerbera, and roses, Tay Tuu villagers have planted more expensive flowers like lilies.

Nguyen Phan Lam, a Ha villager, said though lilies bring in high profits, they require a huge amount of initial investment and offer many risks during the cultivation process.

He noted that the recent cold spell has worried lily growers in Tay Tuu, who all hope that the weather will be better soon to have a bumper crop.

“Lily plantation depends very much on the weather. If the weather is good, lilies will bloom beautifully. Due to much investment, it’s necessary to determine the right time to grow lilies to be able to get the highest possible profits,” Lam said.

Covering an area of about 500 hectares, Tay Tuu is a big specialised flower plantation area of Hanoi. The career has helped the locals remarkably improve their living conditions.

Bui Trung Hoa, deputy chairman of the Tay Tuu People’s Committee, said the areas for flower growing have continuously expanded in recent years while the local cooperative is trying to support farmers by supplying enough water for flower fields.

Hoa said: “to prepare for Tet, in addition to the local cultivation of land, Tay Tuu villagers have hired more land in neighboring villages to grow flowers. Flowers are diverse. The local plant protection station has organised training courses for its members to become familiar with high-tech in flower farming, especially how to use pesticides and care for flowers.”

 Expatriate Vietnamese contribute to home development

Da Nang received US$120 million in remittance in 2015, as heard during a meeting between the local Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and 150 overseas Vietnamese coming home for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Huynh Tan Binh, an expatriate in the Czech Republic and head of the expat businesses club in Da Nang, thanked the city for the warm welcome, pledging that his club will continue to contribute to the city’s prosperity.

He introduced the club’s photo exhibitions on “urban culture and civilisation 2015” and “Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago”.

In Binh Duong province, authorities also met with overseas Vietnamese, who have invested in more than 200 local projects worth over VND4 trillion (US$180 million).

Binh Duong is the birthplace of 10,000 people currently living abroad.

Similar meetings took place in the central provinces of Binh Dinh and Phu Yen.

DNA testing helps identify martyrs

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs on Wednesday gave the test results to families of 94 martyrs who were buried in the Viet Nam – Laos Friendship Cemetery in Nghe An Province.

The remains of another 49 unknown martyrs were also tested, helping to identify them and find their families.

They are among remains of 1,179 Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts who died in Laos' Xieng Khouang Province.

Since 2011, the ministry has used gene testing to identify martyrs via their remains, helping families to find their relatives who died during the wartime.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on January 14, 2013 approved a project to identify the remains of more than 800,000 martyrs by 2020.

According to the ministry, nearly 1.2 million people died in the resistance war against the French colonialists and the Americans. More than 900,000 sets of remains were found and buried at 3,077 cemeteries nationwide, but more than 300,000 were not identified. Nearly 200,000 bodies need to be traced, but there is a lack of information regarding their whereabouts.

Deputy minister Huynh Van Ty said that gene testing had proven effective and brought positive results, gaining trust from martyrs' families, he said. —

Fears of Tet water shortage alleviated

Companies that supply clean water to the capital will ensure a stable supply to Hanoians during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, representatives of these companies said.

Dinh Hoang Linh, deputy director of the Viet Nam Clean Water Investment and Construction Corporation (Viwaco), said his firm had organised two teams to receive public information about fresh water supplies and to repair water pipes where necessary.

These groups would work round the clock to ensure people do not face any problems, the official said yesterday.

Demand for fresh water has dramatically increased ahead of the Lunar New Year, especially from December 23 to 29 of the lunar year (from February 1 to 7), a representative of the Ha Noi Water Ltd Co, said.

The official said the company had prepared a plan to operate its 12 water factories to provide enough water to people in the city before, during and after the Tet holiday.

The company had also assigned officials to work during the holiday, he said.

A shortage of clean water affected residents, restaurants, offices and businesses in many parts of Ha Noi due to a broken pipeline from the Da River Water Supply Plant last October.

The situation would not be completely rectified until a second pipeline was built from the Da River.

The existing pipeline, which normally delivers up to over 500,000 cubic metres of water a day to the city, has ruptured 13 times since 2012.

The People's Supreme Procuracy on Wednesday began legal proceedings against nine people for violating construction regulations that caused breaks in water supplies at the Vietnam Construction, Import - Export Corporation (Vinaconex).

The nine people are Hoang The Trung, former director of the Da river pipeline project, Nguyen Van Khai, former deputy director of the project, Truong Tran Hien, former head of the project's materials and equipment division, Tran Cao Bang, former director of the Viwase Company that supplied the pipes, Vu Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Viwase Company, Do Dinh Tri, head of the Viwase Company's consultancy and supervision group and Nguyen Bien Hung, Hoang Quoc Thong and Bui Minh Quan, who were former employees at the Viwase Company.

The indictment detailed how the Da River clean water project, whose investor was the Vinaconex Corporation, was set up in 2004 and began operating in 2009.

The pipeline system repeatedly needed repair from February 2012 to September 2015.

Officials report that more than VND13.4 billion ($595,500) was spent on repairing the system during this period.

Boat rides re-open for Ly Son visitors

Over 400 residents and tourists were able to travel via boat from Ly Son Island to the mainland of Quang Ngai Province after being stranded for several days due to rough seas.

Vice Chairwoman of the district's People's Committee Pham Thi Huong said yesterday that passenger boats re-started their trips from the island to the mainland as of Wednesday evening.

"Rough seas that occurred early this week created many troubles for islanders and travellers, as boats could not travel in bad weather with 3m- to 4m-high waves in the sea," Huong said.

"However, boat trips restarted operations when the wind and waves eased on Wednesday. We contacted the Navy and Border Guard Forces to provide emergency ships to carry local residents from the island to the mainland as well as cargo in preparation for lunar New Year celebrations this weekend," she said.

She said only Navy and Border Guard ships could travel safely on rough seas.

Last year, the island district added more high-speed boat trips between the island and Quang Ngai Province's Sa Ky Port.

As usual, two boats travelled from the island to Quang Ngai every day, transporting about 1,500 passengers.

The district committee also opened a new sea route connecting Ly Son Island to An Binh Islet, about three miles away.

Ly Son Island, a tranquil destination 30km off the province's coast, is home to about 2,100 residents. Most make their living by fishing and farming garlic and spring onions.

Last week, 124 tourists were stranded on the island, 30km off the central province, as passenger boat services were suspended due to rough seas.

Strong winds and heavy seas often occur in the area when northeast winds blow strongly during winter and cut off fresh food supplies from the mainland as well as daily passenger boats.

Bien Hoa named first-grade urban area

The Prime Minister yesterday approved a decision recognising Bien Hoa City in the southern Dong Nai Province as a first-grade urban area under the province's management.

Le Van Danh, secretary of the municipal party, said with a population of more than one million, the city was a major political, economic, cultural and social centre in the province.

It was one of the country's largest industrial centres and an important transport link in the southern key economic region, he said.

Pham Anh Dung, acting chairman of the municipal People's Committee, said the city was striving to become a sustainable first-tier urban area, and that it would progress to become a centrally governed city.

In order to reach that goal, the city will develop modern metropolitan infrastructure and public facilities as well as improve people's standard of living.

Hundreds of units found violating land, environment laws

More than 570 out of 1,403 units searched by authorities were found to have violated laws on land, environment and minerals in 2015.

This news was released in a report by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Of the illegal units, 520 were fined nearly VND61 billion (almost US$2.7 million).

With regard to land law violations, most of the units were slow in implementing projects compared with their approved plans and in registering land-use certificates. Inspectors proposed collecting arrears amounting to nearly VND109 billion (some $4.9 million).

Environmental officers discovered 38 per cent of 1,076 units had violated regulations against harmful waste management and were discharging untreated wastewater into the environment. The authorities collected fines of more than VND50 billion (some $2.3 million).

In the mineral sector, 32 per cent of 139 units had to pay a fine of VND5.6 billion ($250,000) for their violations.

Traffic accidents on the decline in January

The number of traffic accidents, fatalities and injuries in January this year dropped significantly compared to the same period last year, the National Traffic Safety Committee reported.

Some 1,716 accidents occurred nationwide last month, killing 735 people and injuring 1,550 others. In comparison with January last year, the number of accidents, deaths and injuries went down by 20.96 per cent, 5.89 per cent and 24.28 per cent respectively.

Road traffic witnessed most of the accidents, with 1,694 cases, leaving 722 people dead and 512 injured.

There were 12 railway accidents, killing ten and injuring six.

Last month, two people died and two others were injured in eight waterway accidents. Meanwhile, seaway transport saw the fewest accidents (only two) with one fatality.

During the first month of the year, police checked and handled nearly 372,000 traffic safety and order violations nationwide. The total fines collected reached VND267.6billion (US$11.89million).

More than 1,900 cars, 47,500 motorbikes and 1,100 other vehicles were held temporarily for violations and more than 29,000 driving licenses were revoked.

Efforts made to reduce traffic jams at airport

A number of organisations have joined together to reduce traffic jams at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City during days approaching Tet holidays.

To meet the increased demands during the lunar New Year holidays, Vietnam Airlines alone added some 800 one-way domestic and international flights, an 18 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

Recently, the airport youth union, the Sai Gon Ground Services Corporation, the Tan Son Nhat Airport Services Corporation and the Airport Corporation of Viet Nam set up youth volunteer groups at various locations throughout the airport.

Observations by a Vietnam News Agency correspondent detailed how youth volunteers, most of whom were students from the Viet Nam Aviation Academy, helped passengers, especially older people and pregnant women, in completing procedures, carrying luggage and traveling on elevators.

The airport is also using more Ipads to assist with check-in procedures.

Also, one more waiting room was opened for passengers seeking taxis, in a bid to reduce traffic during peak hours.

The airport's Customs Department also opened all six monitoring sites, to allow more passengers to be quickly processed.

Contact 112 for emergency help

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved an emergency rescue communication project, adding 112 as a nationwide crisis helpline number.

The project aims to build a communication model for emergency assistance during search and rescue missions that follow general international rules and Vietnamese laws as well.

It is expected to strengthen the effectiveness of rescue work, reduce the loss of human lives and damage to private and public property.

The project will also build emergency information and communication systems that are based on telecommunication networks available in 63 provinces.

A national centre for controlling all rescue work in the country will be set up.

The new number will be connected to available numbers so that the authorities can quickly receive and access information.

Deputy PM meets religious delegations ahead of Lunar New Year

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with visiting delegations of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) and the Episcopal Council of the Catholic Church of Vietnam in Hanoi on February 4 on the occasion of the Lunar New Year festival.

Wishing Buddhist dignitaries, monks and followers a happy new year, the Deputy PM recognised the VBS’s social and secular achievements last year which, he said, contributed to the national development.

He noted that Buddhism has been present in Vietnam for over two millennia and accompanied the country throughout its history. He added that he hopes the VBS’s chapters will encourage followers to carry out citizens’ responsibilities and comply with the Party and State policies and laws, especially those relating to belief and religions.

Buddhist followers should also consolidate their solidarity with non-religious people and followers of other religions, respond to patriotic movements, and foster economic, cultural and social development.

Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon, President of the VBS Executive Council, offered congratulations on the success of the recent 12 th National Party Congress and wished the Government officials health and strong will to fulfill their role.

He added that the Sangha had accomplished important religious works last year, noting that all 63 provinces and centrally-run cities now have VBS executive boards with the last one appointed in Lai Chau province. The VBS also successfully organised many big festivals in 2015.

Welcoming Archbishop Bui Van Doc – Chairman of the Episcopal Council of the Catholic Church of Vietnam, Deputy PM Phuc sent best wishes to archbishops, bishops, priests and followers nationwide.

He stressed the achievements made in socio-economic matters, along with the solidarity and social consensus among people of different ethnic groups and religions last year. Those were thanks to the contributions of the Episcopal Council, bishops and followers.

The official reiterated the State of Vietnam’s consistent policy of respecting and guaranteeing the right to freedom of belief and religion.

Appreciating the Episcopal Council’s activities, Phuc asked the Council to continue fostering the connections between the State and the Catholic community, and support its followers to abide by the law, actively engage in socio-economic development and in defence and security activities.

Archbishop Bui Van Doc said he expected the Government will keep on driving the country’s vigorous growth.

According to the 2009 general census, Vietnam had more than 6.8 million Buddhist followers and 5.6 million Catholic followers.

Ha Nam province ensures warm Tet for people

Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan asked authorities of the northern province of Ha Nam to ensure a warm and happy Lunar New Year (Tet) for people while visiting the locality on February 4.

The Vice President recognised the achievements that the province has gained over the past year and suggested the provincial Party Organisation and locals together should further promote solidarity to fulfill the socio-economic targets for 2016.

Authorities should organise more cultural activities for people during Tet holiday, she suggested.

On the occasion, the Vice President presented 100 gift packages to poor people and Agent Orange/ Dioxin victims in Binh Luc district.

The same day, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan visited the Vietnam National Cancer (K) Hospital in Hanoi and asked health workers to take good care of their patients during the nine-day long holiday.

She presented President Truong Tan Sang’s gifts to the medical staff and visited child patients who are receiving treatment at the hospital.

On the occasion, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan extended his greetings to former Presidents Le Duc Anh and Tran Duc Luong, and ex-President of the VFF Central Committee Pham The Duyet.

Nhan expressed his gratitude to the former Party, State and VFF front leaders for their significant contributions to the cause of nation building and defence.

The ex-leaders expressed their hope that the VFF will continue to promote its role in developing solidarity with people from all walks of life to maintain national peace, stability, independence, and territorial integrity, especially in the light of global integration.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri