Serious landslides discovered on highway

A serious landslide was reported on Thursday on a section of Thái Nguyên-Chợ Mới Highway, crossing Yên Đĩnh Commune of Bắc Kạn Province’s Chợ Mới District.   

Hundreds of cubic metres of rock and soil poured onto the asphalt road at about 4:30 pm, paralysing traffic. Thankfully, there has been no human damage, Lao động (Labour) online newspaper reported.

Over the past several days, heavy rains pounded in the area. Rain combined with unfavorable geological condition can be the cause of such unfortunate incidents, according to many local residents.

Previously, the newspaper reported that this BOT highway, constructed with investment of VNĐ2.7 trillion (US$120 million), showed cracks and damage just after it was put into use.

The route has revealed many inadequacies and poses traffic safety risks for road-users and vehicles, the online newspaper reported.

Phạm Minh Đức, Director of Thái Nguyên – Chợ Mới BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) Co. Ltd, which is the investor in the highway project, said that the initial process of operation discovered  groundwater from the sluice running to the roof of the road, causing landslides.

Under the influence of climatic factors such as temperature, wind and especially water (rain, surface, and underground), the roof of the road can be seriously eroded. To protect the roof of the road, workers must reinforce it.

"We invited design consultants for urgent measures. At present, the construction units are temporarily repairing the roof of road," he said.

On June 30, on this highway’s section passing through Yên Lạc Commune, Phú Lương District of Thái Nguyên Province, about 400 cubic metres of rock and soil poured onto and covered a 30m-long stretch of asphalt road, causing serious traffic jam

A local resident said he saw large areas of road subsidence. 

Branch N2 of Nguyễn Tri Phương Bridge opens for traffic

The branch bridge N2 connecting Nguyễn Tri Phương Bridge and Võ Văn Kiệt Street in District 5, which leads to District 1, in HCM City opened for traffic on Wednesday (August 30).

The branch is a part of a VNĐ194 billion (US$8.5 million) project to relieve traffic around the Nguyễn Tri Phương Bridge area.

Two other bridge branches N1 and N3 will be completed at the end of September and October, respectively.

The one-way branch N2 is 149 metres long and 6.5 metres wide. It is expected to last for 100 years and allow for the speed of 40 kilometres per hour.

Branch N2, which costs VNĐ35.8 billion ($1.58 million), will help relieve traffic congestion at nearby roads, especially the Trần Hưng Đạo – Nguyễn Tri Phương Intersection, Võ Văn Kiệt Street, Sài Gòn River Tunnel and Mai Chí Thọ Street.

HCM City seeks to mobilise VNĐ1.8 quadrillion from the private sector

With public funding only able to meet a fifth of the VNĐ1.8 quadrillion (US$80 billion) required for development works in HCM City’s in 2016 – 20, authorities are striving to involve the private sector.

According to Sử Ngọc Anh, director of the city Department of Planning and Investment, many new measures and policies have been put in place to mobilise private resources, but challenges remain.

He explained that investors must bring in 15-20 per cent of the funding required for a project, with loans from banks and other credit organisations making up the rest.

Nguyễn Hoàng Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Việt Nam, HCM City branch, said bank funding for socio-economic projects, especially in infrastructure, is linked to their effectiveness.

Therefore, investors and relevant authorities must ensure the effectiveness of projects when they are completed, he said.

Phạm Mạnh Thắng, deputy director general of Vietcombank, said the bank has provided loans of over VNĐ100 trillion for 61 projects, including 23 in the education sector, 16 for transport infrastructure (roads, bridges), nine for urban development, and seven for hospitals.

In the context of inadequate public funding, making use of public-private-partnerships (PPP) is vital, he said, but admitted the PPP form faces legal hurdles.

Thắng said another problem is that most local banks are small, with most of their deposits being short-term, limiting their capacity to provide medium- and long-term loans.

The central bank is amending regulations through a road map, limiting the rate of short-term deposits that can be used to provide long-tern loans, and this is expected to act as a hurdle to lending for infrastructure works.

Some major PPP projects in energy and transportation undertaken with foreign investment have shown that overseas creditors demand specific guarantees related to revenue and foreign exchange risks.

Thắng said relevant agencies should create regulations for public dissemination of information about PPP projects.

An Bình Islanders get solar power

Thanks to a new solar power system, residents of a small island community will have clean energy on-demand—a stark change from the prior status quo of accessing power just six hours a day.

The central province officially inaugurated on Thursday a solar power system that will provide 24-hour power for islanders on An Bình Islet of Lý Sơn Island off the coast of the province after 70 days of construction.

The introduction of the ‘clean and green’ power also marked the National Day celebration, which falls on Saturday.

The solar system project, which was developed by the HCM City-based SolarBK company with a capacity of the 96 kWp (kilowatt peak for a solar module), will generate 146,000Kwh per year to supply full power 24 hours a day for 400 islanders living in An Bình Islet.

For years, residents had only used power six hours a day from two diesel-driven generators.

The solar power system, which was built with an investment of VNĐ10 billion (US$442,000), will help the islet reduce 93 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

According to SolarBK, the company plans to build up a solar power system for operation of the 2012-built seawater desalination station in the islet.

The company is also constructing a monitoring system, SSOC (Solar System Operation Centre), that aims to monitor a combined solar power and diesel power network for use on the An Bình Islet.

SolarBK has built a lighting project for Trường Sa (Spratly) Islands and seawater desalination stations in Song Tử Island, island communes of Sơn Chà in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, Mê Island  in Thanh Hóa Province and Trần Island of Quảng Ninh Province, and two solar farms in Đà Nẵng city.

An Bình Islet, which used fresh water from a 2012-built desalination station with funding from the South Korean heavy industry group Doosan Vina, has limited development due to a longstanding lack of power.

Dyke degradation worries Huế locals

The degradation of Thảo Long Dyke in central Thừa Thiên- Huế Province has fanned residents’ fears of saline intrusion, an issue which affects their daily water supply and farms.

According to Đoàn Văn Hạo, head of the dyke’s management unit, the dyke’s steel structure, including the sluice gates and their control system, has rusted.

Hạo said using the hydraulic cylinders to open and close the gate has become difficult as they haven’t been properly maintained since they were first used in 2006.

Valves that hold fresh water in front of the dyke are degraded as well, Hạo added, due to water around the dyke.

The dyke connects two riverbanks at the lowest section of the Hương River that meets the brackish water of Tam Giang Lagoon. The dyke stops salt water from entering the river, which supplies fresh water to thousands of people living in the river basin and a large area of farming land.

The dyke includes valve system for water control, sluice gates for boat travelling, and a bridge spanning the two river banks.

Lê Tân, a resident in Phú Thanh Commune, said the degradation of the dyke meant crops in the commune would be ruined. In addition, daily water would be in shortage as salt water passed through the dyke.

Another resident said the whole commune is worrying about agricultural losses due to the dyke.

Before the dyke was put in use in 2006, saline intrusion during the dry season affected Huế City, more than 10km away from the dyke, affecting the city’s water supply.

Đỗ Văn Đính, director of local agency managing the province’s irrigation works said the dyke needed an overhaul at cost of VNĐ70 billion (US$3 million) for imported spare parts and hiring foreign repairers.

Đính said a repair proposal needs approval from local authorities. This year’s temporary repairs have relied on the small annual maintenance amount allocated from the local budget.

Hanoi: Vu Lan event pays tribute to ancestors, fallen soldiers

An event, entitled “Dao Hieu va Dan Toc” (Filial Piety and Nation), took place at the Hanoi Opera House on August 31 to celebrate the Buddhist festival of Vu Lan, or Ghost Festival, a time for Vietnamese people to show gratitude to their parents and the deceased.

The event, featuring musical performances, also paid tribute to fallen soldiers. It was held by the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam (BSV) Central Committee with former Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan in attendance.

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the BSV Executive Council Most Venerable Thich Gia Quang said on the 15th day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, Vu Lan comes, reminding us of our roots and helping us reflect on the saying “When drinking water, remember its source.”

He went on to say that Vu Lan is an opportunity for people to look back to their origins and remember who brought them up. Filial piety is not only the foundation of Buddhism but also a moral principle of Vietnamese people, he added.

The event honoured figures that set great examples of filial piety and presented gifts to people who served the nation and their families.

It is widely believed that on the Ghost Festival, the gates of hell are opened for dead souls to visit their loved ones. 

The festival is based on the legend that once when mediating, a disciple of Buddha named Muc Kien Lien saw his mother suffering hell's tortures.

Following Buddha's advice, on the seventh full moon of the year, Lien gathered monks and devotees and prayed with them for his mother. Therefore the festival is to express gratitude towards ones' parents and help ancestors' lost souls find their way back to earth.

People visit pagodas and temples to worship ghosts and spirits through offerings of food, votive objects, and animals such as birds and fish are also released.

Can Tho asked to work to step up regional connectivity

National Assembly Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien has stressed the need for the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to be a pioneer in boosting regional connectivity.

Connectivity should focus on not only the economy but also culture and transport, Hien told municipal leaders at a working session in the locality on August 31.

As the centre of the Mekong Delta region, Can Tho needs to develop high technology, attract more investment in agriculture and industry, and actively respond to climate change, he added.

According to Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Dao Anh Dung, in the first eight months of 2017, the city’s industrial production value increased by 6.87 percent year-on-year, while the rate of poor households fell 1 percent.

At present, 26 out of 36 communes meet new-style rural area requirements.

He proposed the NA, Government and ministries prioritise State funds to implement inter-regional public private partnership (PPP) projects, and soon carry out a master plan the preventing landslides on river banks in the Mekong Delta region.

In 2017, the city targets economic growth of 7.8 percent and per capita income of 72.6 million VND. Its export turnover is expected to hit 1.67 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 7.5 percent. 

Total investment in Can Tho is hoped to reach 55 trillion VND (2.42 billion USD) in the year, up 22.6 percent compared to 2016, while State budget collection is forecast exceed 11.2 trillion VND, up 14.7 percent year-on-year.

Vietnam Social Insurance launches IT management, customer service centres

The Vietnam Social Insurance on August 31 launched its centres for IT management and customer services, aiming to improve the effectiveness of serving people and employers.

Le Anh Son, head of the IT management centre, said that the formation of the centre is also part of the agency’s efforts to speed up administrative reform, he said.

Built from 2016, the IT management centre is tasked to give explanations and guidelines to employers on using of the agency’s database, which involves over 92 million people, and ensure the smooth, secured and stable operation of the IT system of Vietnam Social Insurance.

Meanwhile, the customer service centre will provide information of social, healthcare and unemployment insurances for customers, supporting them during the use of online public services of the sector and assessing the satisfaction level of customers.

It will also receive feedback from customers and forward requests to authorised agencies for timely response, thus improving the sector’s State management effectiveness.

Vice Director General of the Vietnam Social Insurance Pham Luong Son said that the two centres are of importance to the sector in strengthening the application of IT as well as administrative reform, thus providing online public services to the requirements of customers.

It also aims to implement the sector’s tasks to contribute to improve the country’s business environment and competitiveness, he added.

Summer-autumn rice crop output hits record in Long An

The summer-autumn rice crop in the Mekong Delta province of Long An is estimated to give a record yield of more than 1 million tonnes this year. 

Farmers in Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) in the province have so far harvested more than 90 percent of the summer-autumn rice crop out of the total 224,000 ha. 

Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Van Hoang said only over 100ha of the summer-autumn crop was lost due to flooding this year. 

The provincial authorities asked for the State funding worth 20 billion VND to upgrade dykes and protect more than 200,000ha of rice in Dong Thap Muoi, and additional 3 billion VND (130,000 USD) to repair pumping stations in Tan Hung, Vinh Hung and Kien Tuong townships. 

The province has also paid attention to flooding control and building transport routes to prevent floods and serve Dong Thap Muoi tourism. 

Dong Thap Muoi is set to focus on intensive food farming, aquaculture, forestry, ecological tourism and border economy.

President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings valuable to Laos’s front work

The teachings of late President Ho Chi Minh for the Lao Front Central Committee in the 1950s remain valuable today, said Politburo member and President of the Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC) Saysomphone Phomvihane.

He made the statement during an interview with Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Laos on the role of the late President in Laos’ front work and on how the fronts of the two countries’ can foster relations on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of bilateral ties (September 5, 1962-2017).

According to him, from the late 1940s, President Ho Chi Minh advised his Lao counterpart, Kaysone Phomvihane, to pay attention to front work. 

The President also advised Lao leaders to rely on the Lao people to fight imperialists.

Thanks to his advice, the Free Lao Front (Neo Lao Issara) was founded in 1950. It was renamed the Lao Patriotic Front (Neo Lao Hak Sat) in 1956 and the Lao Front for National Construction (Neo Lao Sang Sat) in 1979. 

Regarding the tasks of the two countries’ fronts, Saysomphone Phomvihane stressed the need for the LFNC and the Vietnam Fatherland Front to agree on cooperation measures, especially from now to 2020 as mentioned in an agreement signed by the two fronts during his visit to Hanoi in August 2016.

It is also essential for the agencies to continue educating the two peoples about the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Laos.

No hostile forces can undermine the relationship if the two countries join hands to safeguard and develop it, he added.

He also emphasised the importance of supporting each other in socio-economic development and at regional and international forums. 

Localities step up forest planting

Vietnam’s area of new concentrated forests hit 131,000ha in the first eight months of 2017, a rise of two percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Of the figure, new productive forest covered 126,500ha, up 5.1 percent.

So far this year, northern provinces have planted 116,779ha of forest, increasing 0.4 percent year-on-year. The northern midland and mountainous region had the fastest afforestation rate with coverage of 80,641ha, up 21 percent.

Meanwhile, 13,833ha was planted in the south, rising 10.8 percent in the period. New forests were mainly planted in the south central coastal region, with a total of 8,650ha, while there was a decrease in forest coverage in other parts of the region.

In August, forest fires damaged only 9.3ha of forest, down 93.5 percent compared to last year’s period as rains hit many localities. Since the start of the year, some 455ha of forest has been damaged by forest fires.

Vietnam lost 770ha of forest in the first eight months due to deforestation, a decline of 78.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

HCM City opens exhibition to mark August Revolution

An exhibition displaying 218 photos on Việt Nam’s development process opened on Thursday (August 31) in HCM City, celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19, 1945) and Việt Nam’s Independence Day (September 2).

Speaking at the launch, director of the city’s Department of Culture and Sport Huỳnh Thanh Nhân said the city had organised exhibitions at Nguyễn Huệ Pedestrian Street and Lý Tự Trọng and Pasteur streets in District 1.

Eighty-four photos on Pedestrian Street showcase the country’s history and fight for national freedom and nation-building.

At least 134 other photos presenting HCM City’s achievements in society, culture and economy have contributed to the country’s innovation and development, displayed along Lý Tự Trọng and Pasteur streets, he said.

Attending the launch were city leaders, officials from relevant departments and sectors, Youth Union members, and local residents.

HCM City will celebrate the anniversary with a fireworks show at Đầm Sen Park in District 11 on Independence Day. It will also organise several other activities on this occasion.

Artex Golf Tournament to kick off in Thanh Hóa

The Artex Golf Tournament is scheduled to kick off on September 15-17 at the FLC Samson Golf Links in the central province of Thanh Hóa.

The event is expected to draw around 1,000 domestic and foreign golfers.

The organisers will give bonuses to the winner with the Best Gross prize and luxury cars are part the awards for those who win the hole-in-one challenges. The tournament has a total prize of VNĐ20 billion (US$870,000).

Wild and tame elephants in Đắk Lắk’s clash for food

There have been at least five clashes recently between wild elephants in search of food and tame elephants in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk’s Buôn Đôn District.

Most recently, on Monday, a herd with seven wild elephants attacked and injured two tame elephants at Forest Management Station No. 6 in Yok Đôn National Forest.

Huỳnh Trung Luân, director of the provincial Elephant Preservation Centre, said on Thursday that statistics with the centre from March till date shows the five conflicts occurred as wild elephants have been coming closer to human inhabitations such as forest management stations and local residents’ fields in search of food. So far, seven tame elephants have been injured, and one has died.

Luân said this problem is the result of the decline in forest area; wild elephants move towards inhabitations as they cannot find sufficient food in the forests. Another reason is that when wild male elephants are in rut, they are very violent and they attack the tame male elephants to get access to the females.

To reduce such conflicts, the centre has asked the tame elephants’ owners and tourism businesses using tame elephants to take steps to protect their elephants better, and not let their elephants wander into areas where wild elephants are typically spotted. Also, the tame elephants should not be chained in the forest in the evening, instead they should be brought home and protected, Luân said.

If there are such conflicts, residents should report the incident to the centre or local authorities who can step in and drive away the wild herds safely.

In the past few decades, the number of tame elephants in Đắk Lắk has seen a serious decline, from 502 in 1980 to the current 43. The main reason for this is that the number of tame elephants that bear a calf is few. At present, one female elephant is pregnant and expected to deliver next month, a positive sign as this is the first time in 30 years that a tame elephant in the province will bear a calf.

The Đắk Lắk Elephant Preservation Centre has joined hands with foreign experts to create conducive conditions for female elephants to bear calves.