HCM City to achieve public transportation target

Public transportation will meet 15 per cent of HCM City's commuting demand by 2015 as targeted, according to the municipal Department of Transport.

The current public transport system, comprising mostly of buses, meets 10.53 per cent of residents' demand, it was cited as saying in local reports yesterday, July 15.

A double-decker runs on the Cho Lon-Thu Duc route in HCM City. The city has worked hard to improve its public transport system with the aim of meeting 15 per cent of its commuting demand by 2015.

Over the last several years, the city has improved bus services to attract more passengers. It has ensured better oversight of the operations of bus companies, restructured several public transportation firms, reorganised bus routes and promoted the use of bus services, the report said.

Among the major improvements are the introduction of 53 buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG), making them more environmentally friendly; and making 153 buses easily accessible for passengers with disabilities.

The city is also drafting a plan to assemble 300 CNG buses under a 2012-15 project, the report said.

It said the department will review the pilot programme to use smart cards instead of tickets on bus routes 1 (Ben Thanh – Cho Lon Bus Station) and 27 (Ben Thanh – Au Co – An Suong Bus Station).

The department will propose that the use of smart cards is expanded to all bus routes in the city by the end of this year, and later, to all public transport services.

ASEAN trade unions boost migrant labour cooperation

Boosting migrant labour cooperation among ASEAN trade unions was discussed at a seminar jointly held by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) in Hanoi from July 16-18.

The event saw the participation of trade union leaders from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, the Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.

In his speech, ILO Country Director in Vietnam Gyorgy Sziraczki said, migrant worker receiving countries need to fully grasp international labour conventions and recommendations to effectively control the flow of migrants to ensure safety for the vulnerable groups.

He emphasized the important role of trade unions in encouraging governments to adopt International Conventions on Migrant Workers, the ILO Convention on Migration for Employment, the United Nations International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

VGCL Vice Chairman Nguyen Hoa Binh said Vietnam regards sending workers overseas is part of the national labour strategy which requires coordinated efforts of relevant agencies and the VGCL to create a strong connectivity of trade unions in the region with a view to using migrant workers in an effective manner.

Participants focused on issues related to migrant labour trend and challenges in ASEAN, the role of trade unions in building migration policies and ensuring the rights of migrant workers, agreements between trade unions, information sharing and services supporting the transport of migrant workers.

According to the ILO, the number of cross-border migrants is on the rise with an estimated 105 million male and female workers migrating beyond their national territorial areas.

Half of them are women and more than 30 million come from the Asia-Pacific region.

Four engineers convicted of stealing Nhat Tan Bridge's materials

Four engineers have been found guilty of stealing materials from the Nhat Tan Bridge construction project, the Hanoi court announced yesterday, July 15.

According to court reports, the four engineers who formerly worked for Sumitomo Mitsu of Japan, colluded to steal 43 steel stakes from the site and sold them for VND320 million ($15,600).

Of the four, Nguyen Huy Binh, 28, was sentenced to three years in prison and Nguyen Huy Dinh, 33, received two and a half years. The other two defendants will be on probation for between 12-15 months.

The Nhat Tan Bridge is scheduled for completion in 2014. It will form part of a new six-lane highway linking Ha Noi and Noi Bai International Airport.

Inspectors uncover host of violations

Violations of land use, management, construction investment and budget use during the first six months of this year totalled more than VND12.2 trillion (US$571 million) and involved 452ha of land.

The violations were found during more than 90,000 administrative and other inspections on more than 283,000 organisations and individuals nationwide.

The Government Inspectorate proposed a revocation of nearly VND5 trillion ($238 million) and 401ha of land, plus fines against more than 127,000 organisations and individuals.

Administration inspections alone uncovered violations totalling VND7.4 trillion ($352 million).

Specific probes were carried out in such areas as environment, food safety and hygiene, product quality measurement, power and petrol trade, medicines, house construction and medical waste.

Unlicensed ferries threaten waterways

More than 20 ferries have been operating without licenses in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

The 35km Xeo Ro Canal, running through An Bien and An Minh districts, is the national waterway route linking Kien Giang with southernmost Ca Mau Province.

These unprompted ferries developed based on the demand of local people for transport, but have caused difficulties for managers of the canal and put residents' safety at risk.

Seminar on clinical research methods

More than 40 medical university teachers, pharmacists, doctors, and postgraduates from hospitals in the central provinces and HCM City attended an international training seminar in Hue city from July 13-16.

The training course was part of a cooperative program between the French embassy and Hue Central Hospital.

Two French Professors, namely Franscois Lacaine and Abe Fingerhut, gave lectures on how to write for international magazines and do clinical research.  

The deputy director of Hue Central Hospital, Associate Professor/Dr Pham Nhu Tiep, said that it is important for scientists to master writing skills so that they can have their scientific research results posted on international medicine magazines.

Australian students to study in Viet Nam

More than 300 Australian students will come to Viet Nam during the next 12 months to earn credit towards their Australian academic qualifications through clinical placements, short-term research projects and semester-based exchanges.

They will be funded by the Australian government under the AsiaBound Grants Programme, which will support 3,700 Australian students studying in Asia during the period.

The AsiaBound Grants Program is an initiative sprung from the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper, which aims to increase the number of Australian students studying in Asia.

US organisations donate wheelchairs to disabled people

As many as 230 wheelchairs were presented to people with disabilities in the northern mountainous province of Son La on July 14.

The wheelchairs were funded by US organisations and the presentation ceremony was co-organised by the Association for the Support of Vietnamese Handicapped and Orphans (ASVHO) and the provincial Society for the Support of Vietnamese Handicapped and Orphans.

US sponsors include the Free Wheelchair Mission (FWM), the Human Services for Children of Vietnam and Give it Back to Kids (GIBTK).

Son La province now has more than 31,000 people living with disability, making up 3 percent of its total population.

Since 2002, the province has received around 1,300 free wheelchairs.

Relocation required from crumbling blocks

The Ha Noi Construction Department has asked the capital's People's Committee to relocate families living in seriously deteriorating tenement houses in Ba Dinh District.

The petition follows an inspection of two old apartments; block C8 Giang Vo and block E6 Thanh Cong. The former is in particularly bad condition, and is currently accommodating some 100 households, 30 of which are in seriously downgraded areas of the building.

Previously, local authorities had to relocate households living in blocks B6 and C7 Giang Vo and C1 Thanh Cong.

Vietsovpetro builds nursery school in Dak Lak

The Russia-Vietnam oil and gas joint venture, Vietsovpetro handed over a nursery school to Jin hamlet in Cu Ne commune, KrongBuk district in the Central Highland province of DakLak on July 15.

Covering an area of 2,000 sqm, the nursery school was built at a cost of VND2.1 billion (US$98,000), of which VND900 million came from the joint venture and the remainder from the local budget.

The two-room school contributes to improving the quality of education for ethnic minorities in the district’s poorest commune.

In the last two years, Vietsovpetro has donated over VND10 billion to help build social welfare establishments in the Central Highlands with a focuson health care and education.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA