90 containers fall into canal due to landslide

 

Nearly 90 containers of goods at Truong Tho Port, Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City, fell into the Nhiet Dien canal, a tributary of the Sai Gon River, after a serious landslide occurred there yesterday. Initial damage was estimated at US$483,000.

 

At about 1 a.m., port workers and local residents panicked when they heard terrible sounds from a container yard on the bank of the canal.

 

When port security guards rushed to the yard, they found a landside was taking place and one container after another was falling into the river.

 

Many trees at the area were uprooted and one container truck was buried under fallen containers. Fortunately, no casualty has been reported.

 

After the incident, the scene was blocked for safety reasons, and the Inland Waterway Management Station No. 4 and other relevant agencies later came to the scene.

 

According to an initial report made by the Station, the landslide occurred in an area about 10-15 meters from the bank of the canal and 60 meters alongside it.

 

The containers contained wheat, buckwheat, and milk, said Tran Van Chien, head of the station.

 

Total damage is estimated at about VND10 billion ($483,000), Chien said.

 

Those containers had been piled on top of each other, reaching a height of ten meters or more, and had been arranged too close to the canal, according to VnExpress.

 

Pham Van Duy, director of the Inland Waterway Port Authority of Zone III, attributed the cause of the landside to the weak foundation of the yard, which was built too close to the canal bank.

 

The port authorities explained that they had temporarily moved a number of containers to the yard because some repair and upgrade work were being made to the surface of the port.

 

20% of vehicles unsafe

 

About one fifth of motor vehicles across Viet Nam were deemed unsafe, according to a Viet Nam Register report.

 

During the first round inspections, which covered 148,000 cars, buses, trucks and motorbikes, around 26,300 vehicles (a 15 per cent increase on last year), were found not to meet national standards for technical safety and environmental protection, most faults relating to brake and exhaust fume systems.

 

"Vehicles, all below 15 tonnes, were inspected at random by two mobile inspection units installed in containers set on large trucks," said Nguyen Huu Tri, head of the Viet Nam Register's Motor Vehicle Technical Safety Inspection Department.

 

During the first three months of this year, the Viet Nam Register inspected more than 400,000 motor vehicles, 81.5 per cent of which met safety standards. Almost one in five failed.

 

Substandard vehicle owners were fined VND2-6 million (US$95-290) and forced to improve safety.

 

Mai Quang Thang, owner of a seven-seat car, said that although his car had not been inspected, he had it checked regularly every six months to ensure it adhered to safety standards.

 

The Viet Nam Register inspected an additional 5,072 imported cars and 1,886 imported motorbikes.

 

Inspections are set to continue on below 15 tonne vehicles traveling on routes between Ha Noi-Vinh, HCM City-Vung Tau and HCM City-Can Tho.

 

Viet Nam currently has around 4 million motor vehicle plying, an increase of 12-14 per cent annually, according to statistics from the Ministry of Transport.

 

14 charged for trafficking drug

 

Prosecutors’ office in Ho Chi Minh City has officially charged 14 members of a trans-national drug ring for trafficking large amount of heroin from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City.

 

They have trafficked 20 cakes of heroin (or almost 7kg) and 300g of a kind of synthesized drug, according to HCMC police.

 

Police also confirmed that the 14 persons are members of a ring led by Nguyen Viet Dung, that were tried in 2005 with 17 death and 10 life imprisonment sentences.

 

After the trial, the 14 men fled to Cambodia and returned to Vietnam in 2007 to resume smuggling drug till being arrested last year.

 

Under the current law of Vietnam where is one of the world’s toughest drug laws, those convicted of smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin can be punished with death.

 

Traffic accidents soar in first quarter

 

HCM City leaders are alarmed about the increasing number of traffic fatalities and injuries since the beginning of the year, and are taking steps to curb the rise, including distributing 2 million guidebooks on traffic safety to local citizens.

 

Chairman of the city's People's Committee, Le Hoang Quan, chaired an unscheduled meeting with officials from departments and agencies about the issue after several local newspapers reported the rise.

 

During the past three years, the number of traffic accidents had fallen, but in the first quarter of the year, more than 250 traffic accidents occurred, killing 219 and injuring 165 people.

 

Compared with the same period last year, there was an increase of 15 per cent in accidents and 43 per cent in fatalities.

 

In April the situation improved but a number of fatalities occurred.

 

Nguyen Ngoc Tuong, deputy head of the HCM City Traffic Safety Committee, said the biggest increase in the number of traffic accidents had occurred at the city gateways at districts 9, Binh Tan, Cu Chi, Can Gio and Binh Chanh.

 

National Road No.1A, 22 and 50 as well as Nguyen Van Linh and Vo Van Kiet streets were among the streets with the most traffic accidents.

 

Vo Van Nhuan, head of HCM City Public Security's Road and Railway Traffic Department, said most of the accidents were caused by drivers' carelessness and failure to observe the rules of the road and other drivers.

 

In addition, the road encroachment of vendors and businesses along the streets and careless driving of container truck drivers have also contributed to the rise in accidents.

 

Nhuan said his agency had no jurisdiction over vendors and businesses and was not in a position to impose penalties.

 

Tuong told the city chairman that about 70 per cent of the traffic accidents were caused by drivers' carelessness.

 

He said that most of the cases occurred when drivers drove the wrong way or when they were drunk.

 

In the first quarter of the year, the number of water and railway traffic accidents also increased in HCM City. Four people died in four railway accidents and two people died in four water traffic accidents.

 

HCMC holds emergency meeting over traffic accidents

 

Although the number of traffic accidents in the last three years in Ho Chi Minh City has reportedly dropped, in the first three months of 2011, the figure has increased sharply up to 257 cases (up by 14.3%) with 219 fatalities and 165 injuries.

 

During the period, the road crash fatalities increased by 43 and the number of injured people rose up by 77 compared to last year’s.

 

In response to the situation, Le Hoang Quan, chairman of the city’s People’s Committee, held an emergency meeting attended by the city’s Traffic Safety Committee and Public Security Department Thursday afternoon to discuss methods to further reduce the traffic death tolls, road accidents, and congestion by increasing street patrols and improving road infrastructure.

 

At the meeting, some rural districts like Binh Tan, Cu Chi, Binh Thanh, district 9, and even Can Gio were said to witness increasing traffic accidents this year besides hot spots like National Highways 1A and 22 and 50, and other highways Nguyen Van Linh, Hanoi, and Vo Van Kiet.

 

VN company fined US$3,000 for leaking oil in river

 

Local authorities have fined the Quang Ngai Sugar Joint Stock Company VND60 million (US$3,000) for leaking a large amount of fuel oil into the Tra Khuc River in the central province of Quang Ngai last month.

 

Speaking at a meeting on Friday attended by the province’s Public Security Force and Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Le Quang Thich, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee, said the leaked oil has caused environmental damage.

 

However, he stressed the incident was not serious.

 

On April 19, a large amount of fuel oil spilled into the Tra Khuc River through the waste water treatment system of the Sugar Plant Quang Phu because the exhaust valve had been stolen. The sugar plant is under the direct control of the Quang Ngai Sugar Joint Stock Company.

 

After the incident, the company tried to repair the damage by hiring workers to collect the leaked oil so it wouldn’t spread further down the river.

 

Residents to be compensated for flooding after dam work

 

More than 100 households in Quang Trung Commune, Ngoc Lac District, in the central province of Thanh Hoa who had suffered from extreme flooding for the last three years, finally will be compensated with VND4.14 billion (US$197,000) by the provincial People's Committee.

 

Le Dinh Hai, the commune's Party Committee secretary told Viet Nam News that the money would be delivered in the next two days.

 

Since 2008, following the upgrading of the local Bai Manh-Bai Lim irrigation dam, water levels have climbed 60-70cm higher than previously, flooding more than 100 households and around 200ha of agricultural land in the area for six to seven months every year.

 

Khai said that the construction of a 50-cm-height trench which was supposed to retain water in the rainy season was the main cause to the trouble.

 

The commune had reported the problem to the district and provincial People's Committees but only now, three years after the problem began, had the provincial authorities decided to compensate citizens.

 

A local farmer said he had lost around four tonnes of corn every year, and had to put up with the discomfort of long-term flooding of his home.

 

Khai said the sum of VND4.14 billion (US$197,000) accounted to only 60 per cent of the compensation local people would receive. The rest would be delivered after national and local elections end this Sunday.

 

HCM City colleges to be moved from centre

 

Two thirds of universities and colleges, except those located in Districts 7, 9 and Thu Duc, will be relocated from the centre of HCM City to its suburbs following a decision made on Wednesday by the HCM City People's Committee and the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET).

 

MoET asked city authorities to give priority to developing public transport to cater for students and workers that would be affected by the decision.

 

MoET said that the universities and colleges in question would be announced soon.

 

In order to build modern infrastructure and facilities for universities and colleges to satisfy the demands of modern education, MoET has decided to shake up the higher education system and relocate schools to the suburbs of Ha Noi and HCM City.

 

According to MoET statistics, there are 69 universities and colleges with 516,000 students in HCM City, excluding schools managed by the armed services and socio-political units.

 

The size of HCM City has increased by 138 per cent compared to 1975, while the number of universities and colleges rose by 700 per cent and the number of students, 1,900 per cent.

 

The municipal People's Committee has already approved a pilot plan to move the Technology University, the HCM City University for Foreign Languages and Information Technology and the Hong Duc College for Nursing and Medical Skills to the urban area northwest of the city.

 

City adopts natural disaster mitigation measures

 

City officials are outlining plans to raise awareness about the importance of flood and storm prevention and mitigation as the rainy season begins in the south.

HCM City is downstream of Sai Gon and Dong Nai rivers, where many big hydropower plants such as Tri An, Thac Mo and Dau Tieng are operating.

 

"Flood and storm control is very important to ensure safety," said Nguyen Trung Tin, vice chairman of HCM City People's Committee and head of the municipal flood and storm prevention commission.

 

In recent times, storms, big rains and high tides have occurred at the same time and caused many huge losses for the city.

 

High tides and landslides seriously threaten the lives of local residents. Landslides have increased from Binh Thanh District's Thanh Da peninsula to Thu Duc, Nha Be, Can Gio and Cu Chi districts. Meanwhile, the peak of high tide has been rising every year.

 

Another urgent task for the city is forest fire prevention. Over 18.5 per cent of the city is covered with forest, a total of 41,634 ha, most of which is located in outlying Can Gio district.

 

However, around 25 per cent or 11,726ha is divided among the 19 communes of Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi and District 9, where fire prevention has become a top priority.

 

But there is a shortage of firefighting equipment needed for rescue, and much of the equipment is old.

 

"How to build a safe city with a full capacity to cope with natural disasters is the most important duty," Tin added.

 

At first, the city will construct two reservoirs in order to reduce floods and high tides while applying new technologies in water drainage and dyke protection.

 

In addition, the city will purchase necessary equipment for rescue, and will conduct an awareness-raising campaign about natural disaster management for local residents.

 

City’s airport to use electronic car toll system

 

Cars will be required to attach an on-board-unit (OBU) to the windscreen to electronically pay toll fees when they visit Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC.

 

The Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) on Thursday clinched a deal with the Southern Airports Corporation to install an electronic toll collection system at the airport.

 

In addition to the tolling device, car owners should have an account at VietinBank. Tolls will be settled through an automatic deduction from the account when cars enter the airport.

 

This project is expected to be up and running in August. 

 

Phan Le Hoan, director of Tan Son Nhat International Airport operation center, said around 9,000 cars visited the airport each day and that at peak hours, congestion often happened at the exit as toll collection staff needed some time for processing.

 

The electronic toll collection system will allow cars to go through the entrance and exit without having to stop, he said.

 

To ensure things will go well when such a tolling system is in place, VietinBank will loan the OBU to major transport firms at no charge for one year, said Pham Anh Tuan, deputy general director of VietinBank. Meanwhile, he added, individuals and small businesses should rent the device.

 

This OBU can also be used to pay tolls for crossing the Phu My Bridge in HCMC and the Can Tho Bridge in the Mekong Delta.

 

VietinBank statistics show the bank has sold or leased out about 3,000 OBU devices.

 

VN free from exploding watermelon threat

 

There had been no reports of exploding watermelons in Viet Nam, according to Deputy Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Plant Protection Department Ngo Tien Dung.

 

The statement was made following recent news of a strange phenomenon sweeping China's Jiangsu Province.

 

Farmers using the growth hormone accelerator forchlorfenuron reported that their fruit had literally exploded overnight, resulting in the loss of up to 45 ha of produce.

 

Dung said that overuse of the hormone was probably the cause of the unexpected explosions.

 

The ministry has released a list of banned chemicals along with guidelines and regulations about how to use approved products.

 

Farmers should study these carefully for their own benefit and for consumer safety, he said.

 

In Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces, where more than 1,000 ha of watermelons are harvested annually including well-known trademarks such as An Tiem, Sugar Baby and Red Sun, agricultural experts and farmers said they had never seen crops explode.

 

Farmer Nguyen Van Viet from Bac Lieu Province's Vinh Phu Tay Commune said he and his fellow farmers mainly used organic fertilisers.

 

Nguyen Xuan Khoa, director of the provincial Agricultural Promotion Centre, said that around 100 training courses had been held to educate farmers about agricultural techniques.

 

Farmers were also applying modern methods, such as covering fruit with nylon, straw or crushed wood to improve productivity, he said.

 

Japan to help train students to work in transport

 

Japan will help train Vietnamese transport workers through a project signed between the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and the College of Transport (COT) yesterday.

 

"Students will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to supervise construction sites, in particular on motorway construction sites. The graduates will then be able to start work straight away, removing the need for further training by future employers," said JICA's chief representative in Viet Nam Tsuno Motonori.

 

The technical co-operation project will be implemented over three years with a total budget of 480 million JPY (around US$5.8million), contributed by the Japanese Government.

 

The project aims to help train graduates with the skills and techniques to serve Viet Nam's rapidly expanding network of motorways.

 

JICA experts will work with COT staff to compile new teaching material and train lecturers.

 

Viet Nam plans to build up to 2,500km of motorways before 2020. "This project will help solve the issue," COT rector Do Ngoc Viet said.

 

VN, EU to boost plant variety protection

 

The European Union in Viet Nam and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen bilateral co-operation in Plant Variety Protection (PVP).

 

The MoU is expected to create conditions for the two sides to exchange the results of technical examinations and plant material for re-examination. By doing so, the two sides will save financial resources and make the best use of their human resources.

 

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong said the co-operation would help Viet Nam strengthen the capacity of the PVP system. This was a good way to comply with its obligation under the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants Convention, to be achieved by 2016.

 

S Korea gives support to Ha Noi college

 

The Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) handed over US$18,000 worth of learning and teaching equipment to the Ha Noi Industrial Vocational College on Thursday.

 

The equipment has been installed in a digital lab that enables 16 users to utilise the facility at the same time. Technical drawing desks and tools were also included.

 

KOICA headquarters yesterday also approved a project to upgrade a computer lab in the Phuc Yen College of Industry, northern Vinh Phuc Province. The $33,000 project will be finished in September.

 

Students win London business awards

 

Nguyen Sy Ha and Bui Cam Chi, both students at HCM City's Van Lang University, have won the 2010 World Silver Medallion awarded by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

 

It is given away to contestants achieving the highest score in an LCCI test comprising 10 questions focusing on practical contingencies in a business environment.

 

At the annual event, they took on more than 250,000 competitors from 120 countries.

 

They will receive the awards at a ceremony to be held at the Duxton Hotel on May 22.

 

Da Nang launches flood-proof house plan

 

The central city of Da Nang started the construction of its fourth public flood-proof house on Kim Lien Street, Lien Chieu District on Thursday.

 

The two-storey house, with an area of more than 450 - square metre, will cost VND2.5 billion (US$116,000). Funding came from the Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No. 5 and the local State budget.

 

Spark awards 7 social enterprises

 

Spark – a Vietnamese non-governmental organisation awarded seven social enterprises yesterday for their employment initiatives and work to improve the incomes of underprivileged people in Ha Noi.

 

Over VND3.6 billion (US$173,000) was awarded to the enterprises to help them solve social problems in creative and sustainable ways.

 

Around 50,000 people are expected to benefit from the initiative.

 

Spark Centre for Social Entrepreneurship Development officially began operating in February under the Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations.

 

Large football betting ring busted in Hanoi

 

Hanoi police, with support of the Ministry of Public Security, have uncovered a large-scale ring that organized illegal football betting, arresting 10 people and seizing over US$100,000 and other assets.

 

Among the arrested are five leading culprits: Nguyen Van Dien, 32; Ngo Van Dung, 51; Tran Ngoc Loc, 41; Tran Ngoc Nhan, 47; and Nguyen Van Tien, 38, Hanoi police said.

Dien, of Hanoi’s Tu Liem District, was the leader of the ring, said Hanoi police.

 

Dien admitted he began football betting at the Ibet 988.net website in 2008 and had since used the network for his ring’s operation.

 

Dien told investigators that whenever there were important international football matches, like those in the EUFA Cup, bettors paid hundreds of millions dong [100 million equals US$ 4,850] for each match into his account.

 

There were times when the betting amount in his account reached billions of VND, he said.

 

On searching the houses of the bettors, police seized VND1.7 billion ($82,100) and US$21,000, 8 promissory notes, a land assignment contract, and many registration certificates of cars and motorbikes.

 

All of the ring’s members have been indicted for illegal betting, Hanoi police said.

 

Investigators are expanding their investigation to track down others involved in the ring, the police said.

 

Central forest rangers attacked by illegal loggers

 

Two dozen illegal lumberjacks allegedly attacked two officers of the Forest Ranger Unit of Phong Nha – Ke Bang in the central province of Quang Binh Thursday.

 

Tran Van Chan and Duong Van Thanh were returning to Tro Mong station from their forest patrol when they were surrounded by over 20 loggers armed with knives, sticks and swords.

 

The loggers attacked the two officers, causing them several injuries before they managed to flee into the nearby mountains.

 

Even so, the gang refused to leave and remained at the mountain base, waiting for them to come down.

 

Realizing two of his officers had gone missing, Pham Xuan Cuong, deputy head of the Tro Mong Ranger Unit, organized a search team and found them surrounded and isolated in the mountains while the loggers on the ground kept throwing stones up at them.

 

Cuong immediately called the police for help.

 

Chan and Thanh were eventually rescued at 8p.m., after 5 hours sheltering in the mountain.

 

The police are searching for these illegal lumberjacks.