Ho Chi Minh to dig 343km of streets in 2011

343km of streets in HCMC will be dug in 2011 as part of infrastructure upgrade projects, according to the city transportation department.

In 2011, 18 km of HCM city streets will come under construction work to lay new drainage lines.

The city sanitation project is also planning to rip up the street surface of over 6.4km in the downtown area of the city, while another 4 km will be dug up as part of the city’s infrastructure upgrade projects.

The city’s Flood Prevention and Control Centre and Urban Traffic Management Centre No. 1 will carry out many roadwork projects in district 1, Binh Thanh district, Highways 1A and 22.

In addition, the HCMC Electric Power Company will need to tamper with 15.2km of streets in districts 3, 5, 6, 10 and 11 to execute technical infrastructure projects, aimed to prevent power overload in certain residential areas and clean up the fear-provoking tangle of overhead electric wires around the city by laying the underground cable lines.

To expand and upgrade their water supply network, Saigon Water Supply Company also plans to remove 310 km of existing street surface in districts 12, Go Vap, Tan Phu, Tan Binh, Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh and Nha Be in 2011 to lay new water pipelines.

In other traffic-related news, according to the Infrastructure Management and Operation Section of the city Transportation Department, over the last 3 days, many “construction barricades” blocking traffic movements have been removed from many key city streets.

About 60 more of them, on 30 streets, will be expected to be removed in the coming days, ending on January 26th, to help the city population celebrate the traditional Tet holidays falling in the first week of February.

Corpse found in cemetery’s well

A quiet afternoon at Binh Chieu ward, Thu Duc district turned tragic when a corpse was found in a Go Dua cemetery’s well yesterday.

The victim was Kim Khuong, aged 40 (nicknamed Be).

A man working with him at the cemetery found his corpse at 5 p.m January 20th while scooping water out of a well several hours after Be’s disappearance.

“Be has no family, no wife and no children. He worked at the cemetery for over 10 years”, said people who knew him.

The police are investigating the case.

22 fishermen stranded as boat breaks down

Patrol officers have received SOS signals from 22 fishermen whose boat have broken down and is drifting dangerously on open seas and in strong winds off central Vietnam.

According to SOS from the sailors, their QNg-95263 vessel is freely floating at 14037’N-110005’E while the wind is very strong.

Earlier, they were fishing for cuttlefish off Binh Dinh province when one crewman got sick.

Captain Nguyen Tan Lac then ordered the boat to return to land to seek medical treatment but the boat’s engine failed halfway.

Authorities have so far failed to contact the sailors.

Binh Dinh police probe tomb diggers

Police in the central province of Binh Dinh are investigating into the illegal excavation of 21 graves by a local company to clear the site to build a petrol filling station.

According to the police, a family last Wednesday found that 21 graves in their private cemetery had been dug up and reburied in another hillock in Phu My District.

The Binh Dinh police said initial investigation showed the culprits were hired by Dong Tam Limited Company which planned to clear the site for its petrol station project.

The company is negotiating with the families to which the graves belong, but they have yet to reach an agreement due to compensation disputes.

“It is a serious violation of land,” said Phan Minh Hai, deputy chief of the Binh Dinh Police Department.

Digging up graves is a criminal offense in Vietnam.

Warm weather forecast during Tet 

The National Hydro Meteorological Forecasting Center predicts warmer weather in several areas of the northern region as well as in the southern region during Tet (Lunar New Year). 

The northern midland, the Red River Delta and the northern central area will be warmer during the day time but colder during early morning and night time.

Yesterday saw a slight increase in temperature in the northern and central regions, but it still remained very cold. In Hanoi, the temperature hovered around 12 degrees Celsius.

A new cold wave is said to be moving south and is expected to cover most of the northern region over the next two days, making this area even colder until the 28th day of lunar December.

Flower markets flourish in HCMC

Flower markets have opened across Ho Chi Minh City to meet the tremendous demand of flower shoppers on the occasion of Tet (Lunar New Year).

As in other years, blossoms of apricot, daisies and kumquat are included in the fresh flowers and ornamental trees sold.

At least 30 markets have opened in locations like Le Van Tam Park, September 23 Park in District 1, Gia Dinh Park in Go Vap District and in areas in districts 7 and 8. 

25 more flower markets are expected to open in districts 5, 6, 10, 11, Go Vap, Tan Phu, Thu Duc, Binh Tan and Cu Chi.

The flower market in Phu My Hung Urban Area of District 7 has nearly 500 flower booths and in District 8, the market has been arranged along a canal embankment on Ben Binh Street.

According to Tran Thien Ha, director of the HCMC Green Tree and Park Company, about 746 of the 900 booths in September 23 Park,  124 of the 140 booths in Le Van Tam Park and 430 of the 490 booths in Gia Dinh Park have already been fully stalked with flowers and ornamental trees.

City official inspects bus stations 

Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee vice chairman Nguyen Thanh Tai inspected the passenger transport systems at the western and eastern bus stations on January 25.

Passengers wait for their buses at the Eastern Bus Station in Ho Chi Minh City

He asked the Western Bus Station to lay stress on public security and fortify its fire prevention systems during the Tet holiday season.

The station was also asked to increase the number of buses to transport more passengers during this time.

He asked the Eastern Bus Station to make all arrangements to transport passengers to their homes to celebrate Tet.

Nguyen Ngoc Thua, director of the Eastern Bus Station, said the number of passengers traveling to northern, central and central Highland provinces soared sharply on January 21-24 to about 45,000 passengers.

Cold medicines in increasing demand in Vietnam   

Demand for cold and flu medicines has risen, particularly in central and northern Vietnam due to a lengthy and prolonged cold spell.

According to the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Companies Association (VNPCA), the representative organization of more than 100 major pharmaceutical companies, the drugs that have recently been in high demand are antibiotics and medicines for flu and fever.

According to a survey carried out by VNPCA in 53 pharmacies, 21 had fluctuating prices.

For instance, 116 home-made drugs and 14 foreign-made medicines sold in Hanoi showed an increase in price rate of 6.2 percent. While16 drugs showed a drop of 3.8 percent.

VNPCA claimed that drug prices would remain stable during and after Tet ( lunar new year), though some would certainly show a price hike due to foreign exchange currency rates and the cost of imported materials.

Tourism firm faces beach withdrawal due to misuse

The Tien Giang Province Natural Resources and Environment Department yesterday proposed the local government to take back the Tan Thanh beach it has leased to a Vietnamese firm for ten years.

The proposal was made after the department completed an investigation into the Tien Giang Tourism JSC (TIGI Tour) and concluded that the company illegally re-leased some parts of the leased beach, illegally earning hundreds of millions dong.

In 2001, the local government leased the Tan Thanh beach of 148,000 square meters and a coastal land of 17,000 square meters in Go Cong Dong District to TIGI Tour, owned by Mr. Hoang Kieu, a famous Vietnamese-American businessman.

TIGI Tour later set up a restaurant, Huong Bien, and some other tourist facilities on the coastal land.

Since 2006, the government has exempted TIGI Tour from rentals for the beach, after considering the TIGI Tour’s petition claiming it did not use or exploit the leased property.

In May 2010, the Huong Bien Restaurant leased three hectares of the beach to Nguyen Tung Phuong, a local resident, for clam breeding. The lease was made under a verbal agreement between the two sides and the rent rate has been unknown so far.

In August 2010, the restaurant signed a contract to lease an area of the beach to two locals, Nguyen Van Bay and Phan Van Su, who later used their leased area for clam breeding.

The contract’s value is VND200 million and the lease term lasts until December 31, 2011. To date, Bay and Su have paid VND140 million as rental to Huong Bien.

Considering TIGI Tour’s law-breaking acts, the department proposed the provincial government to withdraw the beach and assign it to the Go Cong Dong District People’s Committee for management and use for public interest.

Provincial People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Van Khang said the beach would be taken back at the soonest possible time.

He also ordered the provincial Finance Department to handle the rental amount TIGI Tour had illegally earned from re-leasing the beach.

Hanoi receives 1.7 million foreign visitors in 2010

An estimate of 1.7 million foreign visitors flocked to Hanoi during the National Tourism Year 2010, representing a year-on-year increase of 62 per cent.

The figures were announced by Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, vice chairperson of the Hanoi People’s Committee, at a ceremony in Hanoi on January 25 to review the implementation of the National Tourism Year 2010, which highlighted Thang Long-Hanoi and its 1,000 year-old history.

The ceremony, jointly held by the Hanoi People’s Committee and the municipal Department of Culture, Sports an Tourism, was attended by Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung and the city’s authorities.

Hanoi welcomed 10.6 million domestic arrivals last year, up 10 per cent compared with the pervious year. Especially, over 30,000 foreign visitors and 1.2 million domestic tourists flocked to the city during the 10-day grand celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, Hang said.

According to Hang, the National Tourism Year 2010, hosted by Hanoi , had received a strong support from ministries, agencies and the entire people.

It was organised with a wide range of activities to mark Hanoi ’s millennium anniversary, thus, helping to promote the city’s position and image to the world, Hang noted.

On the occasion, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the municipal People’s Committee presented certificates of merit to units and individuals who had greatly contributed to the success of the event.

Deputy PM Hung handed over the host of the National Tourism Year 2011 to the central coastal province of Phu Yen.

PV