Storm Nari: economic loss nears 16 trillion VND

Cyclonic storm Nari, the 11th hit Vietnam this year, had taken the lives of 27 people and caused economic losses of nearly 1.6 trillion VND ($761 million) in the central region.

The figures were provided by the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control and storm-struck localities.

Quang Binh province was hardest hit as the disaster claimed 12 lives, injured 53 others, and caused economic damage of 300 billion VND in the locality.

In the meantime, the central provinces are making efforts to surmount the storm consequences and restore production.

As by October 22, the “Golden Heart” fund, run by Lao Dong newspaper, has raised nearly 2 billion VND to support Nari victims.

Earlier, the Vietnam Red Cross Society decided to give emergency aid relief worth 2 billion VND in cash and kinds to three central provinces and city hardest hit by Nari, namely Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces and Da Nang city

Vietnamese experts join emission assessment training course

Vietnamese experts are among 32 participants from 21 signatory countries to the Kyoto Protocol taking part in a training course on counting greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, which opened in Hanoi on October 22.

The three-day course is organised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the Vietnam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment (VIMHE).

Addressing the opening ceremony, Prof. Dr. Tran Thuc, Director of the VIMHE, said the course is a chance for trainees to share information and experience on counting GHG inventories while increasing national capacity in the field.

He urged the trainees to actively engage in all activities of the course to ensure the best efficiency.

During the course, experts from the UNFCC will provide trainees with guidance in using systems of data managing, storing and reporting tools designed for experts on GHG counting, counting tools in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol, as well as access to counting models.-

Vietnam ranks fourth for IT development in SEA

Vietnam has been ranked fourth in Southeast Asia for information technology development this year, the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications says in their 2013 White Book report.

In a separate publication, the International Telecommunication Union reports that Vietnam’s 2012 ICT development rate ranking jumped five places to 81st among 161 entries and 12th among 27 Asia-Pacific countries.

The rankings are based on internet access, IT application and computer skills.-

Approaches to new rural development in Vietnam

An international conference took place in Hanoi on October 22, focusing on appropriate approaches to help Vietnam better its new rural development policies.

The event was held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), and the Vietnam Rural Development Science Association (PHANO).

Nguyen Minh Tien, Deputy Director of the Economic Cooperation and Rural Development Department under the ministry, said that over the past three years of implementation, the new rural development programme has gained important achievements and attracted the attention and participation of the community.

However, he also emphasised the need to update and reform policies that match reality to see sustainable development.

FAO Vietnam representative Bae Jongha affirmed that the organisation supports Vietnam in coordinating and implementing the national target programme on building new rural areas, with the focus on providing the country with high-level technical consultation on rural development, as well as building the capacity of producers in rural areas and Government officials.

Honorary Professor of the US Corneil University Randy Barker stressed the consideration of the relationship between agricultural and non-agricultural production, especially in the Mekong Delta.

He also noted the important role of water source management in Vietnam and highlighted the need to have an intervention in policies to help farmers benefit more in the agricultural production chain.

Meanwhile, Professor Kim Jungho from the Republic of Korea’s Kyengpoo University shared lessons from the New Community Movement or Saemaul Undong for rural development in the country in the 1970s. The movement helped increase the income of farming households as well as improve the living environment and production facilities in rural areas.

Conference discusses traffic safety on southern highways

Delegates raised at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on October 22 suggestions to a project on strengthening traffic safety on the southern region’s highways before it will be submitted for the Government’s approval.

The 100 million USD project aims to minimise traffic accidents and their damage on 21 national roads in 19 southern localities while promoting local traffic infrastructure development, public awareness of traffic safety, traffic compliance and first-aid services for traffic accident victims.

The project should receive priority for early implementation to reduce traffic accidents, especially road accidents, said participants at the conference jointly held by the Traffic Safety Project Management Unit (TSPMU) under the Ministry of Transport and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The number of casualties caused by traffic accidents is down but this figure is unstable and unsustainable, they noted, adding that the project should allocate its funds rationally based on each locality’s specific characteristics in line with local authorities’ solutions to cut the number of accidents in a distinct and sustainable manner.

According to the TSPMU, the number of traffic accidents in the southeastern region makes up nearly 50 percent of the national figure while the Mekong Delta accounts for 35.25 percent.

In addition to the project awaiting approval, JICA has provided 65 million USD in Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Vietnam to help realise a 70 million USD project in the 2009-2014 period to enhance traffic safety on 10 national roads in northern localities, and bring about obvious improvements in road safety.-

Archaeological monitoring needed at O Cho Dua intersection

Experts from the Institute of Archaeology have asserted that archaeological monitoring is indispensable during the construction of the O Cho Dua intersection in Hanoi.

At an October 22 conference, Dr. Bui Van Liem proposed that the management board of the Cho Dua-Hoang Cau section of ring road 1 project promptly informs relevant agencies and experts of any changes that may affect the archaeological site, as prior research was conducted in just a small section of the site.

Since August this year, the institute has conducted studies in an area of 80 cubic metres in the project site, which covers the La Thanh Thang Long relic.

Based on ancient Thang Long-Hanoi documents, many researchers believe that the La Thanh Thang Long relic was among the gates to Hanoi’s ancient citadel, which was called Truong Quang.

To date, ancient traces of have been found in three out of the four construction pits.

Further research is being conducted to help experts give their final conclusion.

Seminar talks effective enforcement of labour laws

Vietnam has issued many legal documents guiding the implementation of labour laws, but they are yet concerted and their enforcement challenging.

The remark was backed by participants at a seminar in Hanoi on October 22 on sustainable employment and gender equality jointly held by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.

According to the MoLISA, Vietnam has ratified most 17 conventions of the International Labour Organisation and introduced them into its legal system. They include the Labour Code revised in 1994 and 2012, the 2006 Vocational Training Law, the 2006 Social Insurance Law and the 2012 Trade Union Law.

The country has also implemented projects on ensuring sustainable employment and gender equality for labourers.

However, delegates said that law enforcement faces difficulties owing to their overlapping and unconcerted contents.

The lack of a systemised database on employment, vocational training, labourers’ income and standards of living also hampered the building of suitable laws, they added.

To deal with the problem, it is necessary to improve relevant authorities’ capacity to ensure the effective implementation of the conventions’ rules, said a MoLISA official.

Urban architecture exhibition opens in Hanoi

As many as 39 urban architecture initiatives and solutions of young Vietnamese talent nationwide are on display at an exhibition that opened on October 22 in Hanoi.

They were entries in a contest held by the Danish Embassy in Vietnam to find solutions for the development of living space for people in big cities.

Of the exhibits, 10 entries were selected to enter into the next round of the contest.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Danish Ambassador John Nielsen said he hopes that the contest will contribute to promoting idea and experience exchanges among the two countries’ artists and experts in the field.

The winner of this year’s contest will be invited to a training course in Denmark and have an opportunity to work with Danish architects .

As part of Cultural and Development Exchange Fund (CDEF) activities at the Danish Embassy, the contest is also to assist young talent in the field of art.

The exhibition will be open until October 31.-

Construction violators face heavy fines

Project owners, construction contractors and individuals may be subject to fines of up to VND1 billion if their home construction violates regulations, according to Decree 121/2013/ND-CP issued by the Government on October 10.

The new decree effective from November 30 is applicable to many areas ranging from construction licenses, realty trading, unbaked materials and building material exploitation, production and business, technical work management in urban areas to housing development management.

The regulations include detailed sanctions imposed on illegal construction and careless material management at housing projects.

Notably, provision 9 of Article 13 in the decree stipulates that project owners breaking the law will be subject to administrative sanctions besides being forced to hand in illegal gains equivalent to 40% of illegal construction for separated homes and 50% of illegal construction and design already approved. After the violators fulfill the duties, relevant authorities will issue construction licenses or adjust the licenses for them.

Some people are concerned that this rule will indirectly legalize illegal construction projects as project owners are willing to pay fines if the illegal construction has the bigger value.

Sanctions against careless reservoir owners light-handed

Hydropower dam owners from December 1 will be fined only VND25-30 million each if they fail to inform local residents and governments in lower areas of water discharge from their reservoirs, which is said to be too slight.

Decree 134/2013/ND-CP issued last Thursday by the Government includes regulations on administrative violation sanctions in the power, hydropower dam safety and energy-saving areas.

Under the new rule effective from December 1, the fines are also applicable to those having no flood fight and control plans to protect lower areas from urgent water discharge and dam breach incidents.

Speaking with the Daily on Monday, Phan Duc Tinh, vice chairman of Dai Loc District in the central province of Quang Nam, said that the fines were so small compared to damages caused to lower areas when dam operators failed to announce water discharge in advance. He worried that hydropower dam owners would freely discharge water given the lax sanctions.

Dai Loc gets submerged from water discharge by many hydropower power plants in upstream areas annually such as A Vuong, Song Con, Dak Mi 4 and Song Bung 4 and 5 and 6, Tinh said.

The storm No. 11 that triggered floods in the aftermath caused damages of up to VND230 billion in the district but most storm-hit localities have only used State financial supports to help ease losses for locals, he complained.

Phan Thu Hien of the steering committee for storm and flood fight and control in the Central Highlands province of Daklak, meanwhile, reported that no large hydropower plants in the province had been fined as they all conformed to water discharge process strictly. However, Hien also agreed that the fines were not strong enough to prevent dam owners from carelessly discharging water without prompt announcement.

Viet Kieu seek to learn Vietnamese

The Vietnamese media here and abroad has been asked to help teach the mother tongue to overseas Vietnamese.

This was revealed at a meeting yesterday in Ha Noi.

The meeting, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was attended by more than 20 Viet Kieu (Overseas Vietnamese) reporters and dozens of local media people.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Thanh Son said he hoped that raising the standard of the language would help overseas Vietnamese maintain their national identity.

Already, Viet Nam Television's VTV4 and Viet Nam Television Corporation's VTC10 and the website vietkieu.vietnamplus.vn serve the interests of Vietnamese around the world.

However, participants said there was now as much demand for learning Vietnamese as there was for updating information about the homeland.

Nguyen Thi Hoang Yen, deputy head of the Viet Nam Institute of Educational Sciences, said that Vietnamese lessons had been in demand for a long time.

Apart from the home, Vietnamese was only taught at official training courses in Australia, Canada, France and the United States so far, Yen added.

In countries where Vietnamese was taught in private classes, a lack of teachers and a shortage of standard textbooks was common.

Nguyen Thanh Hang, a representative of the Vietnamese People's Association in France, said that many French people also wanted to learn Vietnamese.

Hundreds private classes were run, however, there were no standard teaching methods or textbooks, she said.

"It is necessary to issue a standard set of bilingual textbooks to support teaching the mother tongue to overseas Vietnamese," Hang said.

In a related move, a one-day training course was provided yesterday for a group of overseas Vietnamese teachers to improve their skills in teaching the language.

It is estimated that more than four million Vietnamese now live overseas.

Revered general dies at 86

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Nam Khanh died on Sunday in Military Hospital 108.

The memorial service will be held tomorrow at the State Funeral Home. He will be buried at the city's Mai Dich Cemetery on the same day.

Senior Lieutenant General Khanh was born in 1927, in Binh Phu Tay Commune (now Tay Phu Commune) in central Binh Dinh Province's Tay Son District.

He was a member of the Party Central Committee during its fifth, sixth and seventh terms, a former member of the Central Military Commission and a former deputy chairman of the Political General Department of the Viet Nam People's Army.

He joined the revolution in 1945 and became a member of the Indochina Communist Party (now the Viet Nam Communist Party) in 1946.

He was appointed Major General in 1977, Lieutenant-General in 1984, and Senior Lieutenant-General in 1988. In 1997, he retired.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Nam Khanh had been awarded the Independence Order and many other honors.

Storm Nari death toll rises to 20

Storm Nari, the eleventh to hit Viet Nam this year, killed 20 people and injured 172 others, according to an updated report.

Released on Sunday by the national centre for floods, storm prevention and rescue's Central and Central Highlands office, the latest survey listed an additional five deaths and 62 injures caused by the storm which struck the central region.

The additional findings came from the provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Gia Lai.

The latest figures on buildings damaged or ruined by the storm and subsequent flood also showed an increase of 1,406 houses, lifting the total to 29,162. Quang Nam was most affected, with 21,143 houses affected.

Car accident kills five in Lai Chau

Five people died in a car accident on National Highway 4D in northern Lai Chau Province's Tam Duong District.

Duong Van Binh, 38, was driving from his hometown of Lai Chau to Tam Duong yesterday afternoon when he lost control of the vehicle and it skidded down a slope.

The other victims were Vuong Thi To Nga, 47, of Ha Noi City's Dong Anh Town, Nguyen Van Tam and his wife, temporary residents of the provincial Nam Lun District, and Truong Van Quy, 27, of northern Bac Giang Province.

Local authorities visited the victims' families and gave them each VND5 million (US$238).

Local police are conducting further investigations to clarify the cause of the accident.

Local students compete in robotics competition

Thirty teams from 15 primary and secondary school students in HCM City are vying for a shot at the World Robot Olympiad held in Jakarta next month.

This is the first year for Vietnamese students to take part in the world contest, in which teams assemble robots and guide them to overcome challenges.

Robotics is an elective subject at many schools, including the Tran Dai Nghia School for gifted students in HCM City's District 1 and Hong Bang Secondary School in District 5.

The World Robot Olympiad began in 2004 for students aged 7 to 19. It has attracted 17,000 teams from more than 35 countries each year.

HCM City urged to treat waste water

Municipal authorities need to issue policies encouraging private investment in recycling waste water as a move to protect the environment as well as the city's fresh water resources, experts say.

They warn that the city would have to pay a high price if urgent action is not taken to protect its precious natural resources.

According to the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the city releases about 500,000cu.m of industrial waste water and 1.2 million cu.m of waste water from households and other sources a day.

The untreated waste water is released directly into rivers and canals, badly polluting the environment.

Speaking at a seminar held recently, associate professor Nguyen Phuoc Dan of the HCM City University of Technology said the potential for recycling the city's waste water for reuse is very large.

The recycled waste water can be used for washing streets, irrigating parks and street-side trees and gardens, flushing the toilet, washing clothes and other purposes, he said.

Recycled waste water should be promoted as a very useful product, he said.

If the city can recycle about 1 million cu.m of waste water a day, it can save about VND10 billion (US$476,000) a day, participants said at the seminar.

They said the city can also reduce its dependency on water from the Tri An and Dau Tieng reservoirs and reduce ground water pollution.

The city now uses fresh water from the Dong Nai and Sai Gon rivers, Tri An and Dau Tieng reservoirs, rainwater and groundwater.

The exploitation of fresh water from the Dong Nai River and Tri An Reservoir for use in HCM City has increased from 33 cu.m per second to 51 cu.m per second over the past 10 years, according to the city's Water and Environment Technology Association.

During this period, the exploitation of fresh water from the Sai Gon River and Dau Tieng Reservoir has also increased from 21 cu.m to 33 cu.m per second.

The city's demand for clean water will continue increasing in the future because of its steadily increasing population, experts noted at the seminar.

At the seminar, experts said they have drafted four sets of criteria for recycled waste water for different uses including landscaping, industrial production, construction and daily urban use.

It was organised by the Water and Environment Technology Association and the HCM City University of Technolog.

People dump soil in front of company to protest environmental violations

Dozens of people in Hai Duong City Province’s Chi Linh Town dumped soil and gravel in front of a local company in protest of their environmental violations.

Pham Duc Binh, an official from Thien Loc Ltd. Co., which specialises in producing fibrous cement sheets, said on October 14 that around 40 people in Pha Lai Ward, Chi Linh Town, went to the company to set up tents. They also piled more than 10 cubic metres of soil land stone in front of the company's gate, causing operational difficulties.

According to local residents dust from the company has seriously affects surrounding households. In recent years, up to 34 people living around the firm died of various cancers. People asked local authorities to stop the company or instruct them to make other products to avoid health risks. However, the company recently resumed operations.

Vu Anh Hoa, whose wife died of cancer and now has to take care of the three children, said, “We do not have the right to stop the company’s operations, but their process must be environmentally-friendly. The company discharges their untreated waste into the environment. You can smell it and it is affecting our lives. We want to sell our houses to go live in another place, but we can’t because no one wants to buy a house around here."

Phuong Van Mon, Vice Chairman of Pha Lai Ward said local authorities had requested the company to halt operations for assessment of the environmental impacts, but the firm asked the local People’s Committee’s approval to go on with its pilot production line from October 14 to October 25.

Local authorities have made proposals to higher levels of government to deal with people’s actions and advised them to take action.

The company, previously managed by Dong Anh Investment Construction and Building Materials JSC, but later by Thien Loc Ltd. Co.

Road safety project introduced

Opinions are being collected on a proposed national road traffic-safety improvement project in the southern region that would be funded by loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The Transport Ministry's Traffic Safety Project Management Unit has proposed the project.

Le Thang, the unit's deputy general director, said that a feasibility study would be based on the opinions of local leaders and agencies.

The project aims to reduce the number of traffic accidents on 21 national roads that traverse 19 cities and provinces in the southern region, Thang said at a conference held yesterday in HCM City.

The project would include the upgrading and building of fly-over bridges, installation of traffic equipment and bus stops, and the widening of lanes for bicycles and motorcycles.

Traffic safety education, emergency services and stricter law enforcement are also components of the project. Raising safety awareness of drivers and residents who live along national highways will be included.

The proposal would use lessons learned from the Northern Viet Nam National Road Traffic Safety Improvement project funded by Japanese ODA loans, which began in 2009. They are set to be completed next year.

Broadcasting union opens annual forum

The 50th General Assembly and Associated Meetings of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union kicked off in Ha Noi with more than 700 international and domestic professionals in attendance.

The theme of this year's annual event is "Serving our audience in the digital era, making a ‘perspective shift' from technology to audience." It will focus on how broadcasters can meet the needs of audiences in the digital age.

The six-day event, hosted by Vietnam Television (VTV), will feature discussions on the most pressing issues facing a changing media landscape and the high-level forum series "Women with the wave: Information and Communication Technology and Media Inclusion of Women, Girls and Persons with disabilities".

Russia introduces VVER nuclear technology in Hanoi

Russian experts from Atomenergoproekt, the designer of water-cooled water-moderated energy reactor (VVER), introduced its AES-92 and AES-2006 nuclear power reactor technology at a seminar on October 22.

The AES-92 model has passive safety systems that help reinforce resistance against radioactive impact. The AES-2006 model is an evolution of the AES-92 unit that has higher economic specifications and optimised safety systems. An AES-92 unit is designed to operate 40 years, 20 years less than an AES-2006 reactor.

Atomenergoproekt has completed developing the AES-92 model in India and is giving it a trial run. It is now working on the AES-2006 model in Russia.

Yuri Ivanov, the company’s vice president, said all its nuclear reactor generations are safe and modern and meet international standards.

Vietnam plans to build two nuclear power plants in the central province of Ninh Thuan. The project, approved by the National Assembly in 2009, aims to ensure national energy security and develop science-technology and support industries.

Russia will help Vietnam build the Ninh Thuan No1 plant, while Japan will carry out the Ninh Thuan No2 plant.

Vietnam is drawing on international expertise in developing nuclear power to select the most appropriate technology for its two future plants.

Experts learn about greenhouse gas emission monitoring

Thirty-two Vietnamese experts are joining foreign colleagues from 21 countries at a training course on monitoring greenhouse gas emissions.

The October 22-24 course in Hanoi, open to experts from Kyoto Protocol signatory nations, instructed participants in greenhouse gas emission inventory and evaluation according to professional guidelines from the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Its curriculum spans management systems, data storage and reporting, and simulations and modelling.

Professor Tran Thuc, Director General of the Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment, urged attendees to take full advantage of the valuable information, knowledge, and experience exchange opportunities offered by the course.

Urban architecture exhibition opens in Hanoi

As many as 39 urban architecture initiatives and solutions of young Vietnamese talent nationwide are on display at an exhibition that opened in Hanoi on October 22.

They were entries in a contest held by the Danish Embassy in Vietnam to find solutions for the development of living space for people in big cities.

Of the exhibits, 10 entries were selected to enter into the next round of the contest.

At the opening ceremony, Danish Ambassador John Nielsen said he hopes the contest will contribute to promoting idea and experience exchanges among the two countries’ artists and experts in the field.

The winner of this year’s contest will be invited to a training course in Denmark and have an opportunity to work with Danish architects.

As part of Cultural and Development Exchange Fund (CDEF) activities at the Danish Embassy, the contest is also to assist young talent in the field of art.

The exhibition will be run until October 31.

Workshop shares rhino protection information

A workshop was held in Hanoi on October 22 to raise awareness of rhino protection and reduce demand for the animal’s horn.

The event was co-organised by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)’s management authority in Vietnam and the Humane Society International.

Teresa Telecky, Director of the Wildlife Department under the Humane Society International, reported that since the beginning of 2013, at least 746 rhinos have been killed for their horn in South Africa, home to most of the world’s rhinos. Many of the horns were transported to Asia, including Vietnam.

Within the past three years, Vietnam along with Mozambique has faced the extinction of its rhino community, the organisation added.

Director of the Vietnam CITES Management Authority Do Quang Tung said research shows that rhino horn is composed of keratin and other components that are harmful to human’s health. Thus, information dissemination is important to the reduction of rhino horn demand.

Last August, the two organisations held a similar workshop with the same purpose. They have also offered courses to train Vietnamese law enforcement bodies in the identification of rhino samples.

Mental health sector lags behind

The number of people suffering from mental diseases tends to increase due to mounting pressure of modern life, however, the country has so few doctors specialising in the field, said director of the Hanoi Mental Hospital Ly Tran Tinh.

The latest statistics of the Ministry of Health released in March this year showed that the country has only one mental doctor per 100,000 residents, whereas the rate in Thailand and Japan is 12/ 100,000 and 25/ 100,000, respectively.

The country has 34 mental hospitals and centres, and 31 provinces do not have any centres specialising in mental diseases.

The Hanoi Mental Hospital gives treatment to nearly 20,000 outpatients and 3,500 inpatients per year but with only 40 doctors on staff. As many as 30 more are needed, said Tinh.

About 10 years ago, the Hanoi Medical University had a mental diseases faculty, but over the years it could not enroll enough doctors in the mental health field and recently the university focused on training general doctors. The ones specialising in mental disorders became fewer and fewer.

In many foreign countries, such as Japan or the US, people are ready to go to psychiatrists or psychologists when they encounter any mental problems. However, Vietnamese often hide their condition as they associate mental diseases with being "mad".

The Hanoi Mental Hospital has some preferential policies to attract doctors to work in the hospital including opportunities for them to further their studies and other allowances. Yet, many doctors work for only a few months and then quit the job.

"The main reason is that the salary is so low, about VND3-4 million (US$140-190) per month which is not enough for them to make ends meet," Tinh said.

The Government's Decree 74, which was put into effect last month, is a positive sign for the mental health sector, as it includes detailed preferential policies for students and lecturers in the sector. The number of doctors in the sector can be improved in the future, said Tinh.

The crux of the matter is expanding the dissemination of information on mental diseases to change the way residents incorrectly think about these diseases.

Changing wrong attitudes will encourage more doctors to specialise in the field, and improve the quality of mental health care in the future, said Tinh.

Lao, Vietnamese inspectorates cement ties

Lao Deputy Prime Minister Asang Laoly on October 21 received a delegation from the Vietnamese Government Inspectorate led by Deputy Inspector General Nguyen Chien Binh.

The Lao Deputy PM said he hopes Vietnamese and Lao inspectorates will boost closer cooperation and experience exchange in the settlement of complaints and denunciations, and anti-corruption.

Binh briefed his host of the socio-economic situation in Vietnam and the outcomes of his talks with the Lao Government Inspectorate, saying he is satisfied with bilateral cooperation over the past time.

Deputy PM Laoly said the cooperation between the two Inspectorates has helped the two Governments combat corruption and deal with people’s petitions while expressing the hope that the two sides will work closely together to foster the special relations between the two nations.

The Vietnamese delegation is on a working visit to Laos from October 20-24.

Northern expressway launches intelligent system

Vietnam’s first intelligent transportation system (ITS) is going to help the northern region’s Cau Gie-Ninh Binh expressway ensure the safety of its millions of commuters and travelers every year.

Last week Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang launched the world-class ITS bought by state highway construction giant Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC).

“The cutting-edge oversight system will help the transport sector and the developer improve the usage and management of the highway toward safe transport,” he said.

The ITS system, housed in the expressway’s Management Centre in Ha Nam province, is charged with controlling traffic, reducing accidents and congestion, protecting highway assets, increasing efficiency, and generally maximising transport on the road.

The system was developed by a consortium consisted of Hanoi-based Control-Automation Software JSC (CADPRO) and China’s Guangxi Transportation Research Institute. It was developed under the Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) model.

“This gives us control of conditions and activities of the road in any kind of weather,” said VEC’s general director Mai Tuan Anh.

VEC Operation and Maintenance (VEC O&M) is responsible for managing the highway. Lieutenant-General Deputy Chief Do Dinh Nghi from the Police General Department for Management of Social Order and Safety threw his support behind the system, saying that it empowers both police and system managers in closely overseeing the road.

“If necessary, technical staff can track vehicles’ plate numbers from the time they enter the highway to the time they leave,” said a CADPRO source.

“This system combined with smooth teamwork between the road management group and transport police can make the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh expressway the safest road in Vietnam,” said the deputy chief of office of the National Committee for Transport Safety Vu Quy Phi.

The expressway started construction in 2006 and went into use in June 2012.

The highway runs between Hanoi, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh and has successfully reduced traffic volume on National Highway 1A’s Hanoi-Ninh Binh section.

Communist Review launches Chinese language version

The Communist Review newswire launched its Chinese-language version in Hanoi on October 23 in a move to popularise Vietnam’s guidelines and policies.

The site will cover breaking news in politics, Party building, socio-economics, culture and world issues, especially the national construction and defence.

It is also expected to strengthen mutual understanding between the two Parties, States and their people, thus boosting the traditional friendship and relations between the two sides.

Earlier, the Vietnam News Agency, the Communist Party of Vietnam online newspaper and the Government e-portal had launched their own Chinese e-papers to the public.-

Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri