Tan Son Nhat Airport to slash food prices

On July 14, the Southern Airport Authority ordered that companies lower their food prices at Tan Son Nhat Airport, where the exorbitant prices have drawn complaints for a long time.

Most of the food at Tan Son Nhat Airport is provided by one of two companies Autogrill VFS or Song Viet. According to them, the prices are reasonable because of various additional fees the suppliers had to pay. Especially, the monthly rental fees. A stall at an international terminal costs about USD60 per square metre, and the fee at domestic terminal is as high as VND720,000 (USD34) per square metre.

At a meeting with other companies, the head of the Southern Airport Authority, Tran Thuy Minh, said companies must reduce the prices of some essential foods like noodles and rice. They also gave directives on how to lower the prices; for example the price of a bottle of water cannot be over VND20,000. Prices for a bowl of noodles must be reduced from VND89,000 to VND55,000.

A great number of passengers have complained about the food prices at Tan Son Nhat Airport. Even though Vietnamese authorities have tried several measures to control and manage the goods, passengers said the prices remained high and the food quality was poor.

Chinese man arrested for stealing taxi

Police in the southern province of Binh Duong arrested a Chinese man on July 15 for allegedly stealing a taxi from Mai Linh Group.

At around 1pm on July 12, Zhu Dong Cheng is said to have simply got into a taxi, parked near Song Than Trade Center in the town of Di An with its doors open, and drove away.

After realising what had happened, the driver immediately informed the other drivers and the management.

At 2pm, a group of Mai Linh taxi drivers found Zhu Dong Cheng driving the car towards Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park I (VSIP I). While Cheng stopped the car to urinate, the group of Mai Linh rushed to detain him and handed him local police.

Local police are investing.

Rice prices have suddenly increased in the Mekong Delta over the last few days and profited traders but farmers.

Traders paid VND4,500 a kilogram of fresh rice, up VND200 over the last two week, said farmer Pham Van Nua from Hong Ngu District, Dong Thap Province.

However, the prices have not gone up in remote areas in the delta.

“I heard the prices have hiked for the last few days but it still remains unchanged in Phung Hiep District in Hau Giang Province,” said Nguyen The Tu, head of the district’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department.

According to Sai Gon Giai Phong reporter, the prices have been up VND200-300 per kilogram in places adjacent urban areas and with convenient traffic systems.

The Vietnam Food Association reports dry rice price swings VND5,450-5,550 a kilogram, up 200-250 compared to early June. Long grain variety increases VND110 per kilogram to fetch VND5,650-5,750.

Husked rice price has gradually moved up. Businesses paid as high as VND7,000 per kilogram of normal rice, up VND300 over early June.

Export businesses say that the rice volume left from last year has almost run out and rice demand for export contracts to the Philippines, Malaysia, Africa and China has surged.

Thai exports are inconsiderable, Pakistani rice costs high while Indian output has fallen 25-30 percent due to drought.

The Mekong Delta farms about 3.8-4 million hectares per year yielding 25 million tons in output. Of these, 70 percent is for export.

Up to 90 percent of rice in the market goes through the hands of traders. Farmers selling rice one or two weeks ago could not enjoy the price hike.

The main cause for the above condition is due to lack of connectivity between export companies and farmers and unfair competitiveness among businesses, according to Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, head of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Government’s rice stockpiling program just has indirect impacts on farmers and been untimely launched to assist farmers.

Experts propose production and distribution should be linked, value chains should be clear and fair, and there should have a national trade name for rice to ensure rice growers’ lives.

Power line accidents decrease

Ha Noi Electricity Corporation (EVN) on Monday said that there had been 987 cases of people ignoring the declared safety zone around high-voltage power lines in the city this year.

EVN Ha Noi's Deputy Chief of Office, Hoang Anh, said the number of violations involving power lines in 2014 had decreased by 16 per cent from 1,176 last year, below the target set by the city People's Committee.

"Efforts in improving the power grid's capability has helped decrease the violations", she said.

Around 73 accidents had occurred within the safety zone set - known as the "protection corridor" - this year as a result of the violations. According to the national electricity supplier, most of the accidents were associated with failures to maintain safe distances from power lines, sometimes resulting in collisions, or widespread power outages.

Underground power cables were also reported to have been damaged at road work sites and construction sites during blackouts.

EVN Ha Noi maintained that it had been monitoring the city power grid's high-voltage power lines stretching 698,583km and needed to cooperate with local administrations to enforce its protection corridors.

The corporation is working with the city Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Construction, Ha Noi Police and local People's Committees to conduct inspections of the high-voltage power grid safety corridor.

Hoang Anh also said that violations would incur strict penalties under the law.

She also said that local authorities connected to the power lines should maintain close contact with EVN Ha Noi to develop plans to protect the power grid and stop violations.

Freak storms to hit Vietnam this year

Fewer storms are expected to directly hit Vietnam this year, but they appear more unusual than in previous years due to El Nino impact, according to weather experts.

The National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre reported that the global El Nino weather phenomenon is likely to strike in the second half of this year and may last till spring 2015.

Due to the impact of El Nino, it is likely that fewer tropical storms and depressions will directly ravage Vietnam this year and monsoon rains will let up sooner than usual.

However, storms are more powerful and complex, making it difficult for weather experts to track, the centre said.

El Nino will also cause severe droughts in the central, Central Highland and southern regions.

35 passengers survive bus crash in Ninh Thuan

Thirty-five passengers have survived after their sleeper bus crashed into a roadside kiosk and overturned in Ninh Thuan province on July 15.

All the passengers were sleeping when the accident happened at around 01.45am at section Km 1567+50 on National Highway 1A in Ninh Phuoc district.

Only one passenger was seriously injured, while the remainder suffered from minor injuries.

Driver Ngo Tuan Hai, born in 1976, recalled that the bus was out of control after a tyre blowout, causing it to crash into the roadside kiosk.

Investigations are underway by local traffic police.

Waste treatment plant underway in central province

A waste treatment plant applying the Spanish technology is being built in the central province of Phu Yen.

A ceremony was held on July 12 to kick off the construction of the 456-billion-VND (23 million USD) project invested by the Thanh Tung Lt. Company.

Covering an area of 10 hectares in Hoa Kien commune, Tuy Hoa city, the plant is designed to treat 300 tonnes of garbage on a daily basis.

It is expected to be commissioned in two years.

According to experts, Vietnam discharges hundreds of millions tonnes of garbage every year, with only 10 percent recycled. The acceleration of treatment projects, therefore, will help the country ease environmental pollution.

Challenges for Dak Lak’s elephant conservation

The Central Highland province of Dak Lak is taking urgent measures to conserve local elephants amid a sharp plunge in the animal’s population, yet its efforts are encountering an array of problems.

The Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Centre has reported that the number of wild elephants has dropped to 60 – 70 individuals at present from over 550 in 1980, attributing it to deforestation and poaching for their tusks, hair and skin.

Meanwhile, the population of domesticated elephants has shrunk from 502 in 1980 to 49 now, down over 90 percent.

The herd is forecast to disappear in 20 – 30 years if the members do not reproduce.

Facing such a situation, the province in 2013 approved an urgent conservation project worth nearly 85 billion VND (4.05 million USD).

Director of the centre Huynh Trung Luan said 43 (19 male and 24 female) of the 49 domestic elephants are in the fertile age.

However, it’s not easy for them to reproduce since they are raised separately, and the centre is not large enough to keep them all together, he added.

From 2005 to 2012, 14,000 hectares of forest in Buon Don, Ea Sup and Ea H’lao districts, which used to be home to a large number of elephants, were destroyed. And poaching has also pushed the wide elephant population down even further.

Luan added that up to 60 percent of the fund is sourced from the State budget, but it has not been allocated to Dak Lak.

The province now only has enough money to pay salaries to its staff and cannot afford equipment necessary for the work.

Elephants are a specialty of Dak Lak’s tourism, and conserving the animal not only helps maintain a precious genetic source but also preserves the cultural identity of the region.

Hanoi allocates VND 73.5 billion for biodiversity protection

The Hanoi People’s Council has approved a VND 73.5 billion (US$3.5 million) plan, effective through 2030, to preserve the city’s biological diversity.

The plan aims to protect important natural ecosystems, endemic and rare species, as well as conserve and utilise forest resources in a sustainable manner.

Under the plan, Hanoi authorities will take measures to phase out illegal natural resource exploitation activities and other threats to biodiversity.

In addition to maintaining existing nature reserves including Ba Vi National Park and the K9 Zone, Hanoi will establish new areas in Huong Son and Soc Son, among others.

The city has also set a target to develop a gene vault of its speciality herbs and fruit trees, as well as raise forest coverage to 7.7 percent and improve urban landscape to make it more environmentally friendly.

Family doctor model launched in eight localities

A family doctor model will be trialled in eight localities nationwide from July 15, as part of the Health Ministry’s efforts to reduce the overload currently hitting general hospitals nationwide.  

According to Circular 16/2014/TT-BYT dated May 22, the model will be initially launched in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Thai Nguyen, Thua Thien-Hue, Khanh Hoa and Tien Giang.

Family doctors who are certified in family medicine will be responsible for providing continuing and comprehensive health care for individuals, families and the community.

Along with health care services to patients, they will also come up with consultations and guidelines for the prevention of diseases, enhancing public capacity in health protection.

The circular also prescribes regulations for family medicine clinics, which can be set up privately by doctors or as part of a private or public hospital. The clinics can also provide insurance health care services.

Work begins on National Highway 1A expansion in Ninh Thuan

Construction started today on a VND2.11 trillion (US$99.17 million) road expansion project on a 37km section of National Highway 1A that runs from Km1,525+000 in Thuan Bac district to Km1,588+500 in Thuan Nam district of central Ninh Thuan province.

The project is financed by the Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company (CII) in the form of Built-Operation-Transfer arrangement, which allows the company to recover its investment and earn a satisfactory internal rate of return on the investment, as approved by the Government.

The road will be 20.5 metres wide and accommodate six lanes that allow vehicles to travel at a maximum speed of 80kph in the non-urban section and 60kph in tricky terrain and densely populated areas.

The expansion project is expected to be finalised in late 2015 and to help boost Ninh Thuan’s socio-economic development as well as contribute to minimising traffic accidents in the project’s localities.

Campaign promotes fight against cross-border human trafficking

A communication campaign was launched in the central province of Quang Tri on July 15 aiming to raise public awareness of fighting human-trafficking in areas bordering Laos.

Organised by the Steering Committee on Crime Prevention and Control of the Government and the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) Central Committee, t he campaign looks to encourage people to constantly enhance their knowledge of the issue as a way to protect themselves and their relatives from the crime.

People are also called to strictly abide by legal regulations on human -trafficking prevention and join in denouncing criminal deeds.

The combat against cross-border human trafficking is not easy when Vietnam shares with Laos a borderline of 2,000 kilometers which is connected by 35 border gates of various types and numerous jungle roads.

According to the General Police Department on Crime Prevention and Control under the Ministry of Public Security, from 2005 to 2013 authorities in the localities bordering Laos brought to light 85 human trafficking cases with 234 victims.

As much as 80 percent of the trafficking cases target women and children. However, in recent time, traffickers have also shown their interests in men, newborns and human organs.

Traffickers at home or abroad often come up with promises of high wages or take advantage legal loopholes in marriage, child adoption, labour export or travelling to deceive vulnerable people.

In recent years, the VWU worked closely with ministries and relevant sectors and societies at all levels to organise communication activities helping the public gain full understanding of the problem, contributing to reducing the number of human trafficking cases and enabling the victims to reintegrate into the community.

Vietnamese in Laos raise money to support fishermen

Vietnamese expatriates in Vientiane have raised nearly 7,500 USD to support soldiers and fishermen in the homeland.

A ceremony was held on July 15 to hand over the money for Ambassador Hoang Xuan Hai who said he hopes the overseas Vietnamese will keep the nation’s cultural identities and bridge the Vietnam-Laos special relations.

President of the Association of Vietnamese people Nguyen Van Tu said the expatriates always look towards the country, especially in the current tensions in the East Sea following China’s illegal placement of its oil rig in Vietnam’s waters in early May.

Workers updated on East Sea issue

Members from the Hanoi Federation of Labour gathered at a briefing on July 15 to get updated on the latest developments in the East Sea, following China’s illegal placement of its oil rig in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in early May.

Deputy head of the political department of the Vietnam Coast Guard High Command Pham Quang Oanh informed the participants of the developments in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago where Vietnamese law enforcement forces are struggling to safeguard the national sovereignty.

The Colonel said China has brazenly violated international law and incurred a storm of global condemnations.

Chinese vessels have aggressively rammed into, blasted sirens and used high-pressure water cannon against Vietnamese ships.

However, the Vietnamese law enforcement forces have persistently requested China to withdraw it rig from Vietnam’s waters.

In early May, China illegally dispatched the rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 as well as a large fleet of armed vessels, military ships and aircraft to Vietnam’s waters.

On July 15, it maintained 70-75 vessels of various kinds around the rig, according to the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department.

Lao Cai gears up against floods

The northwestern mountainous province of Lao Cai is promptly taking necessary measures to evacuate locals from disaster-stricken areas in the face of a high risk of floods and landslides when the stormy season comes.

More than 340 households live in flood-prone areas, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Of them, 146 mainly residing in Bat Xat, Bao Yen, Sa Pa and Si Ma Cai districts are asked to quickly move to safer places.

Luu Minh Hai, Director of the Lao Cai Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre, said this year’s stormy season is forecast to be unusual. He noted that the province’s terrain is made up of mountains and hills and a system of interlacing rivers and streams while the majority of local households are residing along rivers.

Last year, flash floods and landslides caused by heavy downpours in Sa Pa’s Ban Khoang commune claimed tens lives dead and caused losses worth hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dong.-

Ha Nam opens courses training skilled labourer for Japanese firms

The Ha Nam Vocational College in the northern province of Ha Nam on July 15 opened vocational training courses designed specifically to meet the demand of Japanese enterprises operating in the locality.

These are first courses in the framework of a project which aims to train 1,000 skilled workers for Japanese firms in the period of 2014-2016, focusing on industrial electrical engineering, automotive technology and welding.

They will also take lessons on Japanese language and culture as well as the 5S quality management system, which is usually applied in Japanese firms.

Nakagawa Ryoichi, director of the Investment Support Centre of Japan said these courses are the first of its kind in the country, which are hoped to provide Japanese businesses with workers who have both skills and thorough knowledge of Japan’s corporate culture.

In order to ensure the quality of the courses, the school invited Japanese experts working in companies in the locality to join in teaching.

Solar-powered communication systems to benefit fishermen

Authorities from the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh have earmarked part of the local budget for the installation of 15 solar-powered communication systems for off-shore fishing vessels.

More than 690 million VND will be disbursed to help fishermen mitigate the risks of natural disasters and join rescue efforts to safeguard the nation’s sea and island sovereignty.

The province is home to nearly 40 offshore fishing groups.

Recently, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved a national scheme to provide fishermen with modern communication equipment to 2020 with orientations towards 2030.

The equipment is to support search-and-rescue operations, maritime safety and environment protection as well as serve defence and security tasks and sea-based economy development.

Natural resources management needs to be reformed: seminar

The rapid exhaustion and degradation of natural resources requires the management to be improved immediately, heard a seminar on boosting transparency in natural resources management in Hanoi on July 15.

Dr Tran Dinh Thien, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, pointed to the fact that Vietnam has maintained for a long time the exploitation of natural resources as a development priority, while failing to pay due attention to modernising the processing industry. Therefore, the country’s export-based economic growth was in fact a model relying on exporting raw natural resources.

Statistics in a government report in August 2012 showed that during the 2005-2008 period, the extractive industry ranked fifth among 18 industries and sectors in terms of total investment but stood at the eighth position in terms of economic efficiency. The mining industry also ranked only 11 in terms of job creation. These figures reflected the low economic efficiency of the sector as a consequence of a lack of investment in processing technology.

Participants at the seminar also agreed on the necessity to fight corruption and strengthen the transparency in managing natural resources, saying that Vietnam’s participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is in line with the country’s short-term and long-term policies.

Vietnam - one of leading nations in achieving MDGs

At a forum on Partnership for Maternal and Child Health organized by the World Health Organization lately in South Africa, Vietnam is one of ten leading nations that are successful in implementing the Millennium Development Goals for women and children’s health.

The highlights of the forum are to reduce deaths in children under one year old and five year old; decrease the maternal death and improved health services and accessibility for poor pregnant women.

Vietnam was applauded for within 20 years; the country has seen a three time decrease in maternal mortality ratio from 233 deaths over 100,000 in 1990 to 61.9 per 100,000 in 2013.

Moreover,  the number of deaths in children under five declined two-folded from 59 child deaths per 1,000 births in 1990 to 23 per 1,000 births in 2013; the rates of deaths in infant under one year old dropped  from  44,4 child deaths per 1,000 births in 1990 to 15,3 per 1,000 in 2013 and the malnutrition children under five fell from 41 percent in 1990 to 15.3 percent in 2013.

Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien stressed that the support all agencies and international organizations in implementing integrated health care networks in rural villages of ethnic minority groups.

In past years, the health sector has adopted measures to strengthen the system and improve medical service quality in clinics in districts. It has included the primary healthcare program such as expanded immunization, fighting against malnutrition, and breastfeeding into the Millennium Development Goals for women and children’s health.

Though the Southeast Asian country achieved in mother and children healthcare mission, the country is facing challenges including the living difference between rural and urban districts, and population groups. It needs more efforts to gain all targets in 2015.

Accordingly, the government and the entire machinery of state must be mobilized to participate in to accomplish the set targets.

Quang Binh earmarks US$38.8 million to cope with climate change

Quang Binh provincial authorities on July 10 approved a plan on environmental improvement and urban infrastructure development to cope with climate change in Dong Hoi city, with total capital of US$38.8 million (Phase I).

The project is intended to reduce environmental pollution, improve urban environments and minimise impacts of climate change. It will also contribute to improved health conditions and quality of life for Dong Hoi’s residents. It aims to facilitate the development and integration of the city’s suburbs while boosting industrial, tourism, and services development in the locality.

Some main components under the scheme include: dredging and upgrading drainage systems in six communes and wards in Dong Hoi City, developing urban infrastructure to adapt to climate change, and improving urban flood management.

The project is scheduled to begin at the beginning of 2015 and will last for six year.

Of the total capital for the project’s first phase, US$30 million is sourced from ODA loans provided by the Asian Development Bank. The remainder consists of US$1.73 million of non-refundable ODA and US$7.07 million contributed by the local government.

The province also approved a 20-year repayment plan for the project, starting in 2021.

Reportedly, the scheme is to be the first of its kind for urban infrastructure construction and environmental development in response to climate change implemented in Quang Binh, which is often affected by natural disasters and floods.

Islanders determined to live 'garlic dream'

Garlic growers on the Ly Son Islands in Quang Ngai Province have a plan to make their traditional crop into a lucrative business.

With about 300 hectares of onions and garlic, Ly Son District is known as the 'garlic kingdom' of Vietnam. In 2009, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam recognised the brand of Ly Son for garlic. The chairwoman of the district said they hope to expand their output in both domestic and foreign markets. The garlic growers also said they would do their best do maintain the reputation of Ly Son garlic.

Last month the price of garlic and onions suddenly dropped because of oversupply, causing problems for the farmers. Several people converted some of their land to grow corn, watermelon and beans. However, the weather and natural conditions on Ly Son Island are still more favourable for garlic.

Currently, one kilogram of dried garlic is sold at VND60-80,000 (USD2.8-3.8) and the single-clove garlic is sold at VND800,000-1 million per kg. The garlic from Ly Son Island is known for its unique and spicy flavour. The garlic cloves are small and even. The dried garlic can last from four to five months in tropical weather without sprouting. Duong Quan, one of the biggest garlic traders on Ly Son Island, along with his family, owns large fields of garlic. He said, "Each year, my family harvests around 20 tonnes of garlic. We sort the garlic and price it accordingly."

In order to grow garlic on the island, the farmers must carry out a land improvement process, placing a layer of fertile soil, preferably basalt soil brought from the mainland, on top of the original soil. The soil is mixed with fertilizer before the seeds are planted. After that, the farmers deposit a layer of sand on top. This sand plays a key role in creating the garlic's special flavour.

The residents of Ly Son Island now are currently trying to expand to growing black garlic, which could be sold for VND5-6 million per kg. Quan said, "The price is one hundred times higher that of other types of garlic. However, it will be difficult for us to gain access to the technology to grow black garlic if the authorities of Ly Son District or Quang Ngai Province do not create a related project."

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