Perspective of the work (Photo: Internet)

The People’s Committee of central Da Nang city on October 8 kicked off construction of the APEC Statue Park expansion project in Hai Chau district.

Built at a cost of over 759 billion VND (32.86 million USD), the 8,668 sq.m expansion is bounded by the existing APEC Statue Park and will comprise a public park, a strolling garden with an existing sculpture garden, a main stage, a water fountain, a stage for organising cultural events, and green areas. 

Scheduled for completion next May, it is expected to become an outstanding cultural-tourism destination of the city.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Trung Chinh said the new development is one of many works to celebrate the 22nd Party Congress of Da Nang city for the 2020-2025 tenure towards the 13th National Party Congress.

Opened on November 9, 2017, the existing APEC Statue Park covers an area of nearly 3,000 sq.m and displays statues representing the economies that joined the 2017 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Da Nang./.

Winners of photo contest “Resilient Vietnam” honoured

Photographer Luu Trong Dat from the Vietnam News Agency presents his Gold Prize photo in the professional photo category during the award ceremony. (Photo: VNA)

The Vietnam Public Relations Network (VNPR) on October 10 honoured winners of the photo contest “Resilient Vietnam,” which aims to capture how Vietnamese people resiliently fight COVID-19.

The winning works were selected from about 1,000 entries by 350 professional photographers from across the country.

Six photographers were awarded in two categories – professional photos and mobile phone photos – while one “Inspirer” award was presented to photographer Nguyen A from Ho Chi Minh City.

The competition promotes photography arts and more importantly, uses photography to tell stories about Vietnam in the time of COVID-19 in a very lively way and full of respect and gratitude, VNPR President Nguyen Khoa My told the award ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City.

Exhibition of the winning works is underway at the HCM City’s Youth Culture Centre until October 11. They will also be displayed on the big screen in Times Squares, the US’s New York City./.

Project expands national grid to island commune of Binh Dinh

Workers install power cables on the seabed off the coast of Nhon Chau island commune (Photo: VNA)

The island commune of Nhon Chau in central Binh Binh province has now gained access to the national grid thanks to an EU-funded project whose completion was marked with a ceremony in Quy Nhon city on October 10.

The project, providing electricity from the national grid via submarine cables, was invested with 351.5 billion VND (nearly 15.2 million USD) in total, including 280 billion VND in non-refundable ODA capital sponsored by the EU and the rest covered by the Central Power Corporation under the Vietnam Electricity (EVN) group.

EVN General Director Tran Dinh Nhan said this project is among important ones of the group.

Between 2013 and 2019, EVN worked to supply power for nine island districts and 74 communes with more than 380,000 household beneficiaries. All communes and 99.52 percent of households nationwide had gained electricity by the end of 2019, he added.

Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti, head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, highly valued the country’s breakthrough development in electrification, with over 99 percent of the population accessing stable power supply at reasonable prices.

He noted that energy is among the spheres the EU and Vietnam have had close cooperation in, and the EU has assisted the Vietnamese Government to carry out the target programme on the electrification of rural, mountainous and insular areas.

The submarine cables expanding the national grid to Nhon Chau Island is a success story of the cooperation among the EU, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, EVN and local authorities, according to the diplomat.

He also took this occasion to call on islanders to consume electricity efficiently and consider using renewable energy by installing rooftop solar panels.

Chairman of the Binh Dinh People’s Committee Ho Quoc Dung said the project ensures high-quality power supply for 600 households in Nhon Chau, which is an important prerequisite for the island to develop industry, trade, services and tourism, helping to safeguard the country’s maritime sovereignty and contributing to local sustainable development./.

Poverty reduction in Hanoi a success

The capital city of Hanoi has completed its poverty reduction targets two years earlier than scheduled during the period of 2016-2020, with no communes and villages in extremely poor conditions.

Based on the multi-dimensional poverty criteria for 2016-2020, poor households in Hanoi accounted for 3.64 percent of the total in 2016. Poor households in the city were mainly found in rural areas (90 percent).

The city set the goal to reduce the rate to below 1.2 percent by 2020. The rate was reduced to 1.12 percent at the end of 2018, two years ahead of the set target.

The poverty rate in Hanoi further dropped to 0.42 percent at the end of 2019. Among 30 districts of the city, the urban districts of Cau Giay and Hai Ba Trung no longer have any poor households.

According to Nguyen Quang Hong, director of Cau Giay district’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the district had conducted surveys of poor households on the cause of poverty and the beneficiaries’ specific needs for support. Those surveys helped the district identify the most suitable and effective help to each household, ensuring they rise out of poverty in a sustainable manner.

The city’s administration considers reducing poverty and ensuring social security as a key socio-economic development task, so has issued many specific mechanisms and policies for poverty reduction.

Deputy Director of the city’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Hoang Thanh Thai said, over the past time, many districts and towns in the city have taken solutions to perform economic development tasks and build new-style rural areas to reduce poverty.

Although the State budget must be spread around many socio-economic fields, the capital still gives priority to improving quality of life and municipal social security policies have become increasingly comprehensive.

Every month, the city provides financial support to elderly people who can’t look after themselves and those with serious health conditions who can’t work. Every year, the city provides loans via the Bank for Social Policies to help poor households and people with disabilities develop businesses.

In recent years, the city has paid a monthly allowance to more than 192,000 social policy beneficiaries (with a total budget of some 1 trillion VND a year). More than 2,700 elderly people, people with disabilities, homeless people and poor children have been taken care of at social protection centres.

The poor households also received support to repair or build houses. During 2016-2020, the city has helped with the building and reparation of 7,565 houses for poor families. More than 75,000 people who are beneficiaries of social policies have received vocational training. Along with this, these disadvantaged groups have also been provided with preferential loans worth up to 2.4 trillion VND (nearly 104 million USD).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city has provided financial support to more than 500,000 affected people to the tune of 600 billion VND.

Due attention has also been paid to the 872,000 elderly people and more than 101,000 persons with disabilities in the city. Local administrations provided them with support in diverse forms, from granting free bus passes, subsidies for health insurance, preferential loans to free medical checks and medicines.

Thai said that Hanoi would continue to devote resources to sustainable poverty reduction, ensuring social security for all people with a focus on disadvantaged groups, ethnic minorities and people in remote areas.

Along with reviewing poor households lists, localities must be more flexible in providing support for households to suit the characteristics of each locality and family.

“With these drastic solutions, the poverty reduction and social security causes of the capital have been achieving many positive results. This helps promote the spirit of solidarity, the strength of the political system and the whole society, who are joining hands for the poor and not leaving anyone behind during the development cause,” Thai said./.

Indian Ambassador inaugurates irrigation work in Yen Bai

An irrigation work in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, built with funding of the Indian Embassy in Vietnam, was inaugurated on October 10 in the presence of Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Pranay Verma.

The 2.1km long irrigation system in Tan An ward, Nghia Lo township, was built at a total cost of 2.2 billion VND (nearly 100,000 USD), of which 50,000 USD was granted by the Indian Embassy.

Completed in March this year, the system ensures water for 75 ha of rice and food crops in three communes.

Addressing the inaugural event, Ambassador Pranay Verma said the aid is part of the traditional cooperation between the Indian Government and Yen Bai provinces.

Vice Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee Vu Thi Hien Hanh thanked the Indian Government for the help and asked for more development cooperation programmes between the two sides./.

US’s Independence Day marked in HCM City

Permanent Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem has expressed his belief in substantial ties between Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular and the US in the future.

During a ceremony marking the 244th anniversary of Independence Day of the US hosted by the US Consulate General in the city on October 9, Liem expressed his appreciation for the gigantic development of Vietnam – US cooperative ties with the establishment of a comprehensive partnership in 2013.

He stressed that as the country’s economic, culture-education, science-technology hub, Ho Chi Minh City plays an important role in connecting Vietnam and the US. A number of cooperation activities in the fields of education, high technology and smart urban development have been also carried out in the city.

US Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Marie Damour said over the past 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Vietnam and the US have reaped positive results in collaboration in economy, education, health care, energy and security.

According to her, the two nations are working closely together with a common commitment to peace and prosperity./.

Embassy marks 244th US Independence Day, 25 years of Vietnam-US ties

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long addresses the ceremony in Hanoi on October 9 (Photo: cand.com.vn)

The US Embassy in Vietnam held a ceremony in Hanoi on October 9 to celebrate the 244th anniversary of the US’s independence and the 25th founding anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations.

On the half of the Vietnamese Government, Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long congratulated the US leaders and people on their major anniversary and appreciated efforts by US government agencies to promote bilateral ties.

He emphasised that with the 25-year relations based on mutually beneficial cooperation and mutual respect, the two countries’ comprehensive partnership has attained positive strides and been expanded and strengthened in all spheres.

He highly valued the strongly growing bilateral trade, which has turned the US into the biggest market of Vietnamese exports and Vietnam into one of the markets with fastest growth of imports from the US.

The US assistance in addressing war consequences in Vietnam, particularly the detoxification of dioxin contamination at Da Nang and Bien Hoa airports and the identification of remains of soldiers missing in action, is an important effort contributing to the trust and cooperation between the nations, according to Long.

The official also lauded the countries’ practical and effective healthcare cooperation, especially in the fight against COVID-19.

For his part, US Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink affirmed that his country supports a strong, independent and prosperous Vietnam and respects Vietnam’s political regime.

He stressed amid the COVID-19 pandemic affecting every aspect in almost all countries around the world, healthcare cooperation has become a bright spot in bilateral relations, noting that the two countries have been provided each other with effective and timely support and increased the sharing of information, experience and resources so as to together respond to the outbreak.

The diplomat also spoke highly of the countries’ cooperation at multilateral forums like ASEAN and the United Nations.

He reiterated the US’s pledge to continue helping Vietnam settle war legacies and promote links in economy-trade, education, healthcare, and science-technology, thereby further intensifying bilateral connections, meeting the two peoples’ aspirations, and contributing to regional and global peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

Deputy PM: Vietnam supports Myanmar in COVID-19 fight

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh cabled a message of sympathy to State Counsellor and Foreign Minister of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi and Union Minister for International Cooperation Kyaw Tin on the recent complicated developments of COVID-19 pandemic with rising infection cases recorded in the country.

In the message, he stressed that in the spirit of traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperative partnership, the two nations will work together and offer mutual support in the fight against COVID-19.

He informed that the Vietnamese Government will deliver the second batch of medical supplies to Myanmar to help the nation overcome current challenges./.

Vietnamese, Indian firms to build smart cities in Vietnam

Vietnamese Global Investment signs the MoU with Indian Spatial Decision Vietnam in an the interactive meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese and Indian enterprises gathered in the capital city of Hanoi on October 8 to discuss ways to develop smart cities in Vietnam.

Promoting cooperation between Vietnam and India in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the Embassy of India in coordination with Vietnam’s Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE) organised the interactive meeting to connect businesses.

In recent meetings, the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) has continued to define smart cities as the basic driving force for socio-economic development across the country, with more than 830 urban areas with an urbanisation rate of 38.6 percent.

Economic growth in urban areas was between 12 and 15 percent, about double the national average, so the designs of old cities were out of date, said a representative from the Urban Development Agency under the Ministry of Construction.

About 30 cities and provinces nationwide, including HCM City and Hanoi, had implemented smart urban construction projects, meaning the current development of smart cities was still inadequate.

Some localities had started deploying some basic applications and services for smart cities. Meanwhile, ministries and agencies were continuing to research and complete building guidelines, mechanisms and policies for smart cities.

Considering India a good destination for smart solutions and competitive prices, VAFIE’s Vice Chairman Nguyen Anh Tuan said: “The meeting provides chances for Vietnam and local enterprises to find suitable partners and solutions to develop smart cities and smart services.”

According to the Indian Embassy in Hanoi, India launched its flagship programme ‘Digital India’ in 2015 with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge-based economy. This programme centered on the vision of offering digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen, providing governance and services on demand, and enabling the digital empowerment of citizens.

Ambassador Pranay Verma said: “Over the years, IT and ITS have emerged to be a promising area for co-operation between India and Vietnam. Many Indian IT companies have also established their presence in Vietnam to provide IT training, solutions and services, especially in banking, telecoms and cyber security.”

The ambassador told Vietnam News: “While the whole world confronts destruction from the COVID-19 pandemic, information and communication technology has emerged as an effective tool for governance, fintech, education, business, office work and social connections.”

Seeing Vietnam has emerged to be among the key players in ASEAN in the ICT sector, he added: “Some Indian start-ups have established their presence in Vietnam in travel technology and financial technology.”

“Vietnam has high quality ICT human resources and high tech facilities, the combination with India with better experience of smart cities will bring the best benefit for both sides,” said a representative of the Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam.

According to VAFIE, the Vietnamese Government had approved the National Digital Transformation programme to 2025 with an orientation to 2030, aiming to raise the digital economy’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) to 20 percent by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030 and bringing Vietnam into the top three digital governments in ASEAN by 2030.

Niranjan Sahoo, chief regional manager of Bharat Electronic Limited, said his firm was an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company and had extended smart city solutions across India.

Being in Vietnam for two and a half years, the manager told Vietnam News: “Vietnam can not only develop smart cities but also smart villages in all parts of the country.”

Tran Cong Son, Vice Chairman of Tuan Chau Group, said with a series of hospitality facilities in Vietnam, the group sought smart solutions and tourism services to better attract customers, giving them added value for their travels after the pandemic.

Attending the meeting, Son expected their Indian partners to help him build a VR and AR experience on his 1,500ha resort in Tuan Chau Resort in Quang Ninh province, adding that: “There are more places that the group is investing in Vietnam which need smart solutions.”

VAFIE’s Tuan, who also runs a global portal called Global Invest that connects local businesses with others, said VAFIE would work more with both sides to help develop smart cities in Vietnam./.

HCM City pilots river litter collecting system

The river litter collecting system

HCM City has piloted a river litter collecting system which has a total investment of VND20 billion (USD869,565).

The system used on a section of Vam Thuat-Ben Cat River has five elements, comprising a barge, a crane to pick litter from the barge, two smaller litter pickers and one boat for rubbish collection.  

Among the equipment, the engine of the two litter-pickers are imported from the US, while the remainder are made by Vietnamese engineers.

The system can gather around 40 tonnes of rubbish every eight hours.

Litter in HCM City’s canals such as Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe, Doi and Te is manually collected but the results have not meet expectations.

The new technology is expected to be applied widely in HCM City after 2021.

RoK supports Vietnam in developing Taekwondo

The Vietnam Taekwondo Federation and the Korean Culture Centre on October 8 inked a three-year agreement to comprehensively develop Taekwondo, the traditional martial arts of the Republic of Korea (RoK), in Vietnam.

Under the deal, the RoK will provide financial and technical support for Vietnam to promote Taekwondo from 2020 to 2023.

The East Asian country will help Vietnam organise Taekwondo tournaments, send talented Vietnamese athletes to the RoK for training, and provide Vietnam with leading experts.

The Korean Culture Centre also announced it will sponsor the 2020 Korean Ambassador Taekwondo Cup in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue this month. About 750 martial artists from Taekwondo clubs around Vietnam are expected to take part./.

Student event to mark 25 years of Vietnam - US diplomatic relations

The Association of Vietnamese Professionals and Students in the US is organising the “Vong Tay Nuoc My 8” (the US’s arm 8) event from October 9 to 11 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations.

A wide range of activities are planned, including a talk on bilateral ties and the opportunities for young Vietnamese to study and work in the US.

Employment workshops and job fairs at the event are expected to open up new opportunities for young people to develop their soft skills. They will also receive valuable advice while attending career consultation seminars on business, technology, science-technology education, and economy-finance education.

The event also features a Virtual Running tournament and online game tournaments, like FIFA, Valorant, and League of Legends.

The Vietnamese community is particularly interested in the Got Talent and Journey contests in the US, where they can show off their talent as well as express their feelings about life and their experience in the US.

An Gala Night awards ceremony will go online on October 11, attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs Dang Minh Khoi and Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc./.

Conference connects overseas Vietnamese with innovative start-up opportunities at home

A cooperation agreement on innovative startup ecosystem connectivity is signed at the conference (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn)

A high-level conference was held in Hanoi on October 8 with the aim of connecting Vietnamese individuals, investors, and businesspeople abroad with investment and innovative start-up opportunities at home.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in Hanoi, the Vietnamese Youth and Student Association in the US, the Office of Project 844 on supporting the national startup and innovation ecosystem until 2025, and the Ministry of Science and Technology co-organised the event.

In his remarks, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung said Vietnam’s innovative start-up ecosystem is developing strongly and any and all ideas from students at home and abroad are encouraged.

UNESCO Chief Representative in Vietnam Michael Croft said innovation and creativity are major development factors in each individual as well as each city.

Within the framework of the conference, the Hanoi Youth Union, the Hanoi Young Business Association, and the VietChallenge JSC signed a cooperation agreement on innovative startup ecosystem connectivity.

The event also featured seminars and the launch of the AI Hackathon 1010 RESET programming contest by the Hanoi Youth Union./.

Dak Nong’s poster exhibition marks National Party Congress

An exhibition of posters popularising the 13th National Party Congress and the 12th provincial Party Congress of Dak Nong province was launched on October 9.

The event, co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provincial Department of the Culture, Sports and Tourism in Gia Nghia city, of the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong, features 200 works by 15 artists from all over the country.

The works highlight Party building and the National Party Congress next year; the studying and following of President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and style; national sovereignty protection and national unity promotion.

The exhibition will run through October 18./.

Hanoi wants good teachers to educate great students

As the centre of politics, education, culture, science and technology, in the country’s context of industrialisation and modernisation, high-quality human resources development is seen as key to Hà Nội's future.

The capital’s education and training sector has developed in both scale and quality, better meeting people's learning needs. Effectively implementing the school network planning project, in 2016-20, many measures have been conducted to build, renovate and repair school facilities.

To date, Hà Nội has basically ensured that each commune, ward and town has at least one public kindergarten, one public primary school and one public junior high school. The city newly built and renovated 1,362 schools at all levels and exceeded the target that it will have 509 public schools by this year.

Among the achievements of the capital’s education and training sector, Hà Nội consistently leads the country in terms of sending excellent students to national and international competitions.

From 10 awards and medals in international Olympiad exams and 138 prizes for selecting national excellent students in the school year 2013-14, in the school year 2019-2020, Hà Nội students achieved a total of 338 international awards and medals, including 88 gold medals, 105 silver medals, 111 bronze medals and 34 consolation prizes.

Hà Nội also leads the country in the National Exam for Excellent Students with 144 prizes, including 15 first prizes.

In international exams in 2019, Hà Nội students joined the Vietnamese delegation and for the first time got a perfect score in the practice exam of the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO). Hà Nội students representing Vietnamese students in the International Mathematics and Science Olympiads for under-13-year-old students and won the first prize collective with 15 gold medals, 14 silver medals and seven bronze medals.

Director of the Hà Nội Department of Education and Training Chử Xuân Dũng said that besides the achievements, the capital still had to narrow the quality gap in education between regions.

This was not a small challenge because Hà Nội’s education system was large and economic and social conditions were quite different among localities, he said.

Building high-quality human resources

To build high-quality human resources for the capital and country, Hà Nội’s education and training sector is focusing on training quality teachers and administrators.

Policies for education are always given priority and funding for training has increased, focusing on attracting, training and fostering young talents and high-quality human resources.

The local education sector has enhanced its international co-operation, making Hà Nội the first and only locality in the country to date to host international exams, an important step in integration work.

The Hanoi Open Mathematics Competition (HOMC) 2018 featured nine participating countries and in 2019 there were 13. Hà Nội also hosted the International Maths and Science Olympiad (IMSO) for under-13-year-old students in 2019, attracting 352 candidates and 215 international experts, teachers and observers from 24 countries and regions.

In terms of attracting foreign investment in education, in the school year 2013-14, Hà Nội had only 29 foreign investment projects, but now, the whole city has 77 educational projects with investment capital. 

HCM City expands 'green school' model

A green space at Măng Non II Kindergarten in HCM City’s District 10. — Photo www.sggp.org.vn

HCM City is expanding the "green school model" at all educational levels as part of its effort to raise awareness about environmental protection through energy saving, recycling, and waste separation at source.

The city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment in collaboration with the Department of Education and Training began implementing the model in 2018-19 academic year.

Many teachers and students have responded enthusiastically to the model with good practices. The two departments in 2018 rewarded 28 schools for their outstanding results. Four collectives and five individuals in the education sector also received the 2018 Environmental Awards from the municipal People’s Committee.

For the 2019-20 academic year, an online competition on environmental protection was organised for 46,000 students from 63 schools in the city. Schools were encouraged to devise innovative solutions for environmental protection, integrate environmental education into the school curriculum, and create environmental protection activities such as painting contests and fashion design.

According to Nguyễn Thị Thanh Mỹ, deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources, environmental protection standards at schools include specific regulations and instructions on how to save electricity, water and natural resources.

The practices must ensure hygiene and environmental sanitation, effective solid waste management, green space development, energy-savings, and water saving.

The schools must give priority to making teaching aids from recyclable materials, limiting the use of plastic bags and disposable plastic products, and using environmentally-friendly materials.

They must also develop solutions to increase awareness among students about environmental issues with the aim of changing their habits and living behaviours.

"Green schools help to create a clean and safe environment, but also educate students about nature and environmental protection," Mỹ said.

“Among the school levels, primary school is an important foundation for forming children’s behaviours and attitudes,” she said.

If the students are equipped with knowledge about environmental protection, they would be the driving force in the efficient use of energy and would play the role of active communicators, influencing their family members, friends and community, she said.

HCM City Oncology Hospital 2 opened to ease overloading problems

The Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital 2 has been put into operation in Tan Phu District with 1,000 beds, hoping to ease the overloading problem at Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital 1.

Dr Diep Bao Tuan, deputy director of HCM City Oncology Hospital 2 said this is the city's key project and important hospital for the people in the southern region. The hospital is equipped with modern technology such as a radiotherapy machine and molecular biology equipment.

It is expected to receive 400 patients from other provinces and cities each day in October. The number of daily patients will increase to 1,000 in late 2020. In the future, the HCM City Oncology Hospital 1 will only receive patients who are HCM City residents. Patients from other provinces can still be treated at the HCM City Oncology Hospital 1 and will be transferred to HCM City Oncology Hospital 2 in the first quarter of 2021.

The hospital has recruited 500 employees and is still recruiting and training more staff.

Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital 2 began construction on June 26, 2016 and was expected to be completed in 2017. After many delays, it was finally put into operation.

Hydropower plant water release causes mass fish deaths in north

Hydropower plant water release causes mass fish deaths in north.

Around 40 tonnes of fish raised in cages on Da River have died en masse over the past few days, due to the water release of the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant. 

According to the northern province of Phu Tho’s Thanh Thuy District, by late Wednesday, as many as 76 fish cages of 19 households were affected by the water discharge of the hydropower plant’s two flood gates.

The fish deaths were attributed to the high levels of mud and silt which reduced oxygen levels in the water.

The mass fish deaths were valued at around VND3.1 billion. (USD134,782).

Thanh Thuy District’s authorities asked concerned agencies to report the losses to the provincial people’s committee in order for them to provide assistance to fish breeders.

Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant in the namesake province opened one flood gate on September 30 and three days later, one more flood gate was opened, resulting in the deaths from October 4.

Earlier, local fish breeders were informed of the water release and instructed to move cages close to the river bank to minimise damage. Fish breeders were advised to sell adult fish, while smaller dead fish could be fed to animals.

HCM City restricts Covid-19 quarantine for foreign experts

HCM City will not arrange Covid-19 quarantine areas for foreign experts and investors who come to seven southern provinces through Tan Son Nhat International Airport to work.

The municipal Department of Health has informed the seven southern provinces of Tay Ninh, Binh Dung, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An and Tien Giang that Ho Chi Minh City would not accept quarantined foreign visitors on behalf of these provinces. According to the department, the seven localities have to make their own preparations for the quarantine and report the HCM City Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on the specific schedule of flights which take foreign experts to Tan Son Nhat International Airport for the support.

Meanwhile, other cities and provinces have to ask the HCM City People’s Committee for permission to quarantine of foreign experts. After being approved, the HCM City Department of Health will instruct agencies and units where the foreign guests will register for quarantine.

Binh Duong to invest USD4.34 million into lacquer village preservation

The southern province of Binh Duong has decided to pour VND100 billion (USD4.56 million) into preserving a local lacquer village for tourism development.

The provincial people’s committee has approved a project on preserving and developing Tuong Binh Hiep lacquer village which is nearly 100 years old in Thu Dau Mot District.   

Under the project, VND70 billion which is sourced from the local budget will be used for building a tourism-lacquer complex in the village and promotion activities.

The remainder of VND35 billion will be raised from private sources to build lacquer production and display areas.

According to local artisans, the lacquer handicraft in the village has started from the 1930s with the best development recorded with the strongest development in the 1980-1990 period with around 100 workshops.

Tuong Binh Hiep lacquer products have good quality and nice design and are exported to many European countries.

However, since 2000, the village has faced many difficulties and many workshops have suspended their operations.

In 2016, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognised the village as a national intangible cultural heritage in order to preserve its cultural values.

The project will be carried out in the next four years.

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