The weekend walking space will be enlarged for community activities, fostering trade, services, tourism and cultural exchange.

According to the Steering Committee of Hoan Kiem pedestrian space, the weekend walking space around Hoan  Kiem Lake will be enlarged to the south, connecting some streets in Hanoi’s Old Quarter area to Hoan Kiem Lake.

The weekend pedestrian space including Hanoi’s Old Quarter, the area around Hoan Kiem lake and its vicinity has been opened since 2004. It was initially aimed at encouraging people to walk instead of gluing themselves to the motorbike seat, as well as creating spaces for community activities, fostering trade, services, tourism and cultural exchange.

However, it is still difficult to stroll from the Hoan Kiem lake to the Old Quarter without being interrupted by traffic as these two areas are not connected to form one walking space. 

The expansion of walking space to the south of Hanoi’s Old Quarter area will create one pedestrian zone on the weekends, satisfying the need for a larger space for visitors to promenade, go shopping, enjoy food and  cultural activities in Hanoi downtown.

Accordingly, eight streets and three alleys will be pedestrianized, starting from January 1, 2021, including the streets of Hang Dau, Cau Go, Hang Be, Hang Bac, Dinh Liet, Gia Ngu, Dao Duy Tu (the section from Cho Gao to Quan Chuong Gate), Quan Chuong Gate (including O Quan Chuong street and Hang Chieu - Thanh Ha crossroads area);  and Cau Go, Trung Yen, Phat Loc alleys.

The pedestrian area is opened three nights on weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), from 7pm to 12am in the summer and from 6pm to 12pm in the winter.

Besides, cultural and historical sites in the area will open until midnight; art performances will also be organized regularly at some venues such as Quan Chuong Gate (for Vietnamese traditional music performance). Dinh Liet - Gia Ngu crossroads (for contemporary music performance); Kim Ngan Temple (at No. 42-44 Hang Bac - for traditional music performance). 

Ehealth Vietnam Summit 2020 to take place in Hanoi next week

The National Health Digital Transformation Programme 2020 - eHealth Vietnam Summit 2020 will take place on December 29-30 in Hanoi.

The programme aims to make the most of advantages in information technology application, mobilise social resources and seek solutions to promote the rapid, timely and efficient implementation of digital transformation in the medical field in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, heard a press conference held in Hanoi on December 24 by the Government Office and the Ministry of Health.

In addition to the plenary session, there are also four sidelines seminars focusing on topics such as: Digital transformation in medical examination and treatment, Digital transformation in disease prevention and healthcare; Digital transformation in health management and non-cash payments. Achievements of digital transformation in the health field and medical innovations will be also introduced at this event.

Digital transformation in the medical sector includes the comprehensive application of information technology, with a special focus on modern digital technologies, leading to a positive change in all medical activities of the health sector, Director of the Ministry of Health’s Information Technology Agency Tran Quy Tuong told the press conference.

Tuong said that the health sector has stepped up and made a breakthrough in IT application, access to digital technologies such as connected internet of things (IoT) in the medical field, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, cloud computing and big data analytics in recent years.

According to Tuong, the sector has promoted the application of information technology in hospitals such as 100 percent of hospitals nationwide have deployed a hospital management information system, 10 hospitals and one clinic have deployed electronic medical records instead of paper ones, while 23 hospitals have deployed image storage and transmission systems (PACS) instead of printing films. Some hospitals in Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City have used social networks in patient interactions. The application of electronic medical records for patients and cloud computing applications were available also in Nghe An, Tien Giang and Kon Tum provinces.

The Ministry of Health also collaborated with Vietnam Social Insurance Agency to successfully implement the interconnection between medical examination and treatment facilities nationwide and the Social Insurance Agency. To date, 99.5 percent of healthcare facilities across the country have connected with the assessment system of the Vietnam Social Insurance Agency, according to the Information Technology Agency.

The sector has developed a remote medical examination and treatment consultation system and IoT in the health sector and deployed artificial intelligence and robotic applications in the medical field. The sector also developed and deployed electronic health records and promoted the application of information technology in grassroots health facilities by developing a unified management software for commune health stations nationwide. It also organised the electronic health statistics system nationwide and applied IT advances in the prevention and control of COVID-19, such as the voluntary medical declaration software (NCOVI), the Vietnam Health Declaration, Bluezone and Safe COVID apps.

The health sector plans to apply digital technology in most of its activities and services, forming a smart health system with three main contents: smart prevention; smart medical examination and treatment; and smart medical administration.

Hanoi students raise fund for flood victims

Students raise fund for flood victims via painting exhibition.

A group of Hanoi students have donated VND50m (USD2,100) to flood victims in the central region after earning money from their painting exhibition.   

The money was raised from their painting exhibition, Touch, held on December 19 at Casa Italia Restaurant. All of the money raised at the exhibition was donated to people in need. Many students and teachers also came to show their support. A total of 100 paintings were sold at the exhibition.

As of December 22, they earned VND237m (USD10,200). VND50m has been donated to the flood victims. The rest of the money will be used for various charity activities.   

Phuong Linh, head of the organisation board said, "We want to bring some warmth and encouragement to the people in the central region after such a natural disaster. We prepared for the exhibition two months ago. Five workshops were held with the participation of many students from the University of Industrial Fine Arts. We then selected the most outstanding paintings for the exhibition. The British International School Hanoi also donated paintings of former students."

According to Linh, their group only had four members at first. The lack of personnel gave them difficulties when holding painting workshops. After their idea became known, they received much support from other students, family, school and sponsors and were able to select 20 quality paintings for the exhibition.

"Our primary purpose was to provide to the flood victims in the central region and children at National Children's Hospital. This is the first time we’ve held such an event ourselves so we faced many challenges," Linh said. "This will be a high-school experience that I'll never forget. We can only say thank you to everyone that gave us support."

Hanoi drafts sustainable economic development plan in next 5 years

Hanoi is set to mobilize resources to upgrade the infrastructure network and create breakthroughs in state governance of economic activities.

Chairman of the Hanoi’s People Committee Chu Ngoc Anh today [December 24] chaired a meeting to discuss the action plan to ensure the capital city’s rapid and sustainable economic development during the 2021-25 period.

The meeting is part of the overall efforts in realizing one of Hanoi’s 10 major action programs for the next five years, namely “Focusing on revising growth model, economic restructuring and global integration, with a view to improving productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of Hanoi’s economy towards rapid and sustainable development in 2021-25.”

Under the action program, Hanoi sets a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth target of 7.5–8% for the 2021-25 period, in which the services sector will make up 65-65.5%, industry and services 22.5-23% and agro-forestry-fishery 1.4-1.6%.

By 2025, the city targets to have gross regional domestic product (GRDP) per capita of VND190 million (US$8,300) and VND830 million ($36,000) by 2045.

In the next five years, digital economy is expected to contribute 30% to the city’s GRDP, while Hanoi will stay in the country’s top 8 in the provincial competitiveness index (CPI), up one place from its current standing and would be among the top 10 in the Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI).

Other key economic targets include export growth of 8-9%; number of tourists to expand by an average of 15% per year, resulting in 35-39 million tourists to Hanoi by 2025, of which 3.2 million are foreign tourists.

To realize these targets, Hanoi will continue to revise its economic growth model based on  science, technology and innovation.

Hanoi aims to mobilize resources to upgrade the infrastructure network and create breakthroughs in state governance in economic activities, at the same time further integrating into the global economy for greater productivity, competitiveness and economic efficiency.

Director of Hanoi's Department of Taxation Mai Son said during the 2016-20 period, the proportion of revenues from trading activities and crude oil in the total domestic revenue has been on the decline, accounting for 1.2% compared to 6.6% in the previous five years.

“Such rate is estimated to further decline to 0.4% in 2021-25”, stated Mr. Son, noting there has been a structural transformation in the city’s economy.

Director of the Hanoi Promotion Agency Nguyen Gia Phuong suggested the city should set up specific criteria in attracting high quality foreign direct investment (FDI), so that Hanoi will continue to stay atop the nation in terms of attracting foreign investment capital.

In 2020, Hanoi’s GRDP growth is estimated to reach 3.94% this year, which is lower than the year’s target of 7.5% but would be 1.5 times higher than the national average (2.5–3%).

HCMC to strictly monitor academic quality of primary pupils
 
The Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Department of Education and Training has just issued a formal document requesting its divisions in 24 districts to tighten the monitoring task for extra-curriculum teaching activities and the academic quality of primary pupils at the end of each school year.

In order to improve the learning quality of pupils, especially weak learners, the HCMC Department of Education and Training has asked principals of educational institutes to increase checking professional activities of their teaching staff.

These school leaders are also suggested to help teachers upgrade their professional skills to better fulfill their responsibilities.

Teachers are recommended to renovate their teaching and testing methods to more precisely evaluate the academic as well as moral level of their pupils so that proper help can be provided to those in need.

Teachers are requested to carefully prepare detailed educational plans for pupils of each level, with a clear focus on weak ones. Extra-curriculum lessons should be offered to aid them fill in the learning gap and be more confident in their study.

Lastly, tuition sessions held in educational institutes and private locations must strictly observe all regulations introduced by the Ministry of Education and Training, HCMC People’s Committee.

Most importantly, the evaluation of pupils’ academic level at the end of the school year must be quality-based rather than achievement-based. There should be a close cooperation between teachers and parents to help weak learners improve their level.

New program to support poor children kicked off
 
A new program introduced by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) named ‘My Wish’ was kicked off yesterday with the visit of its Minister Phung Xuan Nha to remote areas in the northern province of Bac Kan to deliver financial aid to schools in need there.

The program ‘My Wish’ is co-organized by MoET and the Organization Board of the scheme ‘Vietnamese Digital Knowledge System’, Vietnam Red Cross Society, the Central Committee of Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, and related ministries.

Visiting Nhan Mon Primary and Secondary High School for the ethnics (located in Pac Nam District), Minister Phung Xuan Nha affirmed that the Central Party and the local authorities have always paid much attention to education, especially in remote mountainous areas and for the ethnics. This has led to an upgrade in educational conditions in schools here.

Highly aware of the challenges that teachers and students in these areas still encounter, and strictly observing the instruction of the Government about mobilizing possible resources in the community to increase education quality in remote areas, MoET’s delegation and benefactors have launched certain activities in the program ‘My Wish’ firstly in Slam Ve branch of Nhan Mon Primary and Secondary High School for the ethnics and in Nam Lau School (in Bach Thong District). At both locations, a new school kitchen, schoolyard, and rest-rooms will be built to serve students.

In addition, the delegation delivered rice, water filter machines, warm clothes, worth VND500 million (approx. US$21,600), to poor children there. These gifts are supposed to help students going to school feeling comfortable and full, which is meaningful to many poor ethnical families.

Health insurance linkage at provincial level attracts contradictory opinions
 
The Law of Health Insurance in Vietnam states that from January 1, 2021, insured patients bypassing their primary healthcare facility still receive the same benefits as they do when they come to their appropriate one. This is such good news to citizens, yet at the same time such trouble to hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), which is normally the preference of patients with serious diseases.

According to the instruction document by HCMC Social Insurance, from January 1, 2021, people from provinces do not need a referral letter when becoming inpatients to enjoy 100 percent of treatment cost paid by health insurance.

Outpatients coming to HCMC for treatment still need a referral letter.

Sick people from provinces becoming inpatients in Cho Ray Hospital, Military Hospital 175, the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology, and Thong Nhat Hospital without a referral letter can only have 40 percent of their medical expense paid by health insurance.

Emergency insured cases or patients with a referral letter can enjoy a 100 percent treatment cost paid by health insurance.

The change this time is in accordance with the route stated in the Law of Health Insurance. 5 years ago, insured patients began to enjoy a linkage among hospitals of the district level in order to improve the professional skills of lower-leveled healthcare institutes.

Nevertheless, leaders of many hospitals commented that the linkage this time does provide better services to patients, yet simultaneously increase the burden on the shoulder of major hospitals.

Being the highest-leveled about oncology, each day HCMC Oncology Hospital treats 4,000 outpatients and 600 inpatients. Among the first group, 32 percent are of appropriate primary level. Deputy Director of this hospital Diep Bao Tuan commented that the new linkage allows citizens to choose their preferred hospital more easily, greatly boosting their satisfaction. However, he admitted that if the number of patients is too large, the hospital cannot apply hi-tech treatment methods for all.

Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Health Tang Chi Thuong revealed the statistics about health insurance status in the city, saying that on average the quantity of insured inpatients bypassing their primary facility (coming from other southern provinces) accounts for 5 percent. The total cost for the treatment of these people occupies 5 percent of the expense under insurance.

“Formerly, bypassing inpatients could have 60 percent of their treatment cost paid by the health insurance. Under this new change, 100 percent of the expense will be under the responsibility of the health insurance. This means a compulsory increase in the estimate insurance expenditure of each hospital in HCMC just for residents of the city. That is not to mention a forecast growth in the number of patients coming from neighboring provinces”, said Mr. Thuong.

In order to avoid the state when patients all rush to the highest-leveled hospitals, Mr. Thuong suggested that related state units in the medical field should propagandize the medical ability of lower-leveled hospitals which have already received infrastructure upgrades.

Right now, many ward-leveled clinics have reformed their operation, observing the family medicine principle. In addition, several district-leveled hospitals can perform intensive treatment. These developments are expected to help ease the burden of higher-leveled medical institutes.

Another fact worth mentioning is that the new linkage is posing a challenge to district-leveled hospitals, most of which are now financially autonomous, since they need to continuously renew themselves (upgrading technical equipment, developing capable human resources, and perfect administrative tasks) to attract more patients.

Lastly, district-leveled hospitals should pay more attention to improving their current medical facilities for outpatients, while expanding examination and treatment choices for these patients to answer their demands. New models like distance diagnosis or medical service provision at home should be considered, especially in this sensitive time of Covid-19 pandemic.

“It is the responsibility of hospital at district level to provide human resources help to ward-leveled clinics using the rotating method”, said Mr. Thuong.

Progress of Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line could be delayed

The State Council for Pre-Acceptance Test of Construction Works has asked the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) to urgently inspect the replacement of elastomeric bearings pads for the entire length of Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Metro Line after they fell out from the bedrock at the pillar P14-10 of Package 2 (CP2). 

In addition, HCMC’s authorities has also set up an inspection team to find out the cause of the incidents.

On December 22, MAUR continued to send a request to the consortium comprising Vietnam’s Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No. 6 (Cienco 6) and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation, the contractor of the line to look for incident report.

Accordingly, MAUR is afraid that the incident could impact the progress and schedule of the project. The main investor said that contractor’s report of the incident is not clear and convincing. MAUR doubts the quality of bearing pads and asks the contractors of the line to provide experiment results to prove that the installation of the bearing pads meet technology standards.

Resettlement apartments in Thu Thiem area waiting for auction
 
After 5 years since completion, thousands of resettlement apartments in Thu Thiem area in District 2 of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) are still mostly vacant. In 2020, the city has to allocate a large sum of money for the maintenance and operation of these apartment buildings, which is obviously a waste of budget and human resources.

In April 2015, block series R7 of Duc Khai Resettlement Area welcomed its first residents and was supposed to fill all 741 apartments after a short time. Sadly, a year had already passed, yet only 252 apartments were occupied. Now after 5 years, the total number of households here is merely 414, but the property managers have to provide necessary utilities for all 5 blocks since these people are scattering there

Statistics from District 2 Public Service Co. Ltd. – the management unit here – reveal that there has been a loss of over VND100 million (approx. US$4,300) in the first 6 months this year on overhead cost, mostly on electricity for common areas of these buildings.

Ineffective as it may seem, these blocks are still in use. There are 25 resettlement apartment blocks left empty behind it, owned by Thuan Viet Joint Venture, Vietracimex Joint Venture. Around these buildings, weeds are happily grown. However, these companies still need to pay for security guards to ensure safety of the area.

Explaining the current unused status of resettlement apartments in Thu Thiem area, Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Construction Huynh Thanh Khiet said that formerly, residents in the area chose a resettlement apartment or land because the compensation sum was not in accordance with the market price. Now the compensation money observes the updated market price, so they prefer this. That leads to a surplus of apartments.

To tackle the issue, HCMC People’s Committee assigned the Center for Housing Management and Construction Inspection (under the HCMC Department of Construction) to comprehensively manage those buildings and prepare an auction plan for the empty apartments. The HCMC Center for Land Resource Development and the Auction Center (under the HCMC Department of Justice) carried out the auction.

Until now, there have been 3,790 apartments available for auction (accounting for the surface area of 38.4ha) in Binh Khanh Ward (belonging to blocks R1, R2, R3, R4, R5). Sadly, not many were sold since they are traded in large lots, requiring a huge sum of investment that hardly can any company afford.

Updated information about the 3,790 apartments up for auction shows that they are divided into two parts for trading. The first one consists of 2,220 apartments in the blocks of R1, R2, R3, with the total value of land use and construction of VND7,977 billion ($345 million). The second one has 1.570 apartments in the blocks of R4, R5, valued at VND6,200 billion ($268 million).

Being an expert in real estate, General Director of Hoang Anh Saigon Real Estate Co. Doan Chi Thanh commented that it is not hard at all to sell those apartments because they are sited in the ‘golden location’. What matters now is the selling method.

He suggested that there must be a press conference to announce this auction publicly. Then payment methods must be clearly identified. At the moment, most investors only need to pay 30 percent of the required sum to be allowed renovation and retail trading. The rest can be paid in 2-3 years. Therefore, a flexible payment method is sure to attract potential investors.

“These apartment lots should not be divided into smaller parts for sale since it can complicate the market due to uncontrollable house prices. They should be sold to one investor for a more consistent marketing and trading strategy. At present, many investors have shown their interest in these apartments and are willingly to pour thousands of billions of VND into this project. That is the reason why I do believe a flexible payment method from the local authorities can lead to a success in auction”, said Mr. Thanh.

Cashless toll payment still struggles due to unfamiliar nature

There are only 1 million out of 4 million cars in Vietnam that have an e-toll tag as of late December 2020, even though cashless payment has been implemented for a long time. 

What’s more, all toll stations across Vietnam are going to have a cashless booth starting from December 31 as stated in official announcements.

A toll station service provider in South Binh Dinh Province in the Central region reports severely lower earnings from its electronic toll booths over 2 years of operation compared to cash-collecting booths.

Some toll companies in the Mekong Delta have deployed electronic toll collection (ETC) from August 2018, but only 10% of all passing vehicles have used the service since, said the leader of a local toll company.

On the other hand, owners of e-tagged vehicles sometimes do not pay the service bill and still prefer buying toll tickets via cash, he added.

As a result, most toll stations along the highway through Bac Lieu and Soc Trang Provinces in the Mekong Delta still maintain both cashless and traditional booths.

Many drivers expressed that they are not comfortable with the technology as well as the e-payment process as a whole, reports told.

According to the current ETC service provider in the country, Vietnam Electronic Toll Collection Company (VETC), vehicle owners must first open a new account for the ETC service at certain car registration centers.

The vehicle owner then has to manually transfer money into this account through the service provider’s phone app or via wire transfer, which many have complained to be inconvenient.

So far, VETC have only worked with Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) for automatic credit payment. They already have plans to cooperate with 30 more banks throughout the country and also enable e-wallet payment.

When asked why there isn’t an option to deduct the toll directly from vehicle owners’ personal bank account when they go through booths, VETC Deputy General Director Ho Trong Vinh said the payment process through commercial banks is not fast enough, not to mention transaction errors that may affect the barriers.

Buses under 16 seats allowed to run on Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway

According to the BOT Trung Luong - My Thuan Joint Stock Company, Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway is being urgently completed construction in order to allow buses with less than 16 seats and trucks of less than 2.5 tons to run one-way traffic five days before Tet and five days after the Lunar New Year 2021. 

The Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway project has implemented 34 out of 36 construction and installation packages, the remaining two packages are toll stations and ITS system will deploy construction according to the project schedule.

The total construction volume reached about 75 percent. The expressway strives to ensure traffic smooth in December 31; and allow the above-mentioned vehicles through the one-way expressway five days before Tet and five days after the Lunar New Year 2021; thereby, the new expressway will contribute to reduce traffic jams on National Highway 1, passing through Tien Giang Province, during peak days of the Lunar New Year.

Currently, there are about 1,500 workers with about 1,000 specialized vehicles, machines, equipment, etc. on the site working all the day.

Hanoi intensifies efforts to combat smuggling and trade frauds ahead of Tet holiday

Local authorities will maintain inspection works at key areas, including Noi Bai International Airport, Yen Vien train station, ports, wholesale markets and shopping malls.

Hanoi’s Steering Committee for Combating Smuggling, Commercial Fraud and Counterfeit Goods, known as Steering Committee 389, has announced its plan to intensify efforts to combat smuggling and trade frauds before, during and after the 2021 Lunar New Year holiday.

Under the plan, the city’s Steering Committee 389 will enhance inspection works at key areas, including Noi Bai International Airport, Yen Vien train station, ports, wholesale markets, and shopping malls.

The committee is set to mobilize personnel and resources to set up checkpoints at roads, railways, airports to prevent movement of smuggled, fake and low-quality products into the country. This is particularly important for the control of banned items or items that could pose risks to public security and order during the festive period, such as drugs, weapons, firecrackers, cigarettes, petroleum products, food, wine, electronic products, cosmetics, and luxury clothes.

According to the plan, anti-smuggling and combat trade frauds efforts will focus on goods and products required for the Covid-19 fight, particularly face masks, hand sanitizers and medical protective gear.

In the coming time, the committee will promote public awareness to aid the authorities’ efforts against smuggling, trade frauds and sales of fake products.

The committee urged local agencies to step up responsibilities and take an active role in the joint-efforts during the festive periods, especially in the upcoming 13th national Party Congress.

Steel consumption recovered strongly in November

Vietnam’s steel production was less affected by the pandemic thanks to support policies from importing countries, including EU members.

Steel consumption recovered strongly in November after falling in October, as the demand for house and factory repairs after the stormy period, and the favorable weather for construction activities supported sales in all three main steel segments, according to Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC).

In addition, due to increasing steel prices, retailers tended to store more products in the short-term. In fact, hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices increased from US$530/ton in early November to reach US$700, stated the brokerage firm in a report. 

Construction steel prices were predicted to increase due to higher material prices, it added.  In the construction steel segment, the selling volume was supported by the domestic market as domestic sales in November increased by 61% month-on-month and 9% year-on-year.

Similarly, steel pipe consumption was still high owing to strong domestic demand. In the coated steel segment, export volume was still high due to the strong demand from the EU. Several coated steel manufacturers have sufficient export orders for production until March 2021.

For December, VDSC expected coated steel consumption can be still good due to high exports, meanwhile, construction steel and steel pipe demand could decrease slightly compared to November. 

During the January – November period, total steel consumption (including construction steel, coated steel and steel pipes) was stable compared to the same period last year due to the recovery in late-2020, but sale results were different between segments.

In the construction steel segment, domestic consumption decreased by 3.7% year-on-year due to the slower growth in the construction industry. In contrast, exports were the positive signs in both the construction steel and coated steel segments because Vietnam’s steel production was less affected by the pandemic and steel import policy in several countries supported Vietnam’s producers, especially the EU. 

In the coated steel segment, export volume increased strongly by 13% year-on-year, thus, total consumption recorded a growth of 3.4%.

Regarding the construction steel market share, the competition in each market has been increasing since the second half of last year. In the southern market, Hoa Phat Group (HPG) increased its sales by 77% year-on-year owing to the abundant volume with competitive price from the Dung Quat Steel Complex. In contrast, Pomina and Vinakyoei’s sales saw a decrease in selling volume, although Posco SS’s exit created room for other producers.

Besides the southern market, export is also a key driver for HPG’s growth as its export volume increased by 112% year-on-year. For 2021, the report noted the competition can still increase as Pomina ran its new one-million-ton mill commercially since the second half of 2020.

In the coated steel and steel pipe segment, the market share was relatively stable, but the increasing competition in the next years can change the structure sharply.

Hanoi agricultural sector estimated to expand at record rate of 4.2% in 2020

For next year, Hanoi targets growth of the agricultural sector by at least 3%.

Hanoi’s agricultural sector in 2020 is set to expand at 4.2% - the highest rate in recent years, and cements its role as a strong foundation for the economy during a difficult period of time.

Overview of the online conference from the Hanoi People's Committee. Photo: Trong Tung. 
Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen revealed the data at a national online conference discussing the performance of Vietnam’s agriculture in 2020 and targets for 2021 on December 24.

Total production value of agro-forestry-fishery in the city rose by 4.5% against the same period of last year to VND38.1 trillion (US$1.67 billion), which is a positive result despite numerous challenges and difficulties in 2020, including the African Swine Fever, H5N6 avian influenza, and especially the Covid-19 pandemic, noted Mr. Quyen.

“To help the sector overcome these problmes and further contribute to socio-economic development, Hanoi has been pushing for greater production in agriculture, including pig herds repopulation and setting up measures against potential diseases during the production process,” Mr. Quyen continue.

There have also been positive changes in the structure of the city’s agriculture towards a greater focus on market demand, which helps create more jobs and better incomes for farmers, he suggested.

“Hanoi will continue to develop hi-tech farming with higher added-value and safety standards,” Mr. Quyen added.

In 2020, the average income of locals in rural areas is estimated at VND55 million (US$2,378) per year, up VND3.5 million (US$151.37) against last year.

During the 2018-20 period, Hanoi allocated VND82 billion (US$3.54 million) to classify 800-1,000 goods and products under the OCOP program and acknowledge other 500 as OCOP products. So far, 700 products have been classified as OCOP products in 2020, exceeding the original target.

For next year, Hanoi targets growth in the agricultural sector by at least 3%. Mr. Quyen said the city would request the government to revise the Land Law to address its existing shortcomings, including the issue of land consolidation and creating more favorable conditions to encourage further investment in the sector, especially in hi-tech farming.

Over 90% of population covered by health insurance

The number of health insurance enrollments in Viet Nam reached 88 million people, or some 90.85% of the country’s population, surpassing the preset goal of 90.7%, according to the Viet Nam Social Security (VSS).

VSS Deputy General Director Le Hung Son reported that over 16.1 million of people or 32.6% of the labor force enrolled in health insurance in 2020. Especially, nearly 1.1 million people engaged in vulnerable health insurance, up 494,000 people in comparison with 2019.

With health insurance coverage of 90.85%, Viet Nam has fundamentally finalized the goal of universal health insurance ahead of schedule. Noticeably, other developed countries have to spend 40 to 80 years to realize the goal while it takes Viet Nam only 17 years.

In 2020, nearly 2.5 million of people get cash payment. Over 700,000 other received financial payment via personal accounts. Nearly 9.6 million people benefited from insurance of sickness, maternity, and health recovery. Over 1 million got unemployment benefits./.

Long An to undertake more water supply projects

The Mekong Delta province of Long An will carry out 31 water supply projects in 2021- 25 to benefit nearly 28,900 rural households.

To cost 349 billion VND (16.97 million USD), they will be funded by both the province’s coffers and public contributions.

Groundwater will be extracted from 280 – 300 metres.

The projects will be located in Kien Tuong town and the districts of Tan Hung, Vinh Hung, Moc Hoa, Tan Thanh, Thanh Hoa, Thu Thua, Ben Luc, Duc Hoa, Duc Hue, Tan Tru, and Can Duoc.

They will help increase the rate of rural households getting water supplied by pipe by 9 percent and complete a target set for this in new- style rural areas, according to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The rate is now 51.8 percent, almost exactly the same as the national average, it said.

Can Giuoc and Can Duoc are the two districts that have faced the worst shortage in recent years.

In the 2019 – 20 dry season, for instance, more than 8,000 households in the two districts faced a shortage.

But the province has undertaken a number of water supply projects and basically resolved their shortage./.

Vietnam home to 513 social housing projects for workers

An archirectural drawing of a social housing project in Da Nang city (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam has 513 social housing projects for workers, 249 of which with 5.2 million sq.m of floor area are completed, or 41.7 percent of the plan, according to figures from the Ministry of Construction.

Meanwhile, 264 other projects with total floor area of around 10.95 million sq.m are under construction.

Deputy Construction Minister Nguyen Van Sinh said the target under the national housing strategy has not been fulfilled, with a shortage of funding one of the main reasons.

The ministry has proposed amendments to Decree 100/2015/ND-CP to address the problems, and is working with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour on a project to bolster trade union institutions at industrial and export processing parks, the Deputy Minister said.

The Bank for Social Policy has so far received some 2.16 trillion VND out of a total of 9 trillion VND (388.36 million USD) to disburse for such projects this year, or just 24 percent, while four commercial banks appointed by the State to provide subsidised loans have not received any capital.

Many localities and businesses are yet to pay due regard to social housing, Sinh pointed out.

He added that developers are not interested in social housing projects as incentives are not attractive enough.

Real estate has been among the leading sectors in attracting FDI, analysts said, and real estate products are growing in terms of variety.

Demand will continue to rise to 2030, especially in urban areas, due to economic and population growth, and around 70 million square metres of urban housing is needed every year.

But there are too many luxury property products and not enough social housing for low-income earners despite there being more demand for the latter./.

Phu Yen requests support to overcome consequences of natural disasters

Phu Yen People’s Committee requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide VND320 billion ($13.9 million) to help local people overcome the consequences of natural disasters.

At the working session with the delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Tran Huu The, Chairman of Phu Yen People’s Committee, called for financial support.

According to the statistics published by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2020, frequent natural disasters have taken a substantial toll on the province. Notably, 1,700 hectares of rice-growing area lacked water for irrigation and 510 households lacked drinkable water.  

In early October and late November, the province suffered damage from three consecutive storms, damaging agriculture and the infrastructure.

The damage to the seafood production sector alone was VND555 billion ($24.1 million).

In addition, the African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, as well as other diseases hurt local shrimp farmers.

To help relieve the damage, the province requested financial support from the MARD while simultaneously supporting the repairing of disaster prevention infrastructure with eight segments and projects worth VND1.35 trillion ($58.69 million).

Phu Yen also requested 10,000 litres of Vetvaco-Iodine, 10 tonnes of Chlorine and 50,000 vaccines to treat foot-and-mouth disease from the government.

Winners of 2020 Fine Arts Association Awards honoured

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on December 22 to present the Vietnam Fine Arts Association Awards 2020 to thefour most outstanding works.

The fine art works honoured included two second and two third prizes: an iron-wood installation by Le Trong Nghia (from Binh Dinh Province), an oil painting by Phung Quoc Tri (from Hanoi), an acrylic painting by Truong Manh Sang (from Bac Kan Province) and a book by Trang Thanh Hien (from Hanoi).

According to President of Vietnam Fine Arts Association Luong Xuan Doan, the organising board received 2,759 submissions by 1,884 artists from around the country.

The art councils selected 1,759 works by 1,453 artists for nine regional fine art exhibitions.

In the field of regional fine art exhibition and fine art criticismawards, two A, nine B, 17 C and 34 consolation prizes were presented to outstanding works.

On the occasion, the Vietnam Fine Arts presented medals to 15 members who have made great contributions to the development of Vietnam’s fine arts.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews/SGT/VIR