Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a meeting of permanent Government members on February 15, the first working day after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, to review this year’s Tet situation and launch some focal tasks.

Officials reported that ministries, sectors, and localities cared for people’s material and spiritual lives by properly implementing social security policies along with activities of gratitude to war invalids, families of war martyrs, and revolution contributors. Tet gifts and assistance worth over 7.76 trillion VND (317.4 million USD) were presented to more than 13.9 million people of target groups.

The supply of Tet goods, especially the essentials, was abundant with ensured quality and stable prices, tourism continued to flourish, while many construction sites and factories sustained activities throughout Tet to speed up progress, they said, adding that public health care was also carried out well.

Participants also highlighted that traffic and transportation were basically smooth with violations strictly handled, political security and national security firmly maintained, social order and safety guaranteed, and the rules on thrift practice and wastefulness prevention seriously implemented.

In addition, many cultural and festive activities deeply imbued with national identity have taken place in a civilised manner. All people welcomed Tet in a merry, sentimental, healthy, safe, and economical manner, officials noted.

They said during the seven-day holiday, the tourism sector recorded about 10.5 million domestic travelers, up 16.6% from the 2023 Tet, including some 3.5 million temporary tenants (up 75%). Some localities housing international terminals welcomed cruise tourists during Tet, a signal of a good year for the attraction of international visitors.

Besides, he told ministries, sectors, and localities to coordinate closely and effectively to tackle difficulties facing people and businesses while pressing on with the perfection of regulations, mechanisms, and policies to mobilise every resource for national development.

The number of tourists to Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage site in Quang Ninh province, has increased by 175% during the recent lunar New Year holiday (Tet), with foreign arrivals outnumbering domestic ones.

Ha Long Bay welcomed nearly 46,000 visitors during the Tet holiday lasting from February 8 to 14, of whom nearly 35,000 were foreign travelers, reported the management board of the site.

Visitors staying overnight on Ha Long Bay reached about 10,000, most of whom were international travelers, said the board.

Ha Long Bay of Quang Ninh province was twice recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage in 1994 and 2000. On September 16, 2023, Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago (Hai Phong City) was recognized as a World Natural Heritage by UNESCO. This is Vietnam's first inter-provincial UNESCO-listed world heritage site.

Last year, CNN named Ha Long Bay as one of the 25 most beautiful places in the world. Fodor’s Travel, a trusted resource offering expert travel advice for every stage of a traveler’s trip for nearly eight decades, also listed the destination among the top 25 natural wonders in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) based in Hong Kong (China) named Ha Long Bay among one of the most popular attractions in all of Asia.

Ha Long Bay has been selected as one of the competition venues for the Clipper 2023-24 Round the World Yacht Race that tours a number countries around the world.

The Ha Long bay stage, scheduled to take place in late February, is a big opportunity for Quang Ninh to promote its tourism development potential.

300 stranded Taiwanese tourists get support to return home

The southern province of Kien Giang has asked local travel agencies to assist approximately 300 Taiwanese visitors left stranded on Phu Quoc island due to controversy over tour costs to fly home on schedule.

Bui Quoc Thai, director of the Kien Giang Department of Tourism, confirmed on February 13 that nearly 300 Taiwanese tourists had encountered an unexpected incident when visiting Phu Quoc during the Lunar New Year of the Dragon in 2024. 

He requested local travel firms to support the tourists to return home first and work with the Taiwanese partner later.

The visitors had booked a tour of Phu Quoc island of Kien Giang province through ‘We Love Tour’ – a travel company in Taipei. The Taiwanese firm received money and conducted procedures to bring the visitors to Vietnam.

The visitors arrived in Vietnam on February 10 and are scheduled to fly back to Taiwan on February 14.

Two Vietnamese travel firms – Winner Vietnam and Hoang Tra –welcomed and took the guests to Phu Quoc. However, they have yet to receive any payment from the Taiwanese partner.

“We have made a contact with the Taiwanese side, and we will go to Taiwan to work with them after the lunar New Year holiday. For the time being, we will assist the visitors to return home on schedule, ” said Dam Dieu Quan, head of the Hoang Tra Travel office in the Phu Quoc island district.

Nearly 300 Taiwanese tourists are expected to return home on February 14 morning.

Traffic accidents claim 214 lives during Tet holiday

A total of 541 traffic accidents were recorded nationwide during the recent lunar New Year holiday (Tet) from February 8 to 14, killing 214 people and injuring 504 others, according to the Traffic Police Department.

Compared to the same period last year, the numbers of accidents and injuries went up by 83 and 177 cases respectively, while fatalities fell 69. 

Among them, 538 road accidents left 211 dead and 503 injured, while two railway accidents killed two and injured one person. 

The police in localities also found 71,382 violations with fines totaling over VND182 billion. They also seized 1,463 cars and 34,082 motorbikes, and revoked 18,899 driving licenses. 

As many as 29,099 drivers were found to have exceeded the legal limit for drink driving, marking an increase of 21,373 cases compared to Tet last year, while 16,756 others were caught speeding. 

Furthermore, localities collected fines of over VND118 million from 25 violations recorded on waterways.

HCM City: Tet book street festival lures over 1 million visitors

The Tet Book Street Festival 2024 in Ho Chi Minh City attracted over 1 million visitors from February 7-14, up 11.1% year-on-year, according to the municipal Department of Information and Communications.The department reported that more than 76,000 book titles or 76,158 copies were sold at the festival, earning an estimated revenue of VND10 billion (nearly US$409,000), up 22.53% and 18,23%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

With dragon-themed decorations, the annual festival covered 11,200 sq.m on Le Loi street, more than 3,000 sq.m larger than last year’s event. It saw the participation of more than 30 publishers and distributors.

With innovative and creative design, the eight-day festival created many unique cultural and artistic spaces that attract visitors. A highlight of this year’s festival, thousands of books were presented as gifts to visitors. 

For the last 14 years, the book street festival has become a unique and typical cultural event of HCM City during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, giving domestic and foreign visitors a springtime destination and helping promote the reading habit in the local community.

Last year, the festival lured more than 800,000 visitors, and sold over 59,000 books for VND8.2 billion.

Cruise liner Celebrity Solstice brings foreign visitors to Nha Trang

International cruise liner Celebrity Solstice docked at Nha Trang Bay of Nha Trang city on February 15, bringing 2,770 tourists of various nationalities to the city – a major tourist destination in central Vietnam.      

This marks the first international cruise ship to dock at Nha Trang Port in the Year of the Dragon 2024.

About 400 foreign tourists disembarked the vessel and visited popular destinations in Nha Trang, such as Ponagar Tower, Hon Chong, and local markets. They also cycled to explore traditional craft villages on the outskirts of the city. 

At 4:00 p.m. on the same day, the cruise ship left Nha Trang Port to continue its journey.

Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, director of the Department of Tourism of Khanh Hoa province, said Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa has welcomed nine international cruise ships with more than 20,000 tourists brought ashore so far this year. 

In 2024, the locality plans to receive more than 44 foreign cruise ships, showing a positive signal for the recovery and development of cruise tourism activities in Vietnam in general and Khanh Hoa in particular, said Thanh. 

This year, Khanh Hoa’s tourism industry aims to receive nine million visitors, including three million international visitors, and earn an estimated revenue of VND40,100 billion from tourism services. 

Vietnamese community in Belgium celebrate Tet festival

An event called “Spring of Love” was organised by the General Union of Vietnamese in Brussels (UGVB) on February 11 (the second day of the first lunar month) on the occasion of the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, offering an opportunity for overseas Vietnamese in the country to get together and honour their common roots.

President of the UGVB Huynh Cong My spotlighted the significance of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival with the OVs, and affirmed the union’s role in connecting the OVs with the homeland’s culture.

Conveying Tet wishes to the Vietnamese community, Ambassador Nguyen Van Thao laid stress on the sound ties between Vietnam and Belgium, and expressed his hope for the future development of the relations with the upcoming visit by Belgian King and Queen to Vietnam in October.

The cultural centre of Woluwe Saint-Pierre district of Brussels was turned into a warm Tet space, and was a favourite check-in point of visitors to the event.

It featured a calligraphy corner where Jean-Sébastien Gill – a French national who is a fan of the art of calligraphy – wrote New Year wishes for the OVs, and a charity corner where handicrafts were sold to raise money for children in difficult circumstances in Vietnam.

Additionally, visitors also have a chance to enjoy art performances staged by Vietnamese artists in Europe.

More than 321,200 patients examined, treated during six-day Lunar New Year holiday

During the six-day Lunar New Year holiday, the COVID-19 pandemic situation was stable, the number of people receiving emergency treatment due to fireworks accidents increased, while the number hospitalised for traffic accidents decreased, said the Ministry of Health (MoH).

In a report on the Tết period sent to the Government, the MoH said that during the holiday, all hospitals across the country strictly implemented its direction on strengthening medical examination and treatment, ensuring emergency aid for the people.

Hospitals and medical stations in all 63 provinces and cities received more than 321,200 patients for examination and emergency treatment, an increase of 30.2 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Hospitals performed more than 13,000 surgeries, including more than 2,800 emergency surgeries, down by 7.6 per cent.

The whole country had 13,023 births, a decrease of 7.3 per cent.

Medical facilities across the country received more than 19,600 suspected traffic-related cases, down 12.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The number of deaths suspected to be due to traffic accidents is 105, including 32 occurring at hospitals and 73 occurring before reaching the hospital, reduced by 21.1 per cent.

The MoH also reported nearly 600 cases of emergency treatment due to firecrackers and fireworks, an increase of 52 per cent. Of these, 302 cases required hospitalisation.

In addition, 82 cases went to medical stations after accidents caused by weapons or other homemade explosives, an increase of 60 cases compared to the same period last year. Five deaths were reported, up by three.

Also in the report, the MoH confirmed that medical facilities fully prepared drugs to serve medical examination, treatment and disease prevention.

The country has recorded no shortage of drugs, and no changes in prices and quality of drugs.

Regarding epidemics, the MoH recorded two new dengue outbreaks in the southern province of Tiền Giang.

Currently, six localities with dengue fever outbreaks must be monitored, including: An Giang (9), HCM City (2), Bến Tre (6), Tiền Giang (10), Tây Ninh (45) and Cà Mau (5).

More than 180 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease were reported nationwide. No deaths were recorded.

However, the report said that a patient with rabies died in Tân Phú Commune, Thời Bình District, Cà Mau southern province. The provincial Centre for Disease Control has organised investigation, supervision and handling according to regulations.

No cases of dangerous, emerging diseases such as influenza A(H5N1), A(H5N6) or COVID-19 were recorded.

The country recorded no fatalities due to food poisoning.

Deputy Minister of Health Trần Văn Thuấn said that in the coming time, the health sector would continue to conduct the Prime Minister's direction on urging tasks after the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday. 

PM inspects key transport projects in southern region

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Tuesday (the fourth day of the new lunar year) visited and inspected the progress on the three key projects in the southern region -- Ring Road 3 in HCM City, Long Thành International Airport in Đồng Nai Province, and Biên Hoà-Vũng Tàu Expressway.

The Ring Road 3 project, about 76.34km long, traverses HCM City and the nearby provinces of Bình Dương, Long An, and Đồng Nai. Invested with some VNĐ75.378 trillion (US$3 billion), it is scheduled to be basically completed in 2025 and put into use in 2026.

Visiting the engineers and workers who are building an elevated section of this road in Thủ Đức City of HCM City, PM Chính appreciated them working throughout the Lunar New Year (Tết) holiday to step up construction.

He said Ring Road 3 of HCM City plays an important role in connecting main domestic and international transport gateways, linking economic hubs in the south, and promoting socio-economic development in not only HCM City but also the entire southern region and Việt Nam.

Given this, the Government leader asked the relevant localities and units to keep making efforts to accelerate the project and put it into use in 2026.

At the construction site of Long Thành International Airport, PM Chính said this was the third Tết he had inspected this project, after the Tết holidays in 2022 and 2023.

He praised efforts by ministries and sectors, especially the Ministry of Transport, the Airports Corporation of Việt Nam, along with the Party organisation, administration and people of Đồng Nai Province, in implementing the project.

As this project is lagging behind schedule, he ordered ministries, sectors, units, and the province push ahead with accelerating its progress to complete the construction in 2026.

The PM also ordered them conduct frequent examination to ensure the quality, technical and aesthetic aspects, environmental hygiene, and labour safety while preventing negative acts and wastefulness.

In addition, he asked for the resettlement work to be centred on people, noting that it is important to properly handle people’s opinions, protect their rights and legitimate interests, and especially ensure their life quality in new living places is better than in previous ones.

On this occasion, PM Chính also visited a resettlement area for the airport project in An Bình hamlet of Lộc An Commune, Long Thành District.

The same day, he made a fact-finding trip of the Biên Hoà-Vũng Tàu Expressway project, which is 53.7km long in the first phase and has total investment of nearly VNĐ18 trillion. This road will feature six intersections, including two important ones of HCM City - Long Thành - Dầu Giây and Bến Lức - Long Thành.

Talking to relevant ministries, sectors, and localities, the Cabinet chief highlighted this expressway’s importance to connecting HCM City - Long Thành - Dầu Giây Expressway, Bến Lức Expressway, and the roads to Long Thành Airport, thus helping solve traffic congestion on National Highway 51.

Biên Hoà-Vũng Tàu Expressway will also help maximise the potential of the Cái Mép Thị Vải seaport complex and Long Thành Airport while fostering socio-economic development in Đồng Nai and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu provinces as well as the southeastern region, he added.

The PM assigned tasks to the relevant sides and demanded that all difficulties and obstacles related to site clearance and construction materials be resolved by June 30 this year to speed up the project and complete it in 2025. 

Deputy FM attends 7th Indian Ocean Conference

Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Minh Vũ has highlighted the need to build a common vision towards stability, sustainability and connectivity across seas and oceans, including the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea), while addressing the recent seventh Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) in Perth, Australia.

To realise the vision, Vũ proposed maintaining the rules-based order at sea, and ensuring respect for and compliance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); promoting the role of diplomacy in solving disputes and disagreements at sea by peaceful means based on international law, minimising risks of miscalculation and preventing conflicts; and enhancing effective and practical maritime cooperation, including in maritime security, maintaining freedom of navigation and aviation, protecting the environment and marine ecosystem, and promoting the blue economy.

He emphasised ASEAN's strong commitment to respecting international law, addressing disputes by peaceful means, not using or threatening to use force, and fully respecting legal and diplomatic processes, implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and building a substantive and effective Code of Conduct (COC) in accordance with the UNCLOS.

Co-chaired by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on February 9-10, the conference attracted the participation of leaders, senior officials, researchers and scholars from over 30 countries and international organisations inside and outside the region.

Delegates shared different perspectives on the regional and world context, in which they stressed the trend of increasing connectivity and interdependence between regions, seas and oceans including the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the East Sea; common traditional and non-traditional challenges such as climate change, transnational criminal activities, and territorial disputes that are threatening seas and oceans; and huge implications and consequences for economic development, the ecological environment, the operation of supply chains and conflict risks if countries fail to work together to deal with these challenges.

Within the framework of the event, the Vietnamese official had meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar, the UK Minister of State for Indo-Pacific, Deputy Foreign Ministers of Australia, Maldives and Japan, and the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council and representatives of some ASEAN countries.

At a meeting with Roger Cook, the premier of Western Australia state, Deputy Minister Vũ asked the premier to continue facilitating the integration of Vietnamese working and studying in the state, and proposed speedier visa granting procedures for Vietnamese businesspeople, skilled workers and students.

The two sides expressed satisfaction at the positive developments in relations between Vietnamese localities and Western Australia, particularly the opening of a direct air route between Hồ Chí Minh City and Perth in January 2024 and an Invest and Trade Representative Office of Western Australia in HCM City in March 2023.

Long An seeks private funding for mega-urban area development

Long An Province is seeking at least VNĐ11.1 trillion (US$457 million) of private funding for a large urban area project through a public-private partnership (PPP).

Costing over $3 billion to build, the Tân Mỹ ecological urban area will cover over 930ha and have a population of 81,000, according to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment.

The development includes around 7,300 apartment units, over 13,000 townhouses and villas, and 7,000 social housing units. There will also be nearly 400 resettlement houses.

An implementation schedule of seven years has been set for the project, and the deadline for submitting project registration applications is no latter than March 15.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province’s People’s Committee has approved the planning for the urban area, dividing it into three main functional zones.

Zone A, located at the southern gateway, will focus on high-density urban areas and will house modern service and public infrastructure complexes, green parks, and residential areas.

Zone B, in the central area, will concentrate on a low-density ecological urban model, primarily consisting of villas and garden houses.

Zone C, located in the southeast area, will be an important economic area, due to its strategic position within Việt Nam’s southern key economic region.

Long An has seen rapid urban and real estate development over the years and has attracted large investors.

With 18 industrial parks currently operational, the province is striving to maintain its leading position in the delta region’s economic development.

Last year, it attracted more than 1,200 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth $11 billion, making it among the top FDI attractors in Việt Nam

Real estate giants such as Vinhomes, Nam Long, and Becamex have recently set their eyes on the province. 

Southern localities bustling with tourists during Tet holiday

Southern localities enjoyed a strong rise in the number of tourists during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, which signals a good year for their tourism sector.

In Ho Chi Minh City, local tourist destinations saw increases from 10-20% in the visitor numbers. The most popular attractions included Dam Sen and Suoi Tien cultural parks, city tours on double-decker buses and night tours on Sai Gon River.

Meanwhile, more than 330,000 tourists travelled to the beach city of Vung Tau in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province during Tet holiday, up 21% year on year. According to the provincial Department of Tourism, in the first five days of the lunar year, or February 10-14, the province welcomed more than 684,000 visitors, a year-on-year rise of 2.23%, earning 558.42 billion VND (22.82 million USD).

In the southern province of Dong Nai, the local tourism sector served about 150,000 visitors during the holiday, up over 7% year on year, with a tourism revenue of about 75 billion VND.

At the same time, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the southernmost province of Ca Mau said that the locality received more than 177,900 tourists during Tet, a rise of 8% over the same period last year, earning more than 137 billion USD.

Central bank pushes others to boost lending from start of New Year

The State Bank of Vietnam has issued a directive urging credit institutions to accelerate credit growth from the early months of 2024, a pivotal step toward propelling economic growth.

Accordingly, credit should be directed toward priority sectors and economic engines in line with the Government and Prime Minister's guidelines. Meanwhile, credit in potentially risky areas should be closely controlled, thus ensuring safe and effective credit operations.

Credit institutions were also urged to review and simplify credit issuance procedures, harness the power of digital transformation in the work, paving the way for seamless access to bank capital. By slashing operational costs and striving for reduced lending rates, they will make it easier for citizens and businesses to tap into financial resources, especially through modern digital sales channels, products and services.

To meet the diverse needs of various customer segments, banks were called upon to develop a wider range of credit offerings, particularly those aligned with livelihood support and consumption needs.

They must also actively and effectively disseminate full and accurate information about their policies, products and services, contributing to realising the national comprehensive financial strategy.

In 2024, the central bank has set a credit growth target of about 15%, applicable to both domestic and foreign bank branches operating in Vietnam.

Over 1,600 donate blood, platelets on New Year holiday

The National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) recorded 1,269 blood and 359 platelet donors from February 8-14, higher than the previous years.

On a daily average, over 230 people came to the NIHBT to donate blood and platelets, reaching its peak on February 13, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

In late January, the NIHBT issued an urgent appeal for blood donation before Tet, citing critically low blood reserves and estimating a deficit of approximately 10,000 units for the holiday season.

From February 2-7, it received a total of nearly 8,300 units of blood, with the highest intake recorded on February 4, tallying 2,162 units donated.

Vietnam among top 10 destinations in Asia for Valentine's Day

Travel website 12Go has announced a list of must-see destinations for Valentine's Day 2024 in Asia including Vietnamese cities of Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Hue.

According to Singapore-based travel website 12Go, Da Nang is a romantic holiday destination preferred by many couples from all over the world.

It suggests taking a cruise on the Han River and enjoying fantastic views of Da Nang at night, decorated with thousands of sparkling lights.

Da Nang has many huge, pristine beaches with white sand and crystal blue water.

In Ho Chi Minh city, the travel website recommends visitors taking a romantic dinner cruise on the Saigon River. This is a great way to enjoy stunning city skyline views while sharing a meal.

Visitors should not miss tasting the delicious Vietnamese street food, full of rich flavors.

Green Hue, located along the picturesque Perfume River, has stunning natural scenery that creates a romantic backdrop for couples, according to the website.

PM visits Hai Duong’s agricultural production models

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh embarked on a tour of agricultural production models in the northern province of Hai Duong on February 15, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

Last year, the total value of agro-forestry and aquatic production in Hai Duong surpassed 22.5 trillion VND (937 million USD), up 4.08% annually. The province is known for its strength in winter crops, with the production value of 223.5 million VND per ha, more than 2.2 times higher than that of northern provinces. Looking forward to 2024, the province aims to achieve a 2.5% growth rate in the agriculture sector.

Visiting an area for production of rice seedlings in trays and a mechanically sown rice field in Hung Long commune, Ninh Giang district, PM Chinh pesonally operated a rice planting machine there.

He wished that Hai Duong would continue stepping up mechanisation across all agricultural production stages, new rural development and national target programmes, toward transforming the province into a hub of ecological and modern rural areas, with a cultured farming community.

Later in the afternoon, PM Chinh visited an export-oriented carrot farming area, a carrot processing and packaging facility and cut the ribbon to celebrate the first export shipment of carrots in the New Year in Duc Chinh commune, Cam Giang district.

He suggested the province develop key crops with high economic value that meet VietGAP standards while also reducing carbon emissions and improving export efficiency on the same land areas.

Alongside this, Hai Duong should also build brands, promote trade, proactively connect businesses together and assist them in forming production, processing and consumption linkages, he said.

Huong Pagoda Festival hosts 30,000 visitors on opening day

The Huong Pagoda Festival, the longest of its kind in Vietnam, began in Huong Son commune in Hanoi’s outlying district of My Duc on February 15 (the 6th day of the first lunar month), welcoming 30,000 visitors.

According to Nguyen Ba Hien, head of the management board of the Huong Son landscape complex, also known as Huong Pagoda and featuring a series of Buddhist pagodas, caves and temples, the annual event opened for festivalgoers on February 11. The number of people coming to worship and visit the site has so far amounted to 130,000.  

This year’s festival sees the use of e-tickets instead of paper ones to curb congestion and overcrowding, with up to 4,500 boats and 110 electrical cars available to offer transport services.

Going to the Huong Pagoda is a spiritual journey to the Buddhist Land – where the Goddess of Mercy leads a religious life. Visitors have sightseeing trips to pagodas, temples and caves which are the main attractions at the Huong pagoda festival, and join ceremonies to ask for favours from Lord Buddha.

Built in the late 17th century, the complex was listed among special national relic sites in December 2017.

PM urges speeding up key transport projects

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered competent sides to accelerate construction of key transport projects in 2024 to create new development space while chairing the 9th session of the Steering Committee for Key National Transport Projects on February 16.

The hybrid-form meeting was connected to 46 provinces and centrally-run cities where the projects run through.

At the event, PM Chinh hailed localities, sectors, investors and contractors for their efforts to hasten implementation of the projects; however, he said several lagged behind schedule due to prolonged investment procedures, sluggish site clearance and loose coordination of relevant quarters, among others.

He requested delegates at the session to evaluate the situation and propose measures to speed up the construction progress while ensuring quality, labour safety and environmental standards, remove bottlenecks in official development assistance (ODA) disbursement, and study the use of sea-sand in construction.

The Government leader laid stress on the significance of public investment to the national development, highlighting that some 657 trillion VND (26.82 billion USD) in total public investment capital will be allocated in 2024, most of which is for transport infrastructure development.

 At the 9th session of the Steering Committee for Key National Transport Projects on February 16 (Photo: VNA)
Once transport projects are put into operation, they will help reduce logistics costs and improve competitive edge for enterprises, while giving a boost to development of industry, services and urban areas, he said.

The country now counts 34 major transport projects and 86 component ones being implemented in 46 cities and provinces across the nation. Those include five railway projects, two airport projects, highways, and ring roads in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Anniversary of Hai Ba Trung uprising celebrated in Hanoi with first 3D mapping show

The 1984th anniversary of Hai Ba Trung (Trung Sisters)’s uprising was commemorated in a ceremony in Me Linh district, Hanoi on the sixth day of the first lunar month, which fell on February 15 this year.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of Me Linh district People’s Committee Hoang Anh Tuan reviewed the indomitable struggle of the two Trung Sisters and other heroes to expel invaders in the past, bringing independence to the country.

Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women's Union Ha Thi Nga emphasised that the two heroines are the heroic examples and pride of Vietnamese women and people.

For the first time, a show using 3D mapping technology was staged at the event, telling the story of the uprising in a modern and novel way using various forms of performance.

The show is hoped to become a frequent cultural and artistic tourism product, appealing to young generations who will be more appreciative of the nation's history, thus increasing their love for the country and gratitude for the contribution of their ancestors.

Other activities at the festival included a parade and ritual ceremony, cultural and art performances, folk games, and sports competitions. 

On the sixth day of the first lunar month in 40 AD, the Trung Sisters led a mass uprising against the Han invaders to reclaim national independence after more than 200 years of foreign rule. 

After defeating the invaders, Trung Trac became King and established the country's capital in Hanoi's Me Linh district. Three years later, the Han army returned and defeated the Trung sisters and their army, after which the sisters killed themselves by jumping into the Hat Giang river.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes