A set of specific criteria and mechanisms are needed for localities to make planning schemes and handle the relations between modernisation and urban heritage preservation in the process of urbanisation, insiders said.

Pham Phu Ngoc, Director of the Hoi An Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation in the central province of Quang Nam, noted that the ancient city is managing its heritage properties in the status of a heritage urban area.

The city is home to more than 1,400 classified relic sites, including 27 at the national level, 49 at the provincial level and 1,330 at the municipal level, he said. The restoration has been conducted regularly through joint efforts by local authorities and residents.

Yet a number of relevant regulations do not match the actual conditions in Hoi An, which has hindered the work, he pointed out, elaborating that it takes time to complete procedures for the restoration of national and special national relic sites.

Meanwhile, the northern province of Ninh Binh, home to 1,821 relic sites, including the UNESCO-recognised Trang An Landscape Complex; and the former imperial capital of Hoa Lu, the Trang An-Tam Coc-Bich Dong natural scenic site, and the Non Nuoc mountain site which have won the special national status.

Like others, the Hue imperial relic site in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue also needs distinct mechanisms to restore, preserve and promote its heritage values amid the rapid urbanisation.

Besides, ancient cities, towns and villages like Hue and Hoi An, which have been included in the Organisation of World Heritage Cities (OWHC), have also attracted crowds of tourists.

However, no legal documents have been issued so far stipulating heritage urban areas.

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ninh Binh province Pham Quang Ngoc said the evaluation and recognition of urban heritage values would create a foundation for urban areas to carry forward their potential effectively and sustainably.

Experts said it is necessary to soon specify the term “heritage urban area” and add it into a chapter of the law amending and supplementing the Cultural Heritage Law 2009 in order to meet heritage management requirements.

Luận Văn pomelo: ‘Fruit of luck and prosperity’

Farmers in Luận Văn Village in the central province of Thanh Hóa are busy harvesting pomelos, an integral part of the traditional Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday feast.

Luận Văn pomelos were dubbed "regal fruits" during the Hậu Lê Dynasty era when they were regularly presented as a tribute to the kings.

One characteristic that sets them apart from other varieties is their striking red color, which envelopes not only the peel but also the flesh.

The color has elevated the pomelo to the status of "fruits of luck and prosperity," linking them in the popular imagination with an auspicious start to the Lunar New Year.

Nguyễn Văn Tư, a farmer in the village who has more than 1,000 pomelo trees in his orchard, anticipates, thanks to the good weather, a bountiful harvest that promises to yield over 10,000 of the fruits.

They were only expected to ripen by the 12th lunar month but traders have been flocking to his orchard since the 10th month to pay an advance.

With a fruit expected to fetch VNĐ85,000-100,000 (US$3.5-$4.1), the orchard could earn up to VNĐ900 million ($37,000).

Close to it is an orchard belonging to Phan Văn Thành, where too the pomelos are ripening. Despite only taking to agriculture recently, he has already had 130 plants with around 2,400 pomelos ready to be picked.

He said the days leading to the 12th month were a tough time for his family since pomelos are prone to falling off the trees then. His family had to work round the clock to ensure they stayed in the trees until traders came to collect them.

In Thọ Xương Commune in Thọ Xuân District, where the village is situated, many farmers grow pomelo plants, some with thousands of trees and making a small fortune from the fruit.

Nguyễn Hữu Dũng, deputy chairman of the Thọ Xuân District People's Committee, said Luận Văn pomelo has been recognised as a four-star OCOP product by Thanh Hóa Province.

The Thọ Xuân's authority has drafted a scheme to elevate it to five-star OCOP status and sell it in international markets, he said.

The first step in it involves establishing a hub for pomelo farming and integrating technical advancements into the cultivation process there to boost yields and ensure top quality, he said.

The next is to link up pomelo farming with tourism to attract travelers who like visiting orchards and show them how pomelos are grown and offer them fresh fruits, he said.

With the use of cutting-edge farming techniques, each orchard in the hub is expected to yield up to 20,000 fruits per hectare per crop worth VNĐ2 billion ($82,000), he said.

He also said the Thọ Xuân District administration had successfully taken pomelo plants with desirable characteristics to other communes and obtained a geographical indication for the fruits several years ago.

Now Luận Văn pomelos have made a name for themselves nation-wide and can be found in supermarkets in big cities.

Luận Văn pomelos are grown predominantly in Thọ Xương (35ha) and Xuân Bái (20ha) communes. The average yield in the district is around 400 tonnes per crop.

Hà Nội’s general planning a locomotive for regional development: Minister

The general planning of the capital city for the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050 is expected to serve as a development locomotive for not only the capital area but also the Red River Delta, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng said at a conference held in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

Although the general planning was made in a very short period of 12 months, it was carried out meticulously and in line with the legal regulation on planning work, he said, adding the capital city held consultation with 21 ministries and central agencies, 15 cities and provinces in the region, experts, scientists, individuals and organisations.

He asked experts and scientists to make further planning recommendations so that work will be continued for early examination and adoption in accordance with existing laws.

Under the planning, Hà Nội is envisaged to make fast, sustainable, creative and inclusive development, and become a growth pole able to lead and promote the development in the region.

The settlement of the environmental issues is described as an urgent mission for the capital city, with the focus given to reviving polluted rivers and handling inundation. Besides, green development and circular economy will be put at the centre with a view to realising the net-zero emissions target.

Hà Nội has set a target that the digital economy will make up 40 per cent of the city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP), and eyes a sweeping 65-75 per cent urbanisation rate.

Pillars that will shape up the city’s development are culture and heritage; green transition, digital transformation and circular economy; uniformed and modern infrastructure; digital society, digital economy and smart urban areas; and science-technology and innovation.

According to former Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Cao Viết Sinh, low proportion of industry in GRDP and simple services could not spur the capital city’s growth.

Hà Nội should pay due attention to digital transformation and innovation if the city targets fast growth, he said, adding that big investment should be made in underground transport to ease congestion.

Agreeing with Sinh’s viewpoint, Minister Dũng said that it is necessary to adjust the proportion of industry in the capital city’s GRDP, and to outline a roadmap so as to do away with old vehicles and fossil fuels that do not meet environmental standards during the transport infrastructure development process. 

Tây Lộc Discovery Run to introduce Huế's beauty, help poor people

The Tây Lộc Discovery Run 2024 will be held on January 21 in Huế City as an activity to promote tourism and local specialities.

In its first edition, organisers expect to lure 1,200 athletes, but to date more than 1,000 slots have found their owners.

Runners will compete in two categories of 5km and 10km, while children can test their athletic skills in the Kids Run of 900m. 

All routes will start at the Tây Lộc Commune's People's Committee headquarters. Athletes will have opportunities to discover the beauty of local small peaceful streets, Ngự Hà River, Tây Lộc Market and Thượng Thành, the rampart surrounding the Imperial City of Huế.

The winners will receive big bonuses from organisers who said profits from the race will be donated to local funds for the poor and other charity activities.

The event is expected to encourage people join in sport practise for stronger health and better lifestyle. Meanwhile the local authority wants to promote Tây Lộc and Huế, home to delicious cuisine, unique culture and world heritages, as destinations for Vietnamese and international tourists to visit.

Organisers offered suggestions to runners about must-try dishes such as vermicelli with grilled pork, shrimp and pork dumpling, clam rice and Huế-styled spicy soup with beef. 

After the race, people can spend time to visit and admire Thừa Thiên Huế Province's five world cultural heritages of the Complex of Huế Monuments, Vietnamese court music, Woodblocks of Nguyễn Dynasty, Imperial archives of Nguyễn Dynasty, and royal literature on Huế royal architecture. 

Environment ministry drives digital transformation in water resource management

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) will accelerate digital transformation to ensure effective management, exploitation and protection of water resources.

According to the 2024 plan to move towards smart water resource management, the ministry will maintain the operation of an online monitoring system for the exploitation and use of water for about 600 licensed projects.

There will be a push to develop digital maps for forecasting and alerting droughts and water shortages.

The units will enhance international cooperation, propose new tasks to serve the enforcement of the Water Resources Law, focusing on water source security, water resource accounting, efficient water use, recycling and the restoration of depleted, degraded, and polluted water sources.

Châu Trần Vĩnh, director of the Water Resources Management Department under MoNRE said that in 2024, the agency would draft and issue decrees and circulars guiding the implementation of the Water Resources Law; implement the project "Comprehensive Impact Assessment and Solutions for Dealing with Hydropower Development on the Mainstream of the Mekong River."

At the same time, it would develop a draft water source scenario to be submitted to the ministry in early 2025, for other ministries, sectors and localities to develop water usage plans.

The department would collaborate with the Pollution Control Department to submit to the Government for approval the surface water quality management plan for the river basins of Bằng Giang - Kỳ Cùng, Mã, Ba, Trà Khúc, Kôn, Sê San and Srepok.

Vĩnh emphasised that in 2023, the natural resources sector had accomplished numerous tasks, with the ministry successfully completing the draft amendment to the Water Resources Law, which had been approved by the National Assembly.

In its role as the head of the ASEAN Working Group on Water Resources Management, Việt Nam has actively participated in ASEAN cooperation activities on water resources, including the UN Water Conference in March 2023, the 4th International Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit in Laos, and the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai in December 2023.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Linh, Director General of the MRC Joint Committee for Việt Nam, said that in 2023, the committee made significant contributions to evaluating the results of implementing the five-year cooperation plan on water resources for the 2018-2022 period. It also worked on improving the development of the five-year action plan for Mekong-Lancang cooperation on water resources for the 2023-2027 phase.

Moreover, the agency also contributed comments on cooperation documents and participated in relevant meetings within the framework of the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism, Mekong-US Partnership, Mekong-Korea cooperation, Mekong-Japan cooperation, Mekong-Ganga cooperation.

To enhance international cooperation within the Mekong subregion, Linh said that in 2024, the MRC Joint Committee for Việt Nam would prepare for the 31st meeting of the MRC Council in Laos; implement the action plan for Mekong-Lancang cooperation on water resources for the 2023-2027 phase; organise the 2nd Ministerial Meeting of Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation in Việt Nam.

The agency would strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Mekong riparian countries to exchange and share information on planning, strategic development of the Mekong River basin, and construction and operation of water exploitation and the use of projects. 

Agencies urged fix shortcomings in child care, protection this year

Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà told ministries and agencies to urgently deploy programmes and action plans on child care and protection in a comprehensive manner this year to fix shortcomings, ensuring children's rights to comprehensive physical and mental development.

Hà, who chaired a regular meeting of the National Committee for Children on Thursday morning in Hà Nội, said it was imperative to fix the issues related to children such as child abuse, school violence, safety in cyberspace, psychological counselling and stimulant use.

According to Hà, agencies have to develop measurable assessment criteria when implementing the goals at the regional and local levels, and in many important sectors of health, education and labour, providing correct solutions.

Mechanisms and policies to protect children must be reviewed and have clear goals. The responsibilities of implementing the mechanisms and policies must be assigned to each level and sector. Human resources working on child care and protection must be standardised, especially at the grassroots level.

In addition, there should be assessments of impacts of national and local-level legal documents, programmes and economic and social development strategies on children.

He tasked the ministries and sectors to improve judicial work for minors; concretise the United Nations' recommendations on improving groups of indicators related to children in sustainable development; assess the impact of online social platforms on children; as well as research the harmful effects of using electronic cigarettes or other stimulants on children's physical and mental health.

According to a report of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the system of legal documents on children continued to be supplemented and amended last year to better ensure children's rights.

Ministries, agencies and localities have drastically carried out a range of solutions to prevent and combat child abuse, including training to improve child protection capacity at the grassroots level. Courts handled 98.5 per cent of cases related to abuse of people under 18 years old and many children, who were victims of human trafficking and violence, were given care, supported and protected.

President of the Việt Nam Association for Protection of Child's Rights Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hòa said that communication work on child care and protection had many innovations which focused on the role of the family and guide parents on how to behave with their children.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union coordinated with provinces and cities to deploy activities to raise awareness and equip children with skills to prevent injuries (drowning, fire prevention, firefighting and rescue).

The Ministry of Health has gradually operated a model of nutritional care for the first 1,000 days of a child's life and built and completed a database on administrative procedures for birth and death registration and issuance of health insurance cards for children under six years old.

There were 31 provincial-level children's forums and 212 district-level children's forums, 673 commune-level children's forums organised last year.

Also last year, the first "Children's National Assembly" hypothetical session was held.

The work of protecting and giving care for ethnic children and children living in mountainous, and disadvantaged areas was given more attention. More than 6.4 million children received a total financial support of over VNĐ1.64 trillion (US$67.2 million).

The Việt Nam Association for Protection of Children's Rights awarded scholarships and gifts to nearly 15,000 children with an amount worth VNĐ1.15 billion ($47,000).

The Ministry of Information and Communications strengthened online information scans, especially on social networks, including Facebook and TikTok, to detect and promptly prevent acts of posting images and content that negatively affected children.

Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyễn Thành Hưng said that the State budget allocated for the child sector (not including funds to buy health insurance for children under six years old) about VNĐ295 trillion ($12 billion) last year.

Additionally, the Central budget allocated about VNĐ500 billion ($20.4 million) to deploy many programmes and projects related to children. All localities across the country also allocated a budget for State management related to children.

However, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyễn Thị Hà said the situation of child abuse was still complex.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyễn Duy Ngọc, deputy minister of Public Security, the number of cases of children and minors violating the law, with aggressive and reckless methods and tricks, increased by 14 per cent last year.

The main causes leading to law violations by children and adolescents were that they were affected by acts of violence and abuse in the family and harmful content on online platforms, he said.

Ngọc proposed agencies review issued documents and policies to clarify the responsibilities of units that received and resolved cases of child violence and abuse.

Another problem is that online social platforms are constantly being developed, but there are not enough tools and measures to handle harmful content that is not suitable for children. 

Private sector’s engagement in child care, protection to be promoted

Reforming mechanisms for mobilising private organisations, businesses, individuals, and the society’s engagement in child care and protection is among the key tasks recently set by the Politburo.

This is part of the Politburo’s Directive No 28-CT/TW, issued on December 25, 2023, on the enhancement of child care, education, and protection.

In November 2012, the Politburo also released a directive on promoting the Party’s leadership over child care, education, and protection which affirmed the need to boost the private sector’s engagement in the work.

Since then, much progress has been seen in the attraction of private sector to child care and protection, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) said, elaborating that families and the society’s awareness of the issue has been increasingly improved as seen in higher rates of birth registration and children covered by health insurance.

The mobilisation of private resources for education has also been stepped up while curricular and extracurricular activities reformed to include contents related to child care and protection such as life skills, HIV/AIDS prevention, and childhood accident prevention.

Authorities, the community, and children themselves have also become more aware of the importance of child care and protection and further involved in the work, which has seen active performance by the Việt Nam Fatherland Front, Youth Union, Women’s Union, and Farmers’ Union, and Việt Nam Association for the Protection of Child Rights, as well as domestic and international non-governmental organisations, according to MoLISA.

MA Phạm Thi Hải from MoLISA held that to promote the private sector’s engagement, the State should establish a legal framework on child protection, including the mobilisation of the private sector’s participation; regulate the rights and responsibilities of individuals, organisations, and the community when they supply child care and protection services; and stipulate people’s rights to benefit from those services.

In addition, the State needs to devise mechanisms and policies on training civil servants and volunteers in the field, create a favourable environment for child care and protection along with the supply of children-related products, and fulfill its role in supervision, inspection, and settlement of law violations, she noted.

Hải added that though engaging the private sector’s participation is meant to maximise resources for child care and protection, investment from the State still holds the main role, particularly in remote areas and at the grassroots level, where it is difficult for private investors to gain benefits or profit from.

The State budget’s spending on education and health care for children has been rising over the years, statistics show.

During 2013-23, education accounts for 17.8 per cent of the State budget’s total annual spending. Of the spending on education, 20 per cent is for pre-school education, 32 per cent for primary education, 25 per cent for junior high school education, and 12 per cent for senior high school education.

As a result, impressive achievements have been harvested, including the rates of literate school-age people and children enrolling in compulsory preschool education at 96.8 per cent and 98.3 per cent, respectively. Việt Nam also ranks 59th in the global education rankings.

Meanwhile, considerable funding has also been allocated for health care, the Ministry of Finance said, noting that the State budget’s total funding for the health sector tops VNĐ38.13 trillion (US$1.5 billion) for the 2021-25 period, excluding the spending integrated into the national target programmes.

A number of health programmes and projects for children have been carried out such as buying health insurance for under-six children, the expanded vaccination programme, and the ones on food safety, population, and HIV/AIDS control.

Deputy Minister of Health Trần Văn Thuấn said mother and child indexes in Việt Nam are relatively good compared to many other countries with equivalent per capita income.

During 2020-22, the under-five mortality rate was brought down to 18.9 per thousand from 39.6 per thousand while the under-one mortality rate also fell by over two times to 12.1 per thousand from 29.5 per thousand. The rate of fully vaccinated children under one year of age has also been maintained at over 90 per cent.

A recent nutrition census indicated that the rate of under-five children with stunting has also declined gradually, from 29.3 per cent in 2010 to under 18.9 per cent in 2022. 

Tiền Giang Province to further expand aquaculture

The Mekong Delta province Tiền Giang plans to expand its marine farming area by 14,700 hectares this year with a projected output of over 200,000 tonnes as it hopes to turn aquaculture into a key economic sector.

Tiền Giang has high potential to foster aquaculture growth, having an optimal geographical condition and being surrounded by major rivers like Soài Rạp and Cửa Tiểu, according to director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyễn Văn Mẫn.

The province hopes to develop local aquaculture towards adapting to climate change, enhancing productivity, and providing jobs for locals, especially in coastal and Đồng Tháp Mười alum-intruded areas which have extreme weather conditions.

Local authorities will design more aquafarming models that can respond to climate change in freshwater, saltwater, and brackish water areas, as well as form concentrated farming areas and create quality products for domestic consumption and export.

Tiền Giang has also developed different shrimp farming models in coastal areas like Gò Đông Công and Tân Phú Đông Districts, including extensive farming, intensive farming, shrimp-rice, and two- or three-stage high-tech models.

The shrimp-rice farming model breeds shrimp in the dry season and grows rice in the rainy season in the same fields, while the two or three-stage high-tech model involves one phase of nursery of 20 days and one or two phases of commercial farming.

In Tân Phú Đông District, certain concentrated aquafarming models have been established to farm shrimp and other aquatic species with high economic value.

They include the Nam Gò Công farm in Phú Tân Commune, 30-hectare and 352-hectare high-tech farms in Cồn Cống Village (Phú Tân Commune), as well as a 230-hectare farm in Phú Đông Commune.

Gò Công Đông District plans to combine marine aquaculture and tourism in the Bắc Gò Công shrimp farming area and a 2,200-hectare clam farming area in Tân Thành Commune.

Upstream areas like Cái Bè District, Cai Lậy District, and Cai Lậy Town have also focused on raising freshwater species with high economic value such as yellow catfish, pangasius, barb, and carp, while providing fish seeds and breeding aquarium fish.

Tiền Giang Province has been teaching farming techniques and providing technology to farmers, along with expanding aquafarming models that bring high economic efficiency, to protect the environment and the local ecosystem and bolster the general aquaculture landscape.

Mẫn said authorities have also encouraged farmers to apply several green, eco-friendly models to foster sustainable aquafarming coupled with climate change adaptation and carbon footprint reduction, which in turn creates more safe and environmentally-friendly products.

In terms of shrimp farming, the province expects to increase the two or three-period models to 320 hectares, accounting for 15 per cent of the total intensive farming area.

Cai Lậy Town has been building a biosafety frog farming model in Tân Phú Commune and a similar eel farming model in Tân Phú, Mỹ Hạnh Đông, Mỹ Phước Tây, and Thanh Hòa Communes.

In 2024, it will continue to evaluate the efficiency of each model and provide farmers with essential technologies for further development.

The Cai Lậy District Centre for Agricultural Extension and Agricultural Services will demonstrate sample models for farming yellow catfish in ponds in Mỹ Thành Bắc Commune and for cage-farming cá chạch lấu (spiny eel) in Thạnh Lộc Commune.

Tiền Giang Province currently has around 38 hectares of catfish farming area operating under the global Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) standard and 20 caged-fish farms under the VietGAP standard.

Gò Công Đông District’s clam farming area has also recently achieved international certificates from the Marine Stewardship Council and Aquaculture Stewardship Council for sustainability, with an annual output of 18,000-20,000 tonnes.

Last year, Tiền Giang Province had around 114,763 hectares of cage-free marine farming with an output of 203,000 tonnes. 

Amending Capital Law to help Hà Nội implement TOD projects

A transit-oriented development (TOD) project is often large-scale, so the procedures and approval times are complicated and time-consuming.

Therefore, it is necessary to shorten the approval time and create conditions for Hà Nội to implement projects, according to urban development experts.

In urban planning, TOD is a type of urban development that maximises the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport.

According to the General Planning for Capital Construction approved in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1259/QĐ-TTG dated July 26, 2011, Hà Nội has ten urban railway lines with a total length of 410km.

However, after more than 12 years of implementing the plan, the city has operated just 13km of urban railway (the Cát Linh-Hà Đông route).

Hà Nội Capital Transport Planning until 2030 with a vision to 2050, approved in 2016, sets a goal that Hà Nội must prioritise urban rail transport development that will account for 25-30 per cent and 35-40 per cent in the central urban area by and after 2030, respectively.

This need requires breakthrough and specific solutions when adjusting the Law on Capital to achieve the above planning goals.

According to a report by the Government on the implementation of railway transport development policies and the use of the State Budget to invest in railway transport, investment resources for urban railway projects in the city by 2023 will need more than VNĐ39.5 trillion (US$1.62 billion) in four projects.

And to invest in the remaining urban railway lines by 2045 (based on Decision No. 519/QĐ-TTg), it will need about VNĐ321 trillion, equivalent to $13.3 billion.

Thus, in order to have more capital to invest in the remaining railway lines, a policy solution of the draft Capital Law (amended) is to deploy TOD projects. A TOD project is a solution that can bring investment resources from society through the exploitation of land funds in the vicinity of the railway, underground and elevated spaces at the railway stations.

This solution is specifically stipulated in Article 39 of the draft amended Capital Law.

Notably, the draft amended law only regulates TOD projects applying to urban railways but not to other types of transport that are suitable for the development needs of the capital city. The complexity of an urban railway project requires a specific mechanism.

For roads, the TOD development model has been applied for many years in planning work without having to apply the TOD project mechanism as stipulated in the Draft Capital Law.

The law’s Article 39 states that the TOD project is an overall investment project to build an urban railway line associated with urban development along the route and is a key project of the Capital or the Capital region.

As a comprehensive project, the TOD project will include many component projects of urban railway construction, train carriage procurement and operating technology, urban areas, housing, commercial centres, and industrial parks around the station areas or TOD area, railway operation and maintenance, and site clearance.

Depending on the development conditions of each TOD project, such as conditions for building urban railway and exploiting land funds in the vicinity of the TOD area, investment will be determined as pubic, public-private partnership (PPP), Build-Operation-Transfer (BOT) or Build-Transfer (BT).

Projects that build urban areas, housing, commercial centres or industrial parks around the station areas will be determined by bidding or auction to select investors depending on their ability of land clearance and technical conditions when implementing the project.

The draft amended law stipulates that a TOD project is a comprehensive project to overcome the current obstacle that investors will only choose to invest (even through auctions) in highly profitable projects such as housing and commercial centre projects, not focusing on investing in urban railway infrastructure projects.

This leads to a situation that urban railway projects have to wait for public investment capital or ODA (official development assistance) for a very long time, so they cannot promote traffic advantages for urban projects and commercial centres.

On the other hand, urban area and commercial centre projects have not been aggressively invested in because of delays in urban railway project. As a result, the capital's urban development is at a slow pace.

It is necessary to have a suitable process and procedures to shorten the approval time of TOD projects, creating conditions for the city to implement urban railway construction projects and other technical and social infrastructure works as well as housing and commercial and service items under TOD projects.

The Hà Nội People's Council has decided on the investment policy for the TOD projects based on budget conditions and land area that can be auctioned to carry out urban reconstruction, new urban development and construction according to approved urban planning and urban railway development.

The council is allowed to use local budgets to implement independent public investment projects of compensation, support, and resettlement for TOD projects.

Bac Liêu Province develops new-style rural areas

Bạc Liêu Province is taking measures to develop advanced new-style rural communes under the national programme of building new-style rural areas.

After 10 years of implementing the programme, the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province now has all its 49 communes recognised as new-style rural communes.

Up to 15 of the 49 new-style rural communes have been recognised as advanced new-style rural communes, and three of them as exemplary new-style rural communes.

A new-style rural commune must meet the programme’s 19 criteria related to infrastructure, irrigation, electricity, the environment, income, education, healthcare, social security, culture and others, while advanced new-style rural communes require higher standards across all criteria.

An exemplary new-style rural commune requires higher standards than an advanced one.

The province has determined to have more advanced and exemplary new-style rural communes to develop rural areas into villages worth living in for rural people.

It aims to have 42 advanced new-style rural communes and 15 exemplary new-style rural communes in 2025.

To enhance the awareness of the public about the building of advanced new-style rural communes and their benefits and responsibilities, local authorities have effectively implemented advocacy activities to encourage people to participate in the programme.

The province has encouraged farmers to proactively restructure agricultural production to improve incomes, along with implementing the 19 criteria of the programme.

It has taken many models to implement the 19 criteria, including 265 models of securing social security.

It has also developed smart hamlet models because an exemplary new-style rural commune must have at least one smart hamlet model.

Phước Long District’s Vĩnh Thanh Commune was recognised as an exemplary new-style rural commune in August last year.

Vĩnh Thanh has chosen Vĩnh Đông Hamlet to develop into a smart hamlet model because most households in the hamlet are wealthy and up to 291 of the hamlet’s 308 households use smart phones and have computers with internet access, and these are favourable conditions for households to access information technology and social security.

The hamlet has a 3G/4G internet system covering its whole area and many wifi sites. Watching television on the internet has become popular in the hamlet.

Farmers in the hamlet regularly get information about weather, irrigation water resources, diseases of crops and animals, farming techniques and prices of agricultural produce through a Zalo group which was created by the province’s Sub-department of Cultivation and Plant Protection.

The province’s socio-political organisations have taken many models, campaigns and projects in building new-style rural areas.

The province’s Women’s Union, for instance, has implemented many campaigns and projects to build new-style rural areas to improve the appearance of rural areas.

Its “Five No's and Three Cleans” campaign in combination with building new-style rural areas have been implemented effectively.

The five no’s are no poverty, no legal violations and social evils, no domestic violence, no third child, and no malnourished children or school drop-outs. The three cleans are clean house, clean kitchen and clean streets.

Women’s Unions at all levels in the province have encouraged their members to participate in these campaigns to develop the economy, reduce poverty and become wealthy.

They have helped their members to access soft loans to do business, services or agricultural production.

It has co-operated with the province Department of Natural Resources and Environment to implement three models: making compost fertiliser, taking a plastic basket to the market, and classifying rubbish at households.

The province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has co-operated with mass media to advocate rural tourism development in combination with building new-style rural areas.

It has developed tourism services in fruit orchards, including in ancient longan orchards stretching 7 km along the Provincial Road No. 38 in Bạc Liêu City’s Hiệp Thành and Vĩnh Trạch Đông communes.

Trần Minh Đức, owner of an ancient longan orchard named “Love Garden” in Hiệp Thành Commune’s Giồng Nhãn Hamlet, said his 4 ha orchard had nearly 100 ancient longan trees.

He used advanced techniques to stimulate longan to bear fruit year-round to serve tourists, he said.

Lý Vỹ Triều Dương, deputy director of the province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that to exploit the tourism potential of longan orchards, the province was developing rural tourism in combination with building new-style rural areas in 2023-25.

The province has identified developing tourism in longan orchards as one of its prioritised community tourism services.

Bạc Liêu City plans to organise an annual longan festival with many activities to promote its tourism.

The province is organising a festival for agricultural and rural tourism and products under the country’s “One Commune-One Product” (OCOP) programme between December 22-24.

The festival includes various activities such as art performances, showcasing OCOP products and specialty products, a seminar on developing agriculture tourism in building new-style rural areas, a contest about mobile advocacy activities for developing agriculture tourism in combination with building new-style rural areas and a cuisine contest about the province’s specialty agriculture produce.

Vietravel wants to launch five-star tourist train on North-South line

Vietravel has expressed interest in launching a five-star tourist train that will traverse the entire country in collaboration with the Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR).

Nguyen Quoc Ky, chairman of Vietravel, informed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of this plan when he attended a conference to discuss the 2024 plan for VNR held on January 9.

The project will feature a range of amenities on the train, including a modern fitness center, a recreation center, a kids’ club, as well as screening and video game rooms.

The five-star relaxation cars on the train are designed to provide guests with the comfort and relaxing experience during their journey to explore the country, Ky said, adding that the special tourist services offered on this train will adhere to international standards and meet the requirements for sustainable tourism development.

Statistics of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism showed that local tourists using train services in 2023 reached 10 million, expanding by 15% against 2022, while the number of international visitors opting to travel by train was 1.5 million last year, rising by 20%.

Notably, the Hanoi-HCMC route in 2023 gained recognition as one of the world’s amazing train journeys from Lonely Planet, which is a widely-viewed British travel guide.

Work on golf club buildings in Dalat suspended

The government of Dalat City has decided to halt construction work on the golf club buildings on Cu Hill as multiple violations have been detected in the construction process.

Local authorities announced on January 10 that they had told DL Royal Joint Stock Company, the project’s investor, to suspend work on the golf club buildings on Cu Hill, which is adjacent to the landmark Xuan Huong Lake in the heart of Dalat.

This decision comes after a government inspection in April 2023 found numerous violations in the project. The construction of the 4,400-square-meter building inside the Cu Hill golf course had not been approved by authorities. Additionally, a 6,000-square-meter building has only received permission for the construction of the basement.

The construction project has sparked public outcry as it obstructs the scenic view from the Xuan Huong Lake to Langbiang Mountain, negatively impacting the natural beauty of the city.

Hanoi pilots digitalization models

The Hanoi Department of Information and Communications in collaboration with the Long Bien District People’s Committee today [January 12] held a ceremony to launch the city’s pilot digitalization models in selected agencies and districts.

“The move is part of the overall effort to realize the capital’s vision of becoming a smart city that is actively integrated into the network of smart cities in the region and of the world by 2030,” said the department's director, Nguyen Viet Hung, at the launch event.

The city has selected several units to implement the digitalization model, including the Department of Transport, the Department of Taxation, the Economic & Urban Newspaper, and the People's Committees of  Hoan Kiem, Long Bien, My Duc, Chuong My, Ba Vi, Ung Hoa, Me Linh, Dan Phuong, Thanh Oai, Phu Xuyen districts.

The goal is to experimentally apply selected models that fit the specific characteristics of each locality and unit, promote proactive and innovative activities, ensure effective deployment, and serve the needs of citizens and businesses in the area.

At the launching ceremony, Deputy Chairman of the People's Committee Hanoi Ha Minh Hai stated that Hanoi, with a population of over 10 million, faces numerous challenges in implementing digital transformation.

To support citizens and businesses in adopting online public services, Hai noted Hanoi has become the first locality in the country to issue a resolution regulating some online public services free of charge.

The city's leadership has digitally signed all documents on the shared software system for managing documents and city operations. All public agencies in the city have implemented digital signatures, and the city's three-tier administrative procedures information systems are connected to the central government," he added.

In 2023, several successful digital transformation models were proposed and implemented as pilot projects, including cashless payments in Hoan Kiem district, smart payment roads in Son Tay Town, cashless transactions in schools and markets, and pension payments. Digital transformation models at the commune and ward levels are also being initiated in Hoai Duc, Long Bien, and other districts, departments, and agencies across the city.

Highlighting the theme of 2024 as "Governance Based on Digital Data," Hai hoped that government agencies, organizations, businesses, and citizens in Hanoi would work together to achieve digital transformation goals successfully. 

The focus is on making services and digital applications easily accessible, safe, and efficient for people and businesses anywhere in the city, further contributing to the vision of Hanoi as a cultured and heritage city with eight characteristics of a global city, elegant and grand, harmoniously developed, peaceful and prosperous, with a service-minded government, dedicated businesses, trustworthy society, and happy citizens.

On the same day, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Long Bien District Vu Xuan Truong, representing participating units in the digital transformation models, announced the plan to implement digital transformation models in the district.

These include implementing software to manage Party members' activities, software for resolving public complaints and recommendations and providing digitized data such as civil registration, urban planning, and environmental resources.

Innovative approaches have been applied for the first time, such as digitally publicizing information on the list of administrative procedures that must be publicly available for data sharing between the district and wards.

Streamlining and shortening information on the resolution of 324 administrative procedures under the district's jurisdiction were implemented to facilitate quick reference for citizens. Improvements were also made in collecting feedback on citizen satisfaction with the handling of administrative procedures, and a queuing system has been in place to save millions in investment costs.

Alongside these efforts, the district introduced a pre-appointment model with officials for citizens submitting documents online through the National Public Service Portal and the Hanoi e-Government Service Portal to encourage an increase in online applications. The district also shortened the processing time for administrative procedures by 20% and successfully piloted a level 2 data digitization identity verification system to authenticate transactions in administrative procedures.

Hanoi to recreate New Year celebrations of Northwestern minorities

 This weekend, Hanoi locals and tourists can experience Northwest Ethnic Spring Festival cultural activities at Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism, Son Tay Town, Hanoi.

The program "Welcoming Spring in the Village" will be held on January 13 and 14 with spring folk games of northern ethnic groups.

 It's part of the Spring Fragrance of the Northwest program held at the venue throughout January with the participation of about 100 people from ethnic groups such as Nung, Tay, Dao, Hmong, Muong, Lao, Thai, Khmu, Ta-oi, Katu, Bahnar, Sedang Raglai, Rade, Khmer from Hanoi and ten provinces in the northern, central and southern regions.

During the two-day event, ethnic minority groups will showcase their traditional handicrafts, musical instruments, cuisine, spring cultural performances and typical traditional folk arts, including the Thai Xoe dance (people dancing together in a circle), bamboo pole dance, Vi Dam folk singing of the Central Region, gong performances, bell dance, turtle dance and others.

The Khmu people of Son La Province will perform the Ma Gro ritual on January 21 to pray for blessings. This ritual takes place every year after the harvest (around the 11th and 12th months of the lunar calendar). It is also the biggest ceremony of the year for the Khmu people and has a deep spiritual and religious significance. The ceremony takes place in each family and involves everyone in the village.

The offerings to the ancestors are very simple and include only roots and tubers such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, pumpkins and gourds. Each house must also have a pair of chickens (one male, one female). Families slaughter more pigs, chickens and ducks to celebrate Ma Gro.

On the 30th of January, there is a ceremony where people erect the Cay Neu (a tall bamboo pole with offerings and objects to pray for good fortune and ward off evil) to begin the Lunar New Year celebrations. This is a long-standing and significant traditional custom for many ethnic groups. The bamboo pole not only represents the meaning of "getting rid of the old, welcoming the new" as a spiritual symbol, but also conveys the meaning of good living. The Vietnamese consider the pole to be the axis of the universe, the pillar that connects heaven and earth. Erecting the pole is an activity that takes place regularly every year at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism.

Hanoi recognizes 14 craft villages

Of the 14 villages, three have been awarded the title of Hanoi Craft Village: Hamlet No. 3's Bamboo Weaving Craft Village in Van Phuc Commune, Thanh Tri District; Trieu Xuyen Carpentry Craft Village and Tao Village's Tailoring Craft Village in Long Xuyen and Tam Thuan Communes, Phuc Tho District.

Eleven villages have been awarded the title of "Hanoi Traditional Handicraft Village", including Peach Blossom and Ornamental Plant Cultivation Craft Village of Dong Thai Hamlet, Van Tao Commune, Thuong Tin District; Mother-of-Pearl Inlay Craft Village of Trung Hamlet, Chuyen My Commune, Phu Xuyen District; Mother-of-Pearl Inlay Craft Village of Ngo Hamlet, Chuyen My Commune, Phu Xuyen District; Carving and Mother-of-Pearl Inlay Craft Village of Thuong Hamlet, Chuyen My Commune, Phu Xuyen District; and others.

The Hanoi People's Committee will give a certificate of recognition and financial support of VND12 million ($491.2) to each village awarded the title of Hanoi Traditional Handicraft Village.

Meanwhile, a certificate of recognition and financial support of VND6 million ($245.6) will be given by the Hanoi People's Committee to each village awarded the title of Hanoi Craft Village.

The city currently has 1,350 craft villages, focusing on traditional crafts such as lacquer, mosaic, embroidery, silk weaving, ceramics, bamboo and rattan weaving. It is home to the largest number of craft villages and artisans in the country.

New Oakwood Hospitality location in Quang Ninh

 The cooperation agreement to bring the global hotel management brand Oakwood to the northeastern province of Quang Ninh was signed by The Ascott Limited and Sun Group on January 10.

Accordingly, Premier Village Ha Long Bay Resort will be rebranded as Oakwood Ha Long.

Speaking at the management agreement signing ceremony, Serena Lim, chief growth officer of The Ascott Limited, said the Oakwood brand had been established in the local market since 2016, and with evolving guest preferences, the brand will be refreshed later this month to align with the rekindled appetite for travel.

Known for its core value of 'Home + Beyond', Oakwood captures the essence of comfort and convenience, offering a warm retreat after a busy day. In line with this commitment to comfort, Oakwood Ha Long promises to deliver a better home experience, ensuring guest satisfaction through world-class service and the dependability of its dedicated staff.

Set in the heart of Halong City, Oakwood Halong is a resort of 67 luxuriously designed villas nestled among the palm trees, just 100 metres from Bai Chay Beach. The resort is also close to recreational attractions such as the vibrant Sun World Complex, the bustling Halong Night Market and the cultural richness of Quang Ninh Museum, as well as convenient access to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay.

Headquartered in Singapore, Ascott has a presence in more than 220 cities in over 40 countries across Asia Pacific, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the USA. In Vietnam, the hospitality brand has a remarkable portfolio of nearly 9,000 rooms across 34 serviced apartments and hotels in key gateway provinces and cities.

Some diseases have high number of cases and deaths in 2023: Ministry

According to the Ministry of Health, all diseases are under the health sector’s control, however, many diseases had a very high number of cases and deaths in 2023.

In particular, 180,983 infection cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) were recorded last year, an increase of 2.7 times compared to the same period in 2022 and 31 deaths, an increase of 10.3 times compared to 2022.

The number of HFMD cases increased sharply in the southern provinces, of which Ho Chi Minh City had the highest number of infected people. Other infectious diseases such as measles, monkeypox, rabies, and diphtheria had all increased quite high.

Specifically, rabies recorded 82 deaths nationwide, an increase of 12 cases compared to the same period in 2022. Cases of typhoid fever caused by measles virus were 393, a year-on-year increase of 35 cases while Diphtheria recorded 55 cases and 5 deaths and monkeypox had 121 cases and 6 deaths.

The Ministry of Health said that in the past year, the lack of vaccines for the National Expanded Program for Immunization was reported in many localities across the country, leading to many children missing vaccination schedules; therefore, they were at high risk of infectious diseases.

Therefore, in 2024, the Ministry of Health has signed a contract to purchase 10 types of domestically produced vaccines and is distributing them to localities in January to ensure vaccination needs for children at all medical grassroots stations.

HCMC education sector discusses AI applications in teaching, learning

The Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City organized a virtual workshop on applying artificial intelligence in management, teaching and student assessment.

Addresing the conference, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training Nguyen Van Hieu said that the education sector is in the phase of promoting the application of information technology, including the application of artificial intelligence in teaching and evaluating students.

Currently, many school managers are still reluctant to apply IT in administrative management as they favor paper records, said Director Hieu. As a result, the application of information technology to professional work is still slow. He emphasized that each teacher is responsible for applying IT in their work, said the Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training.

In the 2023-2024 school year, the sector is determined to carry out digital transformation and the successful implementation of the National Assembly’s Resolution 98 on the city's specific mechanism.

Therefore, leaders of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City hope that educational institutions will proactively seek solutions to implement digital transformation, contributing to the city's common goals.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai from the University of Missouri (USA) said that artificial intelligence is part of STEM education, simultaneously related to the fields of Mathematics, Science, Technology and Engineering.

He revealed that artificial intelligence is one of the recently emerged tools that contribute to the implementation of STEM education in schools. Due to its high applicability, this field attracts quite a lot of attention from public and non-public schools.

According to him, many countries around the world have so far implemented artificial intelligence in schools. However, in Vietnam, there is no specific legal corridor on this issue.

In a world rapidly transformed by technology, education remains at the heart of progress. Educators must be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of AI in learning to help learners become digital citizens in parallel with society's development.

If a learner masters artificial intelligence technology, they will also be designers and users of artificial intelligence tools to create learning content; thereby, improving digital capacity and developing skills and personal qualities, said lecturer Nguyen Thanh Hai.

For teachers, this tool supports teachers in designing lessons, and building a question bank to test and evaluating students; thus, diversifying learning forms and improving teaching quality.

Thus, artificial intelligence is not only a change in awareness but also a changes in teachers' behavior and teaching methods. In particular, teachers will increase the time to interact with students, instead of spending a lot of time preparing lessons, testing and evaluating.

HCMC keen on developing cultural industries

A conference reviewing works in 2023 and creating goals for 2024 was held by the HCMC Department of Culture and Sports at the municipal Opera House on January 10.

In 2023, the city's culture and sports sector issued a list of 90 key programs and tasks and achieved 90/90 targets, reaching a rate of 100 percent.

An important milestone last year is that the Department of Culture and Sports advised the HCMC People’s Committee to propose to the National Assembly the issuance of a special mechanism for the city to apply in the field of culture and sports. Accordingly, Resolution 98/2023/QH15 on the pilot implementation of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of HCMC was approved by the National Assembly (NA) on June 24, 2023. The resolution allows HCMC to apply PPP investment in the fields of sports and culture.

In 2023, the HCMC Department of Culture and Sports coordinated with relevant departments and units to organize more than 50 festivals, events, and special traditional art programs, up 160 percent compared to 2022, including activities marking ten years since Don Ca Tai Tu Nam Bo (Southern amateur music) recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, the third Ho Do International Music Festival 2023, first HCMC Short Film Festival 2023.

There was also a contest of art compositions marking the 50th anniversary of southern liberation and national reunification (April 30, 1975-2025) themed “HCMC- a pride of a 50-year epic” which aims to look for artworks covering the fields of music, cinema, architecture, dance, fine arts, photography, stage, and literature honoring the historical value of the struggle for national liberation, the construction and development of a civilized, modern and humane city.

The city’s culture and sports sector has invested in the construction project of Phu Tho Circus and multi-purpose performing center that was kicked off on April 25 with a total capital of VND1,390 billion (US$59.7 million); inaugurated the renovation project of Ton Duc Thang Museum; rebuilt a training center for gifted and talented in Sports, the unit 1 of the Women’s Cultural House, Youth’s Cultural House, Children’s Cultural Palace.

This year, the city will pay attention to the cultural industry developmentin accordance with the project approved by the HCMC People’s Committee. Accordingly, the production value of the city’s cultural industries is expected to reach VND53,200 billion (US$2.2 billion), contributing around 5.7 percent to the city's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) by 2025; and gain VND94,800 billion (US$3.9 billion), contributing around 7-8 percent to the city's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) by 2030.

Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee Duong Anh Duc highly appreciated the achievements of the city’s culture and sports in 2023.

He asked the sector to be interested in mobilizing social resources for investment in the form of public-private partnership (PPP), proposing specific mechanisms for preserving traditional arts with cultural values, developing cultural industry, planning advertising, strengthening the development of high-performance sports and mass sports, reaching achievements in implementing goals of developing the cultural and sports sector approved by the HCMC People’s Council.

Universities joining hands to bring happy Tet to students

Many universities and colleges across the country are busy planning to support disadvantaged students on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

Under plans, thousands of students will receive assistance to return to their homeland to celebrate Tet with their families.

The Youth Unions of universities and colleges will organize entertainment programs to ensure students who have not planned to return to their hometown on the Lunar New Year a happy and warm Tet.

Director of the HCMC Student Support Center Le Xuan Dung said that there are still a lot of disadvantaged students who can't go home to celebrate Tet, so they have decided to spend their Lunar New Year holidays in the city to do part-time jobs and earn money. In addition, a number of students affected by the Covid-19 epidemic need to be interested.

The HCMC Student Support Center will organize gatherings and art programs to bring a warm Tet to disadvantaged students and offer 2,000 Tet gifts worth a total capital of VND1.5 billion to educatees.

Accordingly, a gathering will be held at the HCMC Youth’s Cultural House at 2:30 pm on January 31 (on the 21st day of the last month of the lunar calendar). Students can register for participation at the website www.sac.vn or www.facebook.com/hotrohssv.

The HCMC Student Support Center has also coordinated with enterprises to provide around 4,000 seasonal jobs to students during the Tet holidays from now until February 15.

Jobs mainly cover the sectors of cashiers, warehouse staff, order processors at supermarkets, shippers, security guards at stores, food and drinks establishments, housekeepers, garden cleaners, and more. Average income ranges from VMD25,000-VND50,000 per hour or VND140,000-VND400,000 per day. Students can access the website: www.sac.vn for further information.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Quynh, deputy head of the Lac Hong University in Dong Nai Province said that the school has received 511 registrations for supporting to return home for Tet with a total capital of nearly VND500 million. The university will also offer Tet gifts and “lucky money” to disadvantaged students who cannot return to their hometown to celebrate Tet in Dong Nai Province.

The HCMC Student Support Center has cooperated with the Acecook and Lifebuoy brands to offer free bus and train tickets to disadvantaged students to return to their hometowns for the Tet holiday from January 28-31.

The center presented 2,000 bus tickets and 150 train tickets from HCMC to provinces and cities in the Central and Central Highlands regions to students.

According to the Department of Student Affairs of Vietnam National University - HCMC, the Board of Directors of the Vietnam National University - HCMC has worked with the dormitory management board and the Youth Unions of universities and colleges to organize programs caring for students on Tet holiday.

Deputy head of the HCMC University of Technology Nguyen Quoc Anh said that the school has carried out many programs to bring a happy Tet to students with a total capital of VND500 million, including offering free bus, train and plane tickets from HCMC to Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Quang Binh, Hue and Nghe An to students.

In addition, the university youth union has also visited and presented gifts to policy beneficiary families, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, veteran cadres and soldiers, the elderly living alone, poor students, and children.

Saigon University, HCMC University of Economics, HCMC University of Agriculture and Forestry, and HCMC Open University have spent hundreds of millions of dong to help students return to their hometowns for the Tet holiday and bring a warm Tet to other underprivileged ones.

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