Vietnam’s largest airport to tackle overcrowding during Tết

The country’s largest and busiest airport, Tân Sơn Nhất in HCM City, has taken measures to ease domestic air overcrowding during the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday, which falls on January 22.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has allowed airlines to increase flight frequency at the airport based on the travelling needs of people during Tết, the country’s biggest and most important holiday.

During January 17-21 and January 25-29, the total number of additional flights will be 28 flights per day, or 5,600 seats per day. The total number of added flights will be 280 flights, or 56,000 seats, during the periods.

The CAAV has required airlines to ensure the effective use of take off and landing slots.

Nguyễn Nam Tiến, deputy director of Tân Sơn Nhất airport, said airport authorities have prepared plans to meet the upcoming high demand.

All units have been ordered to closely monitor the flight schedule, frequency and density of flight operations in each time frame and arrange personnel to ensure airport services.

Airlines and ground service units have been asked to allocate enough staff to deal with any incidents and minimise delayed and cancelled flights.

Airport authorities have developed an online domestic flight information display system to help passengers easily find their flights online.

Currently, information on domestic flights to and from the airport is only displayed on FIDS screens at designated areas at the airport (such as at departure and arrival halls, check-in counters, departure gates and baggage claim carousels).

Airport authorities have also taken measures to ease congestion on roads leading to the airport.

The Southern Airports Authority and Tân Sơn Nhất airport will also work with the Department of Transport to increase public transport serving the airport to downtown area to meet the travel needs of passengers in order to reduce traffic jams at the airport area.

Domestic travel demand has been surging after the pandemic was put under control, causing overcrowding at major airports across the country, especially Tân Sơn Nhất and Nội Bài.

Tân Sơn Nhất is expected to serve the highest number of passengers in four years during the peak of the holiday.

This year, people will have a seven-day holiday from January 20-26.

The airport is expected to service more than 3.8 million passengers with nearly 27,000 flights during the holiday, up 10 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

More than 820 flights with 130,000 passengers are expected to depart from and arrive at the airport per day.

In a related move, construction of the much-anticipated Tân Sơn Nhất third passenger terminal, which started last month, is expected to ease the worsening overcrowding at the airport.

The airport currently has two terminals, with the first terminal serving domestic flights and the second terminal handling international flights. The first terminal can serve up to 15 million passengers a year and the second terminal 10 million.

The airport was designed to handle 25 million passengers a year by 2020, but it has been receiving almost 40 million a year since 2017.

Once completed, the third terminal is expected to handle domestic flights and up to 20 million passengers annually. 

Kien Giang Province increases shrimp farming

Kiên Giang Province plans to produce more shrimp using advanced techniques to enhance yield and quality this year.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province plans to produce 116,200 tonnes of shrimp this year compared to 111,600 tonnes last year, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Quảng Trọng Thao, deputy director of the department, said the province’s Fisheries Sub-department has set up schedules for breeding brackish-water shrimp this year and instructed farmers following them to mitigate the adverse impact of weather and disease on shrimp cultivation.

It has guided shrimp farmers and establishments to regularly follow forecasts about weather and diseases to properly cope with their impact, he said.

It has also instructed them to use advanced breeding techniques to increase yield and quality, he said.

Under the province’s shrimp breeding schedules this year, the starting time of breeding black-tiger shrimp and white-legged shrimp under intensive and semi-intensive farming methods can begin year round.

In shrimp and rice farming areas, the release of black-tiger shrimp fry into ponds for breeding should start from this month until April depending on the conditions of each area.

Breeding giant river prawn in rice fields should start between February and July.

To breed brackish-water shrimp safely and effectively, the department has instructed its agencies to increase inspections of establishments that produce shrimp fry, food and other products used for breeding shrimp and treating its waste water.

The department has co-operated with relevant agencies and localities to effectively operate irrigation works and automatic water monitoring systems to serve shrimp cultivation.

Kiên Giang will continue turning more unproductive rice fields in coastal areas into shrimp-rice farming fields to increase income for farmers.

Last year, the province turned more than 3,400ha of unproductive monoculture rice fields into shrimp-rice farming fields.

The province has encouraged farmers to subject shrimp-rice farming to good agricultural practices (GAP) and other high quality standards to meet the requirements of domestic and export markets.

The shrimp-rice farming model helps farmers increase profit by VNĐ85 million (US$3,700) per hectare a year compared to growing only rice, according to the department.

Kiên Giang, which is the country’s largest rice producer, has one of the largest shrimp-rice farming areas in the delta.

The province has also encouraged farmers to expand semi-industrial and industrial shrimp farming models, such as two-stage shrimp farming that uses advanced techniques to increase yield and quality and is environmentally friendly.

Farmers in the province bred a total of 143,352ha of shrimp last year, up 4.3 per cent against 2021, according to the department. 

Dozen of bookcases delivered to remote areas thanks to student project

In just six months, Thái Hải Đăng's project Sách đến tay em (Books to children) has given nearly hundreds of books to students in remote areas.

However, Đăng's efforts to empower young people with knowledge started long before this project began. 

The final-year student of the Academy of Journalism and Communication told Infonet online newspaper: “I started establishing these cases with books when I was an eleventh-grade student at Lưu Văn Liệt High School in Vĩnh Long Province. 

“Back then, the school didn’t have a book club, so I asked my seniors from the project Sách và Hành động (Books and Action) in Cần Thơ City to help me set one up.”

With the help of Nguyễn Thị Vân, the founder of the project Tiếp bước tương lai (Empower the future) which aims to cultivate a reading culture for students across the country, Đăng started collecting books for his school club. 

When he entered university in Hà Nội, Đăng went online to look up book clubs in the capital, through which he found and quickly became an active member of Thái Hà Books Lovers' Club.

Đăng said: “One time, when I planned to travel to Sa Pa, I wanted to make the trip more meaningful so I came up with the idea of donating books to fill a small bookshelf for students in the town." 

Many people from his club supported his idea, but each person only have one or two books to donate. Đăng then went back and forth across the capital city on his bike to collect enough books for the project.

He said: “That was summertime, so it was very hot and it is not easy to go collecting books. I was drenched in sweat after every trip. One time, my bike broke down and all the books fell off, they get all dirty and tattered and I felt so bad. 

“My rented room was tiny and the books occupied most of its space, so my meals were very simple so that the books didn’t get all smelly.”

The result of all those hard-working days cycling across Hà Nội was nine boxes of books for Sapa Primary School and Phan Si Păng Secondary School in the mountainous town of Sa Pa. 

In December last year, Đăng’s project gave seven more of these bookcases to schools in Bắc Giang and Hòa Bình provinces, as well as Ba Vì District in Hà Nội, among other locations. 

Đăng said: “At first I felt that this requires so much hard work, and only planned to donate one book case for my trip to Sa Pa. But now there have been nearly a dozen more.

“I didn’t think that many people knew about my project ‘Sách đến tay em’ and supported me that much. I started off alone, but now I have many others by my side and help me.”

Filling the book cases is no easy task for Đăng and his team, from working with bookstores for the best prices to organising and transporting the books, among numerous other things. 

Đăng said: “It would be a lie if I say it is not tiring. But in the future, I hope to continue delivering books to places that didn’t have the means to have their own libraries, especially in the mountainous and remote areas. 

“At these locations, donating warm clothes and food is also necessary, but I think that in the long run, students need to read books to enrich their knowledge. Each book they open bears the hope for a bright future. 

“I hope that each person can contribute a part, whether it is the spirit, knowledge, idea, effort, time, books, finance or other items, so that we can cultivate the reading culture together.” 

Contractors mobilise resources for progress of north-south expressway

Contractors are rushing to complete the components of the north-south expressway project according to the Ministry of Transport's schedule.

The three sub-projects which are lagging behind schedule consist of Mai Sơn-National Highway 45; Vĩnh Hảo-Phan Thiết and Phan Thiết-Dầu Giây.

The average progress of the three sub-projects now has reached 76.3 per cent of the workload, according to the report from the Construction Investment Management Department.

Đặng Hùng Thái, director of Phan Thiết-Dầu Giây sub-project, said it has so far reached 92 per cent of the workload. 

With the Mai Sơn-National Highway 45 section project, the contractor has completed the foundation and some sections of the road surface, traffic safety system, and crossroads.

In order to complete these sub-projects before April 30, the department has requested contractors to continue maintaining progress, and prepare plans to provide financial resources for construction.

The Project Management Board was asked to direct the contractors to mobilise all resources, take advantage of favourable weather to construct the foundation and road surface; and install a traffic safety system as soon as the construction site is available.

After the groundbreaking ceremony of 12 components of the second phase of the north-south expressway project at the beginning of this year, the project management boards and contractors have mobilised resources to ensure the projects will be completed on schedule.

Phạm Văn Minh, deputy director of the project management board No 6 of the Vũng Áng-Bùng and Bùng-Vạn Ninh sub-projects, said the construction will be maintained throughout the Tết holiday. 

Contractors have also received advance capital for construction.

It is expected that the capital for the North-South Expressway's eastern section of its second phase (2021-2025) in 2023 will be about VNĐ44 trillion (US$1.88 billion).

In order to ensure the progress and quality of the project, the Ministry of Transport has requested contractors to make an overall construction plan for items, personnel and equipment, and report to the ministry before January 15.

The project management boards are also tasked to work closely with localities, ministries and agencies to ensure the handover of the entire remaining area for construction in the second quarter of 2023; complete the procedures for mining construction materials and dumping sites; and strictly control the quality of works.

Vocational schools strive to meet ministry regulation

The Ministry of Education and Training has said students must be educated in line with vocational skills, but schools says this isn't straight forward, as there are many obstacles standing in their way.

Lê Đình Thâm, principal of the Đồng Nai College of High Technology (DCoHT), told the Giáo dục Việt Nam (Việt Nam Education) e-magazine that a majority of students opted for studying both traditional subjects like maths, literature and history, and vocational training at the same time.

The college says they must also prepare teachers to educate in more practical skills, like mechanics and joinery, to give the students more job opportunities when they leave school. 

However, he said some students did not have enough capacity to learn both high school knowledge and vocational skills.

When the students first come to the DCoHT, the college discusses options with students, but later discovers that those who pick both vocational and knowledge modules, struggle in the long-term.

In the past two years, only 87 per cent of students at the DCoHT completed the high school curriculum at the same time with vocational training, ranking the fifth among vocational schools in Đồng Nai Province.

Thâm said that it was difficult for 100 per cent of students to fulfill both at the same time because the amount of knowledge was so great.

Thanks to learning high school knowledge in parallel with professional skills, some of students of the DCoHT then passed entrance exam to universities.

Thâm said that the DCoHT always tried to meet the Ministry of Education and Training’s regulations, and was enrolling seven more teachers to teach high school knowledge at the college.

An educational consultant of a vocational school in southern area, who remained anonymous, told the Giáo dục Việt Nam (Việt Nam Education) e-magazine that vocational schools often worked with other high schools to teach knowledge for seven subjects including math, physics, chemistry, literature, history, geography and biology.

Literature, math and history are compulsory subjects, and students can choose the remaining subjects based on their wishes.

“When students enter vocational schools, their main purpose is learning as an apprentice and have job right after graduating from the school, so co-ordination between the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Training is needed,” he said.

In previous years, vocational training schools must wait for teaching plans and term-end test schedules from other high schools, so they remained passive in the work.

Many students felt too hard while studying both knowledge and vocational skills at the same time, and the school always gave them encouragement to fulfill the task, he said. 

International law foundation of modern international order, world peace: ambassador

Ambassador Đặng Hoàng Giang, permanent representative of Việt Nam to the UN, has affirmed that international law is the foundation of the modern international order and world peace in his remarks at the first open debate of the UN Security Council this year.

Entitled "The promotion and strengthening of the rule of law in the maintenance of international peace and security", the ministerial-level event held on Thursday was attended by nearly 80 UN member countries.

The Vietnamese representative said states, large or small, are responsible for complying with the UN Charter and fundamental principles of international law, including respecting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, refraining from using or threatening to use force, peacefully settling disputes, and fulfilling international obligations in good faith.

He called on the council and its members to take the lead in ensuring respect for the UN Charter and the rule of law and seeking peaceful measures to all disputes.

Giang took the occasion to reiterate Việt Nam's efforts in maintaining peace and security and promoting the rule of law within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and between ASEAN and its partners, including the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the negotiation process of a Code of Conduct in the waters (COC) in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Last year, Việt Nam initiated the establishment of the UNCLOS Group of Friends, which gathers nearly 120 member countries, with a view to promoting the wide understanding and application of as well as compliance with this convention, the ambassador added.

Lauding the debate’s topic given the many challenges facing international rule of law, speakers highlighted the upholding of multilateralism and respect for the basic principles of international law in promoting the international order based on rules and the rule of law among nations.

Echoing the view in a joint speech, ASEAN said the bloc is committed to the maintenance and promotion of peace, security and stability in the region, including the East Sea, as well as to the peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law.

ASEAN also vowed to continue working actively to soon achieve a substantive and effective COC in accordance with international law and UNCLOS. 

Art performance honours patriotism through melodies

The Theatre of Việt Nam Music, Dance and Song has launched the annual art performance series Màu Thời Gian (Colours of Time) featuring various themes of 2022.

The first show of the series, Ngọn Chung Linh (The Flame of Desire), took place on Thursday night at Âu Cơ Theatre, Hà Nội.

The show introduced 15 songs adapted from the poems written by professor-academician-painter Ngô Xuân Bính. The music was written by famous composers such as Nguyễn Cường, Trần Tiến, Quang Vinh, Đức Trịnh and Tuấn Phương.

The show starred many emerging singers like Sèn Hoàng Mỹ Lam, Hoàng Quyên and Ploong Thiết.

It was divided into four chapters – Cánh Đồng Tiềm Thức (Field of Awareness), Chợ Quê (Rural Market), Cánh Đồng Tri Ân (Field of Gratitude), and Khát Vọng (Desire).

All songs are about patriotism, national pride, a spirit to protect and build up the country and the love for the fatherland.

Composer Đức Trịnh, chairman of the Việt Nam Musicians’ Association, said Bính’s poems have made him see that life is colourful and the motherland is always the warmest place to return.

The composer said Bính’s poems are rhythmic, musical and full of folk melodies.

Bính said: "Vietnamese people’s history has gone through thousands of years of building and defending the country. We have overcome many ups and downs thanks to the spirit and the strength of the whole nation.”

He called that spirit Ngọn Chung Linh (The Flame of Desire). It’s an abstract term symbolising the human desire to rise up and the national spirit. The art performance therefore aimed to enhance the national identity and aspirations and introduce typical works to the audience, thereby promoting the image of the country and Vietnamese people.

This concert continues Bính's artistic point of view in art. He said that it takes humanity thousands of years to form an ego or national identity, but it only takes a few decades, even just a few years, for people to erase the chain of cultural ties typical of a region or a nation such as craft villages, customs, architecture, farming methods, and religion. Therefore, he always takes tradition as the source of his works.

Nguyễn Hải Linh, director of the Theatre of Việt Nam Music, Dance and Song, said Bính’s music is suitable to the concept of Colours of Time music series, which explains why he chose Bính to start the series and start the art programmes of the theatre in 2023.

He revealed that the show will be broadcast on platforms of the theatre in the near future.

Bính was born in 1957 in the central province of Nghệ An and lived in Russia for over 10 years. He is also known as the creator of the Nhất Nam martial arts school and a practitioner of Vietnamese traditional medicine.

In recent years, he has become one of the country’s most well-known artists, with exhibitions in Minsk and Moscow. He also received many international art awards. He is one of two foreign people given the title of Honourary Member by the Russian Academy of Arts.

He has organised two exhibitions of paintings and sculptures at Hà Nội Museum. He’s talented in various fields such as medicine, martial arts, fine arts and literature. 

Bandovic faces tough test in debut as Hà Nội FC meet Hải Phòng in National Super Cup

New Hà Nội FC head coach Bozidar Bandovic faces a challenging debut in Việt Nam as he leads his team against Hải Phòng in the National Super Cup match on January 29 at the Hàng Đẫy Stadium in Hà Nội.

As Hà Nội secured both the V.League 1 and National Cup title, their rival in the super cup, which is the opening game of the 2023 season, is the V.League 1 runner-up Hải Phòng, making a northern derby.

Although the Montenegrin coach has been in Hà Nội for several weeks, he has spent time researching Hải Phòng, who he described as a big challenge.

"Hải Phòng's coach (Chu Đình) Nghiêm took charge of Hà Nội in the past; he clearly knows the team. My job is to learn and analyse his tactics so that I can build a suitable plan for competing with Hải Phòng in the coming match," said Bandovic.

"We are missing a few players away on international duty. We only have ten days together before the game. I have to find a good plan to perfect the team," he said.

Speaking at the press conference on January 11, coach Nghiêm said Hải Phòng had both advantages and disadvantages in the coming match.

"The lack of players of Hà Nội in preparation will be their weak point. When the national players come back, they may not have enough time to integrate with the team who have worked with a new coach for weeks," said Nghiêm.

"But Hà Nội are a strong team with experienced players who have played together for a long time. Players' quality and understanding will help them quickly fulfil the shortage."

Hà Nội have recently ended its contracts with several key players. Nghiêm said national defender Đoàn Văn Hậu's going away would be a big loss for the champions, but they will have strong local support in the match.

Nghiêm, who was voted the best coach of 2022, said Hải Phòng will do their best, and if they were lucky enough, they will win the trophy.

"Hải Phòng also ended relationships with some players, but our newcomers have integrated well with the team. Hope that they will understand my football philosophy and play well for the new home," said Nghiêm.

The winner will walk away with VNĐ300 million (US$12,800), while the loser will take VNĐ200 million ($8,600).

Players who scored the opening goal and MVP of the match will receive VNĐ10 million ($430) each.

The Super Cup, launched by Tiền Phong newspaper, was first organised in 1999. After 22 years, Hà Nội, Sông Lam Nghệ An and Becamex Bình Dương have won most with four times.

Hà Nội won in 2010, 2018, 2019 and 2020. A win on January 29 will push them to the top among Super Cup winners.

Meanwhile, it would be a second win for Hải Phòng after their first in 2005. 

Khanh Hoa fishermen prepare for Tet trawling trips

Hundreds of fishermen in the southern central province of Khanh Hoa are preparing for long fishing trips during the coming Tet Lunar New Year holiday.

A fisherman in Khanh Hoa is preparing for a long fishing trip during the coming Tet Lunar New Year holiday.

The Hon Ro Fishing Port in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa has been busy in recent days with dozens of boats taking fuel, ice and necessities for their trawling expeditions during 2023 Tet.

Besides essential foods including rice, instant noodles, meat, vegetables, fruits, and salt, fishermen have also bought some traditional Tet foods such as chung cake, jam, rice wine, and beer for Lunar New Year's parties at sea.

A fisherman, Pham Ngoi, said that they usually catch a lot of tuna during Tet.

"We caught 45 tuna on our latest trip," Ngoi said. "The fish have high prices of VND120,000 per kilo so we earned good money. We decided to make another trip in a few days. Each trip will last over 20 days so we're going to go through the Tet holiday this time. This is normal for fishermen like us."

Vice head of the Hon Ro Port Management Board, Le Dang Tien, said that between 30-40 boats are departing the port daily.

"We're having nice weather," he said. "More fishermen from Khanh Hoa and the neighbouring provinces of Phu Yen, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh are setting off this time."
 
Project supports Khanh Hoa residents to learn English

Some 50,000 residents in the southern coastal province of Khanh Hoa will get support from a five-year project to learn English. The project, which was launched on January 9 by the Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee and Vingroup, is expected to contribute to the development of the province, particularly in terms of tourism. 

The project will be carried out between 2022-2027 in an effort to develop a learning society, popularising English to all residents in the province.

The project will be piloted in Nha Trang City and Cam Lam District in the first period from 2022-2023. During this period, 150 English speaking clubs will be set up to help certain groups including students, civil servants, owners of small businesses and workers to study English through mobile apps.

It is expected that 50,000 people will have access to the mobile apps to study English during the first year, and 500 volunteers will join in teaching English at the clubs. More clubs will be set up in the following years while the project expands to more localities in the province.

VinUni University will be responsible for finding suitable text books and recruiting teachers and volunteers for the project. VinUni will co-operate with Nha Trang University and Khanh Hoa University find the teachers and volunteers who will help run the English clubs. 

Khanh Hoa was among the first localities to re-open for tourists and become a locality with the fastest tourism recovery in the country. 

According to the provincial party’s action programme, tourism would be a spearhead economic sector in the 2021-25 period. The province targets to attract 11 million visitors, including five million international visitors, by 2025. 

Tan Son Nhat’s temporary taxi stand ready from January 15

The Tan Son Nhat International Airport plans to put the 3,500-square-meter temporary taxi stand into operation from January 15 to February 6 to serve the huge demand of taxis waiting their turn to enter the domestic and international terminals during the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet).

The taxi stand is designed with around 100 parking spaces, located at the corner of Bach Dang, Truong Son and Hong Ha streets in Tan Binh District, next to the road leading to the international terminal at the airport.

It has sought support from the HCMC People’s Committee, the Department of Transport, the Southern Airports Authority and other agencies to regulate traffic and handle illegal parking and hawking on the roads around the airport and taxi stand.

This upcoming taxi stand will help the Tan Son Nhat International Airport actively arrange taxis for passengers, ensure environmental hygiene and relieve the traffic problem in the area.

The latest statistics show that the Tan Son Nhat airport is expected to operate 26,926 flights and handle about 3.85 million passengers during the upcoming Tet holiday, up 9.5% over the figure in 2019.

The airport is forecast to handle an average of 130,000 passengers a day during that period. On the busiest days of Tet, the daily number of passengers would reach over 144,000, well above the record of 127,885 passengers set in 2019.

Japan offers 45 scholarships to Vietnamese public employees

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has launched the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship by Japanese Grant Aid (JDS), offering 45 full scholarships to young and competent Vietnamese public employees for the 2023-2025 course.

Vietnamese public employees can now apply for the JDS program funded by the Government of Japan through official development assistance. The application deadline is February 27.

A full scholarship includes tuition fees, flight tickets, monthly scholarships and other allowances.

The JDS program provides a two-year master’s course in various study fields, including economics, urban development/transport, energy, agriculture, environment, human resource development for industrial development, healthcare/social security, legal system and public administration at Japanese colleges and universities.

The courses at graduate schools will be taught in English, so JDS fellows are supposed to write a thesis in English.

Since its launch in Vietnam in 2000, the program has offered 771 scholarships to Vietnamese employees.

Tan Son Nhat’s temporary taxi stand ready from January 15

The Tan Son Nhat International Airport plans to put the 3,500-square-meter temporary taxi stand into operation from January 15 to February 6 to serve the huge demand of taxis waiting their turn to enter the domestic and international terminals during the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet).

The taxi stand is designed with around 100 parking spaces, located at the corner of Bach Dang, Truong Son and Hong Ha streets in Tan Binh District, next to the road leading to the international terminal at the airport.

It has sought support from the HCMC People’s Committee, the Department of Transport, the Southern Airports Authority and other agencies to regulate traffic and handle illegal parking and hawking on the roads around the airport and taxi stand.

This upcoming taxi stand will help the Tan Son Nhat International Airport actively arrange taxis for passengers, ensure environmental hygiene and relieve the traffic problem in the area.

The latest statistics show that the Tan Son Nhat airport is expected to operate 26,926 flights and handle about 3.85 million passengers during the upcoming Tet holiday, up 9.5% over the figure in 2019.

The airport is forecast to handle an average of 130,000 passengers a day during that period. On the busiest days of Tet, the daily number of passengers would reach over 144,000, well above the record of 127,885 passengers set in 2019.

HoREA proposes eliminating social housing land requirement

Owning a home will continue to be a distant dream for many people if the regulation that requires property developers to set aside 20% of their project land for social housing development is in place, said the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA).

The association proposed amending the law on housing, saying the target for one million social homes by 2030 would not be achievable if it is not revised.

Under the current law, real estate firms involved in commercial residential development projects must set aside at least 20% of their project land for social homes.

This regulation should be removed, HoREA said, adding provinces and cities should take charge of allocating land for low-cost housing projects, instead.

It reasoned that building social homes inside middle-end and high-end housing projects would drive up their prices, making them unaffordable for low-income people. The price could reach VND40 million per square meter, which low-people earners cannot afford.

Meanwhile, social home buyers will have to pay high management and service fees as they live in an area for middle- and high-income residents.

Housing prices have been surging over the past five years, leaving the house price index 20 times higher than the country’s average income per capita. Hence, locals have found it tough to own a home.

In late 2022, the Government told the Ministry of Construction to collect feedback on regulations on the 20% land requirement for social housing and revise the 2014 Law on housing.

HCMC, provinces approve investment roadmap for Beltway 4

HCMC and four neighboring provinces have approved an investment roadmap for Beltway No. 4, scheduled to be commenced in 2024 and completed in 2028.

The 200-kilometer beltway will pass through HCMC and four neighboring provinces — Long An, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

HCMC met with the authorities of the four provinces on January 12 to discuss the investment plan for Beltway No. 4.

According to Tran Quang Lam, director of the HCMC Department of Transport, each of the five localities is now working on a prefeasibility study for the section that will pass through it.

The prefeasibility study and the assessment of the investment plan should be done this year. Work is expected to begin in September 2024 and the road will be opened to traffic in the first quarter of 2028.

The starting point of the road will intersect with the underway Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, and its endpoint will be at the Hiep Phuoc port in HCMC.

The beltway will have six to eight lanes for vehicles, of which four lanes will be built in the first phase and expanded to eight in the second phase of the project.

The funding for the project will be sourced from the State budget, provincial budgets and investors.

HCMC will soon work with the minister of transport to agree on the format and the schedule for submission of the prefeasibility study, said Phan Van Mai, chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee.

Authorities asked to impose tough fines on violating slaughterhouses

Vietnamese Prime Minister directed to strictly throw a book at slaughterhouses that fail to ensure veterinary hygiene and food safety according to present regulations.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha yesterday signed Directive No. 02/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister on strengthening the management and control of animal slaughter to ensure disease safety and food safety.

In the directive, it stated that according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s report, roughly 456 animal slaughterhouses have been established in 37 provinces and cities nationwide that have been granted certificates of veterinary hygiene/food safety conditions. However, more than 22,000 small-scale animal slaughterhouses do not meet veterinary hygiene/food safety requirements. Therefore, the control of slaughter has not met the requirements, especially because the risk of slaughtering dead animals, infected animals, spreading diseases and causing food insecurity is very high.

Subsequently, the Prime Minister asked chairpersons of people's committees in provinces and cities to directly direct and encourage organizations and individuals to invest in and build modern animal slaughtering facilities and chains. Moreover, each city and province should have a policy to upgrade slaughterhouses as well as review the network of concentrated animal slaughterhouses in the locality, ensuring veterinary control, preventing the spread of diseases, and ensuring the environment and food safety.

Last but not least, local administrations should develop a roadmap for bringing small animal slaughterhouses into slaughterhouses under the control of local authorities and veterinary authorities for the facilitation of management. The Prime Minister requested to have penalties on slaughterhouses that fail to ensure veterinary hygiene and food safety according to law provisions.

Finally, local governments should annually develop and implement inspection plans for slaughterhouses to ensure conditions of veterinary hygiene, food safety and compliance with the law on the protection of the environment. Plus, administrations should increase inspection and examination, especially paying unscheduled visits to slaughter establishments while promptly dealing with food safety incidents. Furthermore, local authorities should throw a book at violating groups and individuals, and agencies and veterinary staff that are irresponsible in managing animal slaughtering establishments.

Vietnam-South Korea Cultural Festival opens in HCMC’s District 7

The Vietnam-South Korea Cultural Festival celebrating the Lunar New Year and the 30th anniversary of Vietnam-Republic of Korea (RoK) diplomatic ties (December 22, 1992-2022) opened in Phu My Hung Urban Area in HCMC’s District 7 on January 14.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front of District 7 Nguyen Hung Dung said that the event is an opportunity for Korean friends to learn about Vietnamese traditional culture as well as give knowledge of the arts, culture and cuisine of South Korea to Vietnamese people.

On this occasion, the Vietnam Fatherland Front of District 7 handed over more than 1,000 Tet gifts which were donated by individuals, units and businesses of the two countries to needy people.

The festival featuring over 10 display booths, cultural and entertainment activities will run until January 15.

Nearly 90% of companies in Viet Nam are willing to raise wages for employees

About 88 percent of enterprises in Viet Nam are willing to raise wages by 2023, while nearly 87 percent of employees also expect higher salary.

These are among key findings from Robert Walters Global Wage Survey 2023, conducted in 31 countries across six continents, including Viet Nam. In particular, a separate report for the Vietnamese market has made some conclusions and critical trends in 2023.

2023 is considered a "shifting year" when up to 74 percent of workers in all occupations expressed their intention to change jobs in 2023.

In the context of the economic downturn and volatile inflation, 70 percent of employees said that career stability is becoming increasingly important to them. However, most still value maximizing personal income in 2023 rather than maintaining a stable job.

Accordingly, laborers will prioritize choosing businesses that meet their needs. When asked which employer criteria are highly appreciated by the candidates, 53 percent of the interviewees mentioned remuneration and welfare.

Research & development (R&D) skills in manufacturing sectors are becoming essential as more companies set up R&D centres in Viet Nam.

Besides, the fields related to technology and digital are solid influences and are the main driving force behind Viet Nam's recruitment market.

2023 will also see a great demand for sales and customer service personnel due to limited supply. Workers with skills related to driving growth, strategy and digital transformation will also be in need.

Another major trend noted in today's job market is the widening gap in HR capabilities across most sectors.

Finally, Robert Walters predicts an increase in demand for Vietnamese personnel who are residing abroad and planning to return home to work. This displacement wave can be seen in the technology & transformation or digital sectors.

Viet Nam calls for Japan's support in building North-South express railway

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on the Japanese Government to support Viet Nam in building the North-South express railway.

The Government chief made the request during his reception for Japan’s Minister of Finance Suzuki Shunichi in Ha Noi on Friday.

Pham expressed his delight at the strong and comprehensive development of Viet Nam-Japan comprehensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia with high political trust.

Viet Nam considers Japan as a top and long-term strategic partnership, backing Japan to make active contribution to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world, he affirmed.

The host reiterated that Viet Nam will continue creating favorable conditions for Japanese firms to launch effective operation in the country.

Prime Minister Pham suggested the two countries organize practical activities to mark the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties this year.

He suggested Japan assist Viet Nam in restructuring capital contributions at Nghi Son refinery and petrochemical project, and enhancing digital transformation in customs, corporate bond and securities markets.

For his part, Suzuki Shunichi spoke highly of the Vietnamese Government's efforts in the COVID-19 fight and socio-economic recovery.

He also briefed the host about the outcomes of his working session with Vietnamese Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc, asserting that the two sides will continue fostering collaboration in infrastructure development.

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