Village embraces World Cup spirit

World Cup spirit is taking over the planet, and the event is being talked about in cafes and homes around the globe.

Potters in Bat Trang village on the outskirts of Hanoi are taking advantage of this by developing new products to celebrate the festive atmosphere.

Some workshops in the village are producing World Cup replicas, and Vuong Hong Nhat's is among the busiest, with dozens of wholesalers waiting for their orders to be completed.

Nhat said his family had been working from early morning till 11pm to meet the increasing demand. Everyday, the workshop produces up to 50 cups, but always displays a "sold out" sign.

"We are happy because the World Cup gives us a chance to make more money," Nhat said while pouring plaster into a plastic mold which was made for the 2010 World Cup.

"Making a mold like this would take a week while the increasing demand has not permitted us to stop to make new molds. That's why we have to manage with only one old mold."

Nhat said the cups are made from 1kg of plaster powder and half a liter of water, and then sprayed with gold paint.

"Earlier this year, FIFA brought the World Cup to Vietnam, but it was displayed in a glass cabinet and we couldn't get close to it," said student Nguyen Huu Hung. "That's why people want to buy one of their own, even though they are made in Bat Trang."

Various workshops in the village have also been offering plaster paintings of top players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

"I'm surprised that some children even ask for international players that we don't have on our list," said Vu Nguyet Thu, a workshop owner in the village.

“I can see there aren't any Vietnamese footballers on display, which might make them think twice about the way they conduct themselves," commented Le Thu Ha, a parent looking for a gift for her child.

Vietnam, US discuss non-traditional gas development

Safely and effectively developing non-traditional gas resources without damaging the environment was the focus of a workshop held in Hanoi on June 12-13.

Jointly organized by the US Embassy in Vietnam and the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s General Department of Energy, the event attracted a crowd of experts from both countries operating in the field, along with those from the member nations of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and ASEAN.

According to the US Embassy’s commercial counselor Laura Stone, the recent development of non-traditional natural gas sources brought many benefits, such as helping ensure energy security, creating jobs and generating other economic and environmental benefits.

Participants discussed technologies available for sustainably exploiting non-traditional gas resources in the region, while sharing practical experience in building regulations and measures to protect the environment.

Four die in Ha Giang motorbike accident

Four young men died yesterday in a motorbike accident in Bac Quang District in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang.

The accident happened on a section of the National Highway 2, which connects Ha Giang and Ha Noi. All four men were riding one motorbike when it collided with a truck.

The accident is being investigated.

MoT takes action over highway shortcomings

The Ministry of Transport will penalize parties involved in the mismanagement of the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh expressway which led to a blowout of its initial budget, announced the ministry on Thursday.

The decision was made following a proposal by the State Audit of Viet Nam based on post-construction inspections of the project.

The Cau Gie-Ninh Binh highway cost more than VND8.9 trillion (US$423.8 million) to build, more than double the budget approved in 2005, according to the State Audit of Viet Nam.

The 54km road, with six lanes and a designated speed of 100-120km/hr, opened in 2012.

In 2005, the Build-Operate-Transfer project was approved with a budget of VND3.73 trillion ($177.6 million). However, project investor, the Viet Nam Expressway Corporation (VEC), adjusted the budget and design twice.

The VEC failed to conduct a hydrographic survey, instead using hydrographic statistics and calculations from similar projects. The highway also failed to meet technical standards regarding cement quality and road surface height.

The ministry has slammed leaders of the VEC and the project management board for the wrongdoings.

The ministry has given its first warning to the Transport Consultancy and Design Corporation and auxiliary contractors and has publicised the violations on its website.

The project's Cuban consultant Quality Couriers International has also been banned from participating in projects invested by VEC for the next two years, while ten Cuban consultants were banned from working as consultants for transport construction projects in Viet Nam.

NGOs build Kon Tum kindergarten

Construction of a new kindergarten in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum's Kon Kloc Hamlet began last Saturday.

It was built by the Viet Nam Education Society of Canada and East Meets West foundation.

The VES, Rotary Club and the Children's Benevolent donated US$55,200 to the project.

In order to meet current demand, the newly built school will have two spacious classrooms, two latrines, and a bathroom outfitted with a shower, a playground, a storage room and fully-equipped water and electrical systems.

New school offers free ultrasound courses

Samsung Vina Electronics in partnership with Medic Medical Centre (MMC) and Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine in HCM City last Friday launched the SONO School in District 10 which will offer free courses in ultrasound diagnostic skills.

The school, equipped with Samsung's latest ultrasound devices with 5D technology, will run three courses a year.

In addition, patients at MMC with therapeutic ultrasound prescriptions from doctors will receive free diagnoses.

Vietnam hosts first ASEAN Meeting on UXO

The first meeting of the Experts’ Working Group (EWG) on Humanitarian Mine Actions,  under the cooperative framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM+) Plus, will take place in Hanoi from June 17-20.

The information was unveiled by the Vietnam People’s Army General Department of Politics at a press conference in the capital on June 12.

Colonel Do Mai Khanh, Deputy Head of the Institute for Defense International Relations, said that the event will provide an opportunity for Vietnam to promote defense cooperation among ADMM+ member nations, in order to overcome the post-war bomb and mine consequences It will also help raise public awareness about the real situation, risks and responsibilities of nations and the international community in dealing with the issue to seek cooperation areas in line with each party’s interest and capacity, said Khanh.

He emphasized that the first meeting of its kind will provide the foundation for international cooperation in the field, speed up the process of dealing with the consequences of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) as well as facilitating charity aid activities. Vietnam expressed hope that with the contribution from 18 ADMM Plus nations, effective solutions will be worked out to speed up the clearance of UXO in Vietnam.

Family Day targets personality development

Vietnam Family Day 2014 is due to take place at the Vietnam Culture & Arts Exhibition Centre in Hanoi from June 26-28, focusing on human personality development and a healthy lifestyle.

Highlights of the event include a “talented family” contest and a conference on family and public healthcare clubs of Hanoi’s adjacent provinces and cities.

There will also be sports and art performances, a singing contest and a seminar on enhancing the role of men in family.

This year’s event will continue to honor ethnic minority families in Hanoi who have excelled in production, research and study.

A representative from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the Day creates a good chance to acknowledge outstanding families and honour the family’s role in preserving traditional culture and identity in the integration process.

Vietnam wins gold at Asia-Pacific Maths contest

Three Vietnamese students have won gold medals at the Asia-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools (APMOPS), recently held in Singapore.

The trio are Le Tri Lam, Dinh Thao Vy and Hoang Anh Dung from Hanoi. They were among the eight Vietnamese candidates competing in the event.

Lam earned the country a place in the top ten nations for the second time.

Last year, Vietnam bagged two gold medals at the contest held annually by Hwa Chong Academy in Singapore for Year 6 and 7 pupils from the Asia-Pacific region.

Nearly US$1.6 million for anti-corruption

The Prime Minister has approved a United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-funded project to enhance anti-corruption efforts in Vietnam.

The project will be implemented over the next four years at an estimated cost of nearly US$1.6 million, of which roughly US$1.5 million will be sourced from official development assistance (ODA), with the balance coming from the State budget.

It aims to strengthen the Vietnam Government’s anti-corruption capacity through fully observing the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and raising the role of the non-state sector in anti-corruption activities.

The project will also help revise legislation, build a database to assist in monitoring and evaluating anti-corruption work, and improve supervision of the operational efficiency of social organizations on matters related to the issue.

Police launch push for highway safety

Traffic Police have begun a one-month safety campaign along several national highways.

They are focusing on roads with high levels of traffic accidents and congestion.

The campaign, which will end on July 10, is aimed at helping provinces patrol the highways.

Head of the Law Guidance and Traffic Accident Investigation Office, Nguyen Quang Huy, said the campaign would focus on National Highway 1, which runs through the central provinces of Nghe An and Quang Binh; National Highways 5 and 18 in the northern province of Hai Duong; and National Highways 14 and 19 through the Central Highlands' province of Gia Lai.

The inspections will concentrate on serious violations that can lead to accidents, such as speeding, drunk driving, overloading and driving in the wrong lane.

Last year, traffic police inspected and punished nearly 2.6 million drivers for breaking traffic rules. Fines totalled nearly VND1.5 trillion (US$71 million).

Sand exploitation hits river industries

Illegal exploitation of sand in the Thi Vai River continues to despoil areas of Tan Thanh District in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria -Vung Tau, causing losses to aquaculture farmers and delays in building a new industrial zone.

Industrial zones were to be built around the main port in the area, but for the last three years, illegal sand exploiters have caused serious problems.

The domestic port area is located in the district's Phuoc Hoa commune, two kilometres away from the new Cai Mep port.

Every night, at least eight boats exploit sand on the Thi Vai River in front of the new Cai Mep port, and one 1,000-tonne barge receives the sand from the boats for a price of VND40,000 per cubic metre. On average, each boat needs 20 – 30 minutes to collect 25 – 30 cubic metres of sand.

In daylight during the week, all the boats stop working, but on the weekend, they exploit sand day and night.

One local resident said that illegal sand exploiters in the past only took sand from the middle of the river, but now they have moved closer to the bank.

When 100,000 cubic meters of sand were taken away, a dyke that was built to protect aquaculture ponds collapsed, and hundreds of hectares were affected.

In mid-April, a local farmer, who declined to be named, planned to harvest his ponds but the dyke suddenly broke and he lost all of his seafood. The farmer had to spend tens of millions of dong to rebuild the dyke.

Another farmer, who also did not want to be named, had to leave his wife, son and daughter at home every night to protect his aquaculture area.

"I have to carefully listen and watch when the sand exploiting boat comes. I have begged them to stay away from my aquaculture farm," he said.

In addition, oil from the boats has also endangered marine life.

"In the past, when we complained, they gave us VND1 – 2 million for compensation. But now they don't care. None of us dare do anything because they are protected by underworld members," a local resident said.

Tran Van Nhieu, chairman of the Phuoc Hoa commune's People's Committee, said that illegal sand exploiters had also overtaken land and caused environmental pollution.

"With limited human resources and equipment at the communal level, we can't catch them red-handed. We have told the district authorities many times, but they haven't come up with a solution," Nhieu was quoted as saying in the Nguoi Lao Dong (Laborer) newspaper.

Although the sand exploitation has caused construction delays, the investor has not expressed concern.

Home delivery for paperwork piloted

Results of paperwork procedures of individuals, enterprises and organizations will be directly returned to their own addresses upon request and payment of a fee, according to the provincial People's Committee.

The service will be first piloted in the People's Committees at district levels in Da Nang, starting from next month. It will be expanded to other State agencies throughout the city from August.

The program is aimed at improving the quality of administrative public services and achieving conveniences in paperwork procedures for individuals and organizations.

The results of the paperwork procedures will arrive in 1–2 days.

More land for public schools

Ha Noi People's Committee has agreed with a Department of Planning and Architecture request to set aside land for more public schools in the inner city.

After checking 10 districts, the department suggested reserving 143 blocks of land lying unused or being improperly used.

Many of the plots are in highly suitable areas in Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh and Dong Da districts. However, the total amount is only a fraction of what is needed.

Earlier, the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment allocated land taken back from 23 failed investors to build public schools with a total area of more than 488,000 sq.m.

The department asked districts to have the schools built as soon as possible to lessen overcrowding.

According to a report from the Ministry of Education and Training, at the end of last year, the city needed roughly seven million square meters of land to build schools.

Thai Binh charges 14 with property theft

Police investigators in the northern province of Thai Binh have started legal proceedings against 14 people charged with stealing assets from Shengli Steel Co. Ltd. in Cau Nghin Industrial Park.

The indictments read that by taking advantage of disturbances during local protests against China's illegal placement of a drilling rig in Vietnam's waters on May 14, the defendants allegedly mingled with the crowds to steal property from the enterprise.

Of the charged, 11 people were accused of stealing assets, while three others were indicted on the charge of consuming stolen property.

With regard to the case, the provincial investigation police agency seized various stolen items, including computer screens, laptops and motorbikes. The local authorities are continuing investigations in a bid to reclaim all the stolen property.

Cambodia, Vietnam cooperate on water resources

The Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Working Group began its 10th meeting with Cambodia's National Mekong Committee and Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology to draft regulations on joint management and use of water resources in border areas.

Head of the group and permanent office chief of the Vietnam National Mekong Committee Le Duc Trung said that the group’s efforts will contribute to the work.

On the basis of the agreement reached at the inter-governmental committee’s meeting last February, this meeting will examine and supplement issues relating to water resources joint management and use, in line with the principles stipulated in the 1995 Agreement on Cooperation for Sustainable Development of Mekong River Basin, ensuring the common interests of both nations’ people.

The meeting’s results will be submitted to higher-level authorities for approval and inclusion into the drafting process of an agreement on joint management and use of water resources along the Vietnam-Cambodia border.

Wall collapse leaves 2 dead in HCM City

Two people died yesterday morning, after a wall of the under-construction convention center collapsed on them in HCM City's District 7 following heavy rains and strong winds.

The victims, Phan Van Chau, 49, and Nguyen Thi Kim Loan, 42, were workers at the construction site. When they were taking shelter under the convention center during the rains, a 20-cm block of wall, three-meter wide and four-meter high, collapsed on them, injuring them seriously. The two victims died while they were being taken to the hospital.

The nine-storey convention center, with two basement floors, is being built at a cost of VND150 billion (more than US$7 million). Its investor is the Khai Vy Corporation.

The accident is under investigation.

Man fined for producing fake fertilizer

The Phu Yen People's Committee yesterday fined a man VND100 million ($4,700) in Hoa An Commune, Phu Hoa District for manufacturing 35 tons of fake fertilizer.

Huynh Van The, 42, was also ordered to destroy the fertilizer, and local authorities confiscated a centrifugal pan with the diameter of 2.7m and a packing sewing-machine.

The's accomplice Doan Van Dan, 49, was also fined $4,700.

Phu Yen Police stopped 200 bags of fertilizer, each weighing 50kg, being transported by lorry without any papers of origin or quality. The driver admitted he had been hired to transport the fertilizer by The.

Vietnamese shops celebrate World Cup fever

In celebration of World Cup 2014, the consumption market in Vietnam has become hotter in recent days, thanks to a series of attractive promotions offered by supermarkets and shops.

Giant electronics supermarket chains like Nguyen Kim and HC are offering a discount of 10-50 percent on many products, especially televisions. Their sales have increased by 20-30 percent and are expected to continue the upward trend during the one-month tournament.

Meanwhile, mobile phone shops have attracted consumers by playing World Cup official songs, including “The Cup of Life” (1998) and “Waka Waka” (2010). They have also launched promotion programs, cutting their prices by 10-30%.

Discounts have also been recorded on sport clothes and accessories relating to the world’s biggest football event.

To welcome the competition, many coffee shops have been decorated and equipped with large-screen televisions to serve football fans.

Natural forests sacrificed for profitable cassava crop

Cassava plantations are helping reduce poverty in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

However, natural forests are being chopped down to make way for the highly profitable crops.

In Dak Ro Wa Commune in Kon Tum City, 400ha of 2,000ha of forest has already disappeared.

With incomes of VND20 million (US$950) per hectare, the tubers have improved living standards for many households, said Phan Thanh Nam, chairman of the Dak Ro Wa People's Committee.

Cassava farms have made serious encroachments in Sa Son, Sa Nhon and Mo Rai communes in Sa Thay District, which are next to Chu Mom Ray National Park.

Y Tuyn, a Sa Son resident, said residents preferred cassava because it was easy to grow and was a prolific producer.

She said rice had low productivity and could be swept away by heavy rain.

Mai Nhat Van, deputy director of the Chu Mom Ray National Park's Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre, admitted to Lao dong (Labour) newspaper that measures to stop encroachment on forests were ineffective.

A total of 28,000ha of cassava was planted in the province last year, but this has now swollen to 34,000ha.

Several processing plants have been built in Kon Tum to process cassava.

Phuong Hoa Cassava Starch Processing Plant in Dak Glei District produces 25,000 tons a year. It works for six months a year and buys tubers for about VND2,000 (US$0.095) per kilogram.

Nguyen Van Hai, head of the Dak Glei District Forest Management Unit said that the district set up several forest protection stations, but could not control the issue.

Local authorities have prosecuted dozens of people for cutting down trees since 2010, but nothing has changed.

Tran Viet Cuong, deputy head of the Administration and Planning Division of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said local authorities were forced to let residents plant cassava because it thrived in the rough terrain.

Plantations required little capital and were known as poverty reduction crops for ethnic minorities, he said.

Vietnam raises awareness against dengue

Around 5,000 people gathered at a meeting to mark ASEAN Dengue Fever Day in Cao Lanh city the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap on June 15.

Doctor Doan Tan Buu, deputy director of the provincial health department said the Ministry of Health (MoH) selected Dong Thap to host the important communication event because the province has high risks for a possible pandemic.

Buu said the province has also coordinated with relevant agencies to heighten public awareness of dengue protection efforts. Deputy Minister of Health, Nguyen Thanh Long, called on localities to take synchronized measures to prevent the epidemic with a focus on eliminating mosquito larva. The health sector will support by giving advice, supervising and stamping out outbreaks to reduce the number of fatalities, he added.

According to a report from the MoH Preventive Health Department, since the beginning of the year, more than 10,000 cases of dengue fever have been reported including seven deaths. However, the number of cases have reduced by 41% compared to last year’s figures..

So far, dengue  has affected 100 nations and territories worldwide with 2.5 billion people living in infected areas. Every year, around 50,000-100,000 people are infected with the disease and 24,000 people die of it.

PPP delegation provides treatment for burns victims

The Pacific Partnership Program 2014’s (PPP) delegation and Danang Hospital held a press conference on June 14 to announce the results of medical interventions conducted in Da Nang city.

During the past nine days, the delegation has co-ordinated with Danang hospital to provide treatment and surgery for patients with severe burns.

Of the 54 patients, 16 received orthopedic operations while the remainder underwent lazer cosmetic surgery, the most modern treatment technology for severe burns at present.

The partnership organized training courses and shared modern medical techniques with doctors from Da Nang Hospital, C17 Hospital.

They also invested US$100,000 in upgrading Hoa Quy medical center and the Centre for Orphans in Da Nang city.

Capt. Eric Hofmeister, an orthopedic surgeon from the Naval Medical Center, San Diego, said that the delegation has cooperated with Danang Hospital to treat many patients with the latest advanced technologies from the US. It also organised seminars for doctors  to discuss experiences in the related field.

Residents living in two degraded apartment buildings in HCM City's Binh Thanh District will be relocated to new homes that are the same or bigger than their existing premises.

This is one of the solutions Binh Thanh District's People's Committee has suggested to speed up the removal of old apartment buildings and resettle affected residents.

Vice chairman of the People's Committee, Duong Hong Thang, said that 299 residential apartments were built in the 1960s, and had been gradually deteriorating for decades.

He said that in 1996, the Sai Gon Construction Quality Assessment Company reported that two blocks were subsiding, and urged for them to be evacuated.

For years, resettlement issues had been the main stumbling block, and investors were not interested in rebuilding old buildings due to slow land clearance and low profits.

The new policy offered accommodation for residents as soon as they moved from out of the apartments, he said.

Residents who wanted to continue living in the blocks after they were rebuilt would be given money to find temporary accommodation, Thang said.

So far, 276 out of 299 households living in the two blocks have agreed to move.

A resident in Block IV of the Thanh Da Apartment Building, Nguyen Thi Hoa, said that her family was happy to hear about the resettlement policy.

"We have lived in the apartment for over ten years with the fear of the building collapsing every night," she said.

Another resident, Trieu Xuan Xanh, said that because the apartments were scheduled for demolition or renovation, residents were not allowed to fix water or waste pipes.

Vice chairman of the People's Committee in District 10, Nguyen Duc Trong, said that a shortage of funding and inadequate compensation policies were the main reasons for delays to the project.

Director of the city's Construction Department, Tran Trong Tuan, told Nhan dan (The People) newspaper that the city planned to expand the resettlement policy in Binh Thanh District.

The city planned to offer incentives for investors to renovate old buildings, including exemption on corporate tax and value added tax for five years, and from land use and land lease fees.

According to the Construction Department, HCM City had more than 1,200 apartment buildings, 570 of which were built before 1975 and in degraded conditions.

During 2014-15, the city planned to tear down 70 old buildings which house over 7,249 apartments, but so far only 38 have been demolished due to delays in land clearance and compensation settlements.

Three Vietnamese students to compete at MOSWC 2014

Three Vietnamese students will participate in the final round of the Microsoft Office Specialist Word Championship 2014 (MOSWC) in California, the US, from July 27-30.

The information was released at the awards ceremony of the national MOSWC 2014 co-organized by IIG Vietnam and HCM City’s University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology on June 11.

They are Tran Duc Duy, 10th grader from Dinh Thien Ly School, who topped at MOS PowerPoint, Bui Huu Hong Hai from the University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology who won first prize at MOS Word, and Tran Minh Tien from the Banking University of HCMC.

This is the 5th year the competition has been held in Vietnam.

Nguyen Vinh Hien, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, said that the competition provides an intellectual playground for the younger generation in Vietnam, thereby enhancing computer skills and work performance for the future labor force in Vietnam.

The MOSWC helped Vietnam standardise office computer skills for Vietnamese students to meet international standards, he noted, adding it is also an opportunity for schools to modernise their computer training programs.

At the event, the Ministry of Education and Training, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and IIG Vietnam signed an agreement to co-organize the competition over 2015-2019.

Previously, IIG Vietnam organized the event with the support of Viettel Group, VPBank and Microsoft Vietnam.

Campaign promotes deworming in community

The National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology (NIMPE) on June 14 launched a campaign called “Deworm the Community 6116” in an effort to improve public health.

The campaign aims at encouraging regular deworming every six months to prevent worm-related diseases. For easy memorization, the NIMPE recommends the 6th of January and the first of June (thus the abbreviation of 6116) as the fixed dates for procedure.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the prevalence of parasitic worm infections in Vietnam ranges from 20 to 50 percent depending on regions. The rate among children can be as high as 80 percent in some areas in the north. However, parasitic worm infection still receives little attention as a tropical disease, even though it seriously affects the comprehensive growth of children and the health of adults.

NIMPE Director Dr. Tran Thanh Duong said the poor living standards and hygienic conditions as well as traditional eating habits in rural and mountainous areas are to be blamed for the high risk of worm infections. Therefore, he stressed the importance of raising public awareness about prevention.

Viet Pride Festival 2014 for LGBT community

The third Viet Pride Festival 2014 will be held in Hanoi on August 1-3 to connect groups protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) nationwide.  

Dialogues and exchanges will form the core of the program to seek public support for this community, given the fact that struggling for their rights in society remains difficult due to traditional cultural barriers.

Preparations for the event are underway, receiving assistance from civil social organizations from North to South, and embassies, businesses and the Hanoi-based Goethe Institute - the strategic partner of Viet Pride.

Viet Pride said it is trying to connect domestic and global LGBT communities to share sympathy and experiences.

In August 2012, the first Viet Pride Festival was held in the capital. Over 200 young people waving rainbow flags and messages on equal rights marched through Hanoi’s streets. The event became an important milestone for the LGBT movement in Vietnam, aiming to eliminate prejudice about sexual minority groups and honor diversity.

The second event of its kind in 2013 gained further momentum, with activities expanded through the Viet Pride scholarship program and its ‘Equal Offices’ campaign.

Binh Duong spends big on rural transport

The southern province of Binh Duong plans to spend VND152 billion (US$7.2 million) to improve rural transport and urban areas.

Vice chairman of the provincial People's Committee, Tran Van Nam, said the projects were expected to connect national roads with provincial areas, including districts and communes.

"This infrastructure will help to connect production areas with industrial processing zones more efficiently," he said.

The districts of Phu Giao, Dau Tieng, Bac Tan Uyen and Bau Bang will focus on upgrading rural roads, while Thu Dau Mot City, Di An Town and the districts of Thuan An, Ben Cat and Tan Uyen will look to improve urban facilities.

Besides funding from State budget, people were being encouraged to contribute to the work, he said.

Nam urged local authorities and members of the public to maintain their roads to avoid damaging them.

He noted that careless driving in the past had led to their degradation.

According to the provincial Transport Department, the province had spent nearly VND1.5 trillion ($70.75 million) on 2,383 transport projects in the last four years, including 238 kilometers of asphalted road, 103 kilometers of concrete road and 805 kilometers of gravel paths.

Binh Duong is one of the leading industrial hubs in Viet Nam, and has seen a strong inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), with US$815 million registered in the locality.

The province is now home to 2,255 valid foreign-invested projects, worth a combined $20 billion. In 2013, foreign-invested sectors contributed about 75 per cent of the province's industrial production value, and 80 per cent of Binh Duong's $16 billion export turnover.

Meeting honors blood donors

A ceremony honoring 100 prominent blood donors nationwide and marking World Blood Donor Day was held in Hanoi on June 14.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee for the blood donation campaign, Nguyen Hai Duong, said he hopes these donors will continue acting as role models for future blood donation campaigns.

For many of those honored, the practice of donating blood has become a way of life.

Vu Tran Minh from Ho Chi Minh City has donated his blood 74 times. Many others have donated over 70 times, saving a lot of lives.

Since 2007, activities responding to World Blood Donor Day have been organized across Vietnam annually.

Earlier the same day, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan received the donors in Hanoi.

He expressed his wish that they will encourage others to follow suit.

Over the past 10 years, many lives have been saved by 6.4 million units of blood collected from donors.

RoK funds US$3.5 mil to improve Hue’s planning

On June 12, the central province of Thua Thien Hue unveiled the Republic of Korea-funded project to adjust the planning of the central city until 2030 with a vision to 2050.

As well preserving and promoting important heritage values of Hue, the US$3.5 million project aims to develop the city into a central urban area of the Thua Thien Hue province in the future.

In the second phase, the RoK Government and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has committed to providing US$6 million in non-refundable for a detailed development of the two banks of Huong River and a pilot construction project which is expected to take two and a half years to complete.

Chairman of Thua Thien Hue province’s People’s Committee, Nguyen Van Cao highlighted successful cooperation of KOICA and RoK's relevant consultation units in co-ordinating with the province to complete the project to adjust the planning of Hue city.

He expressed his wish that the province will receive further support from RoK in the future.

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