WB approves US$500 million to support Vietnam’s public investment reforms; Bank officers forge documents to steal money; Opening doors for PPP investment model; Increasing female members in political system

Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway project gets underway

The Phu Tho provincial People’s Committee in coordination with the Ministry of Transport organised a groundbreaking ceremony on December 23 for a section running through the northern province of Phu Tho under the Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway project.

The 31.64km 4-lane section, stretching from Viet Tri City, through Phu Ninh and Lam Thao districts and Phu Tho town to Cam Khe district, has a total investment capital of over VND2,385 billion.

Construction work, scheduled for completion in 40 months, is under taken by the Republic of Korea’s Posco E&C Co. Ltd under supervision by Spain’s Gentinsa consulting firm.

The Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway is the longest one (264km) and most expensive (US$1,249 million), running through 5 provinces and cities, including Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Yen Bai and Lao Cai.

Bank officers forge documents to steal money

Eleven defendants, including several bank officers, are being prosecuted by Hanoi People’s Procuracy for creating false documents to steal money from banks in Hanoi and Thai Binh Province.

According to the indictment, the defendants stole over VND204 billion (US$10.5 million) from the State in 2003-2008.

Seven of the defendants were officers at the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV)’s Dong Do branch and the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (VCB)’s Thanh Cong branch.

Tran Le Thuy, 40, BIDV Dong Do branch’s officer, colluded with other defendants, some of whom were VCB Thanh Cong branch officers, to modify and create false bank documents issued by VCB Thai Binh and VCB Thanh Cong branches.

The papers were then used as security to borrow money from BIDV Thai Binh and BIDV Dong Do branches.

The defendants used the money to invest in real estate, securities, gold and for individual expenditures. Most lost money on their investments, however, and were unable to return the funds.

Opening doors for PPP investment model

About 10 infrastructure projects in the areas of expressway, hi-speed railway and seaport request funding under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) form, said the Ministry of Transport (MoT).

According to MoT Deputy Minister Ngo Duc Thinh, the Dau Giay-Phan Thiet expressway, invested by Bitexco Group, will be the first pilot project to be implemented under the PPP model in the field of building the national expressway network.

Bitexco’s representative said the project has an estimated investment capital of VND14.35 trillion, of which VND1.4 trillion will come from Bitexco and the remaining will be mobilised from credit organisations, domestic and foreign partners. Work on the 100km-long route is expected to commence in late 2010.

The Ninh Binh-Thanh Hoa expressway project, with an estimated investment capital of VND29.8 trillion, has also been selected to be implemented under the PPP form. The 120 km-long expressway will run through three provinces, including Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa.

To speed up the implementation of the two projects, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has called for the World Bank’s financial support through its reconstruction and development capital sources.

Apart from the two above-mentioned projects, the MoT has made a list of eight other projects calling for domestic and foreign private investors under the PPP model. They include the Da Nang-Quang Ngai, My Thuan-Can Tho, Noi Bai-Ha Long, Ha Long-Mong Cai, Dau Giay-Da Lat and Ben Luc-Long Thanh expressways, the Hai Phong International port and the Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho hi-speed railway.

Increasing female members in political system

In the next ten years, Vietnam will strive to have 30 percent or more female cadres holding key positions in State agencies and socio-political organizations at all levels.

A seminar to discuss a national programme on gender equality in the 2011-2015 period was held in Hanoi on December 23 by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

The national program aims to raise public awareness of the need to narrow the gender gap, reduce gender prejudice and heighten women’s status in some areas with the aim of ensuring gender equality in every area of social life by 2020.

The target from now until 2015 is to increase the number of female members involving in Party organizations of the 11th Party National Congress and the 12th Party National Congress by 15 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

The Deputy Head of the MoLISA’s Gender Equality Department Pham Nguyen Cuong, said that it is essential to help all people gain a comprehensive understanding of equality, especially gender equality.

WB approves US$500 million to support Vietnam’s public investment reforms

The World Bank (WB) has approved the biggest loan ever on record worth US$500 million to support Vietnam’s stimulus effort and public investment reform programme.

In a press release on December 22, the WB said this loan is in acknowledgement of Vietnam’s efforts to move a step closer today to its goal of reaching middle-income status by 2010.

“This is a significant milestone for Vietnam, a country which has moved from the category of ‘High Indebted Poor Country’ to middle income status in less then seven years,” said Jim Adams, the WB’s Vice President for the East Asia and Pacific region.

Meanwhile, the WB’s Country Director for Vietnam, Victoria Kwakwa, said the quality of Vietnam’s future growth will depend on public investment reforms.

The areas strengthened under the reform program include environmental screening of publicly funded infrastructure projects, environmental management, project preparation and appraisal, procurement, public financial management, the regulatory framework for private participation in infrastructure and monitoring and evaluation.

Child nutrition in Vietnam further improved

Child malnutrition rates in the country dropped from 38.7 percent in 1998 to below 20 percent in 2008, two years earlier than expected.

The figure was announced at a meeting in Hanoi on December 23 to review the results of the malnutrition prevention programme launched by the National Institute of Nutrition under the Ministry of Health over ten years ago.

The institute reported that in the reviewed period the programme has been well implemented across the country thanks to a host of methods, like caring for pregnant women, anaemic prevention, Vitamin A supplement and periodic worming.

Minister of Health Nguyen Quoc Trieu said that child nutrition still faces big challenges, such as a slow and unsustainable reduction in child malnutrition rates in several provinces hit by natural disasters, and a growing trend of obesity in urban areas.

However, the programme has made significant progress owning to the positive effects of the socio-economic development, great efforts of the medical network and local authorities and effective support from international organizations, especially the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Ba Ria Vung Tau hopes to welcome over 8 mil visitors next year

The southern province of Ba Ria Vung Tau is striving to welcome 8.4 million visitors by 2010 including 320,000 international tourists.

To fulfil this target, Ba Ria Vung Tau will organise many tourist and cultural events such as the 2010 Culture and Tourism Festival, the second International Kite Festival, the International Women’s Beach Volleyball, the World Culinary Festival, and the Sports and Physical Training Festival in 2010

This year, revenues from the province’s tourist sector are estimated to reach more than VND1,475 billion, up 18 percent from last year. The province is also expected to attract 7.3 million tourists including 270,000 international visitors this year.

PV