Can Tho Bridge to open next month; Da Lat farmers create potato-digging machine; Street kid training centre lands in HCM City; Seacooking Festival opens in Can Tho

The Can Tho Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Hau River that connects southern Can Tho City with Vinh Long Province, will be inaugurated on April 24, said Deputy Minister of Transport Ngo Thinh Duc.

Vietnamese and Japanese engineers at the Can Tho Bridge site, which is nearly completed now and will be inaugurated on April 24 (Photo: SGGP)

He was speaking at a meeting held March 23 in Can Tho City with local officials and contractors and consultants to review the progress of the bridge’s construction.

The Can Tho bridge stretches 2,750 meters long, spans 23.1 meters wide, and has four lanes for traffic and two for pedestrians.

Japanese contractors and Vietnamese builders have nearly completed all key work on the bridge, said Duong Tan Minh, general director of the My Thuan Project Management Unit.

Currently, a lighting system, a fire control and prevention system, and a drift signal system are being installed, Mr. Minh said.

The project has been developed on schedule, meeting the Prime Minister’s request that the bridge be put into operation in April, he added.

However, a bridge monitoring system had to be adjusted, putting the final cost of the project over budget, said Mr. Minh.

Therefore, the Project Management Unit has asked for permission from the transport ministry to use the reserve fund to make up for the increased expense, he said.

Work on the bridge began in 2004 with total investment of around VND4.84 trillion (US$254 million), of which about 85 percent was funded through Japanese ODA and the remaining amount from the Vietnamese Government.

When Can Tho Bridge opens to traffic, it will be the longest main span cable-stayed bridge in Southeast Asia.

Second phase of Hanoi highway to begin next month

The construction of the second phase of belt road No. 3, the Mai Dich-northern Linh Dam Lake section, will begin in April.

The road, which is the first urban highway in the country, stretches 9-km long and has a speed limit of 100km per hour.

The expressway will be built at a height of over 6 meters with total investment of more than VND5.547 trillion (US$277 million).

It is the capital’s first traffic development project to be carried out without displacing residents through site clearance.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

HCMC welcomes over 3,000 cruise ship passengers

The Saigontourist Travel Company received 3,250 foreign visitors from two five-star international cruise ships – the Costa Classica and the Costa Allegra – to Ho Chi Minh City on March 22-23.

The tourists, mostly from Italy, Spain, the UK, and Germany, are part of Saigontourist tour that will take them to the Mekong Delta city of My Tho and other localities in the central region including Da Nang, Hoi An, My Son and Hue city.

In HCMC, the visitors will be taken on a city tour, which includes shopping in Ben Thanh Market and visits to workshops that produce rice pancakes and lacquer ware.

The city also plans to welcome another luxury cruise ship, the Europa, on March 29.

Da Lat farmers create potato-digging machine

A machine created by two farmers in Da Lat City is making the task of harvesting potatoes much easier.

Nguyen Van An and Le Van Cu made the machine themselves and say it increases farming productivity by replacing manual labor, usually carried out with a hoe.

The mechanism can harvest up to 3 hectares of potatoes a day and even shakes off the dirt before dropping them on the ground.

The machine costs around VND10 million (US$526).

Lam Dong Province has been implementing a project to develop a potato farm in Da Lat City from 2009 to 2015.

This year, the province expects to harvest around 23,400 tons of potatoes.

French-style village being built on Ba Na mount

The Ba Na Cable Car Service Joint Stock Company is building a French-style village on Ba Na mount to serve domestic and foreign tourists.

The construction project with a combined investment capital of US$15 million includes 80 two-storey houses scattered throughout the forest.

Dang Minh Truong, Chairman of the company’s Management Board, said that the village is designed to revive an old resort whose facilities date back to the early 20th century. The resort was considered the largest resort paradise in Indochina at that time.

Apart from the village, the company is building an entertainment park boasting a 3D cinema, a snow city, game centres and artificial mountains for climbers, Truong said, expecting the US$25-million park will be completed at the end of next March.

Located 46 km southwest of the central coast city of Da Nang, Ba Na is endowed with a mild climate and beautiful natural scenery. The French colonials discovered the area in 1901 and built a dozen villas exclusively for their officials.

Ba Na in 1986 was recognised by the state as a natural reserve with rare fauna and flora in need of protection such as bassia, perfumed wood and pheinardia ocellata.

At present, Ba Na is one of the most famous tourism and resort sites in Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City hosts Asian Symposium in Rhinology

Five hundred physicians, including 200 leading otorhinolaryngologists from the US, France, Austria, Japan, Italy and Singapore, are attending the 14th Asian Research Symposium in Rhinology, which opened in Ho Chi Minh City on March 26.

The doctors will hear 84 reports on such topics as endoscopic sinus surgery, allergy and immunology treatment, cosmetic surgery, and curing problems of the ear, nose, or throat, said Dr Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung, President of the Vietnam Otorhinolaryngology Society.

The Vietnamese participants hope to learn a lot from this event to eventually catch up with their counterparts elsewhere.

Seminar examines impact of international emigration

Domestic and foreign researchers gathered at the Asia-Pacific Centre in Hanoi on March 26 to discuss the effect of international emigration on development in labour exporting countries.

They proposed some policies to optimize the development impact of international emigration for Vietnam. Current policies have not been effective, but resolving the problem will require close coordination by the countries involved.

International emigration has increased dramatically since the end of the US war in Vietnam. The latest statistics indicate that approximately 5 percent of Vietnamese families have one or more family members residing abroad ( about 1 million people). Vietnamese people have emigrated to almost 30 percent of the countries and territories of the world. The countries with the largest number of Vietnamese residents are the US, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Russia. Most emigrants are between the ages of 17 and 45 and have resided 1-5 years abroad.

Remittances from abroad are a significant factor in many families’ income and living standard. Remittances have increased significantly in recent years.

Seminar participants agreed that government agencies, local authorities, and communal organisations should work closely with each other to improve people’s awareness of the opportunities and risks brought by international emigration. The Vietnamese government should devise policies to encourage skilled workers and experts to return and put their know-how to use at home.

VFF vice chairman wants more support from Vietnam’s Korean friends

Vietnam wants the Friends of Vietnam Association (VESAMO) to help strengthen the Vietnam-Republic of Korea friendship.

At a reception for the VESAMO chairman, Lee Sang Min on March 26, Mr. Nguyen Lam, vice chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee, expressed his hope that VESAMO will support Vietnamese living and working in the RoK, especially Vietnamese brides, in integrating into Korean society.

All of VESAMO members have a great respect for the late President Ho Chi Minh, said Lee Sang Min, adding that the association has launched many activities to help strengthen the friendship between the two countries.

Japanese businesses support poor patients

The Japanese Business Association in cooperation with the Ho Chi Minh City Poor Patient Sponsor Association has donated VND800 million for poor patients.

The money, collected through charitable fairs in HCM City, was handed over to Children’s Hospital 2, Odonto-Maxillo-Facial Hospital, and Orthopedics Hospital on March 25.

It will be used to fund checks-up and treatment for poor patients.

Street kid training centre lands in HCM City

The KOTO Saigon Training Centre for street and disadvantaged youth from the central and southern provinces opened in Ho Chi Minh City on March 23.

Attending the opening ceremony were Graeme Swift, the consul general of Australia, and representatives of the local administration, businesses and non-government communities.

Over the past 10 years KOTO (Know One, Teach One), a non-profit hospitality training organization, has trained over 300 street and disadvantaged Vietnamese kids in Hanoi.

Preteens heat up for mathematics contest

Schools in Hanoi, Hue, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City have been invited to nominate their best and brightest for the Asia-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools.

The competition, meant for children in grades six and seven, will see the first round held at KinderWorld’s Singapore International School in the four cities on April 24, according to the organisers.

The top qualifiers from Vietnam and the rest of the Asia Pacific region will go to Singapore for the final round on May 29.

The event is organised by the KinderWorld Group and Singapore’s Hwa Chong Institution. The first event was held in Vietnam last year.

Anti-Terrorism conference discusses legal framework

Representatives from ministries and experts of the United Nations gathered in Hanoi on March 25 at a conference to talk about a legal framework for anti-terrorism activities.

The conference, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affair with the support of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), reviewed recent developments in the global legal framework and Vietnam’s current law on terrorism.

Participants were also introduced to UNODC regulations on antiterrorism and the office’s technical support in forming terrorism-related laws.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son emphasized the need for Vietnam and the world to develop the legal framework on the issue.

The conference is expected to provide Vietnam a basis to continue improving its regulations and international cooperation on terrorism.

Three int’l delegations do tourism survey in Quang Nam

On the occasion of an international fireworks contest to be held in Da Nang City on March 27-28, three foreign delegations from Japan, Russia and Australia will visit and carry out a survey on tourism services to seek business opportunities in central Quang Nam province.

These delegations are from int’l travel agencies, and major journalism and television outlets. They will visit tourism spots in Hoi An, such as Pagoda Bridge, the Sa Huynh Cultural Museum, the Phuc Kien club-house and arts and handicrafts factories.

Also, they will survey The Nam Hai Resort and the My Son Relics, Non Nuoc village in Ngu Hanh Son (five marble mountains) area, the Cham Museum and the Son Tra peninsula.

UK launches project to support Vietnam’s media development

The British Embassy in Hanoi on March 25 officially launched a support project for media training in Vietnam – the Mediapro.

Mediapro, funded at VND6 billion VND (roughly US$318,000), is supported by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office through the embassy.

The project is designed to support the improvement of the professionalism of journalists through the development of a coherent and practical code of ethics to guide the members of Vietnamese media agencies.

Within the project, the British curriculum developers and lecturers will exchange professional experience with their peers in Vietnam and jointly build an updated media training curriculum that will be offered at the country’s three key media training institutions.

The project will also support the Vietnam Journalists Association in revising the National Media Code of Ethics for journalists through reference to dozens of other ethics codes in place in other countries.

Within the project, numerous workshops on the issue will be held.

The project will be jointly conducted by the British Council, the Academy of Journalism and Communications, the two Departments of Journalism and Communications of the Vietnam National Universities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and the Vietnam Journalists Association.

Mediapro was officially approved in October 2009 and will last until March 2011.

The launch ceremony drew the participation of over a hundred senior government officials, chief editors, journalists and media academics.

Activities commemorate Youth Union’s 79th anniversary

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Central Committee met on March 25 to mark its 79th anniversary (March 26) and honour 10 outstanding youth union secretaries.

Vo Van Thuong, first secretary of the HCYU, reviewed the glorious history of the youth during the two resistance wars and pledged that young people today will do their utmost to serve the Vietnamese people, the Party and the nation.

On behalf of the Party and State, Ha Thi Khiet, secretary of the Party Central Committee (PCC) and head of the PCC’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation applauded the youths’ achievements, saying they should play a key role in the process of industrialization, modernization and international integration. She urged youth union committees at grass-roots level to actively engage in emulation programmes, aimed at increasing production reducing poverty, protecting the environment and solving other social issues.

*** On the occasion, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Huynh Dam sent a message of congratulation to the HCYU Central Committee, youth union members and other young people all across the country.

Seafood Festival opens in Can Tho

The organising board of the First Vietnam Seafood Festival announced 20 major events of the year on its websites http://lehoithuysan.vn and http://festivalthuysan.vn and inaugurated its new press centre on March 24.

The 20 events will include workshops, exhibitions, cultural performances and other activities such as a flowers parade, and a Mekong Delta food contest.

Opening ceremonies for the new Can Tho bridge and the Can Tho Gymnastic and Sports Festival, both with firework displays will coincide with the seafood festival.

MoST launches redesigned website

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) on March 25 unveiled a newly improved version of its website http://www.most.gov.vn, which disseminates information.

The old website, which was launched in 2004 using Zope technology could no longer suite the needs of MoST and had a number of shortcomings including slow response times, a complicated user interface and the inability to support user post or multiple languages.

The redesigned interface allows users to post information to a multi-media database. It also lets them upload large files and update or post information in real time.

This is the first major upgrade of MoST.

Hanoi children receive awards for green earth

Goodwill ambassadors of the Earth Hour, launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), presented awards of the “For a Green Earth” contest to students in seven secondary schools in Hanoi on March 24.

Twenty-five children selected from the sixth to ninth grade each school were awarded for their writings on the impact of climate change and solutions to save energy and keep the earth green and clean.

Twenty Vietnamese localities together with other cities and regions throughout the world will switch their lights off for the Earth Hour from 8:30 to 9:30 pm on March 27.

Action month to be launched for food hygiene and safety

An action month for food hygiene and safety will be launched on April 15 with the aim of encouraging businesses to take responsibility to for ensuring the quality of food and foodstuffs.

This was announced at a conference in Hanoi on March 24 to review the implementation of the national target programme on food hygiene and safety.

Participants in the conference emphasised the need to increase public awareness of the issues and intensify inspection work on the implementation of regulations on food hygiene and safety. It is necessary to build canteens to provide safe food for workers in a number of provinces and cities.

In addition, they said, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should cooperate with relevant ministries and agencies to control the use of veterinary medicine, fodder and insecticides and to build safe agricultural production areas.

Writers attend regional conference in Laos

A delegation from the Vietnam Writers Association led by its chairman, poet Huu Thinh, attended the third Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Writers Conference in Vientiane on March 24.

At the conference, Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lengsavad spoke highly of contributions by the three countries’ writers to strengthening the close ties among their nations. He proposed that the writers create more quality works, and help the people of the three countries–especially young generations–understand more about the tradition of solidarity among their nations.

Taking the floor, poet Huu Thinh vowed Vietnamese writers will try their best, together with their Lao and Cambodian colleagues, to create new spiritual values, helping deepen the literature of the three countries.

Delegates reviewed the activities of their associations and put forward orientations for future development.

On this occasion, the third annual Mekong Literary Awards were presented to 10 writers from the three countries.

Vietnamese award winners included Ngoc Tu with memoir series Bao Rung (Forest Hurricane), Pham Quang Dau with a novel titled Mot Ngay La Muoi Nam (One Day is Ten Years) and Thang Sac with a novel entitled Chu Tu, Con La Ai (Uncle Tu, who am I).

Waste treatment plants to be built in industrial zones

A seminar was held in Can Tho city on March 24 to discuss the construction of waste water treatment plants for industrial zones in Vietnam.

The AKIZ project will be funded by the German government with a total investment of 7 million Euros.

Under the project, a series of waste water treatment plants will be built in industrial zones across the country, with the first in Tra Noc Industrial Zone in Can Tho city.

Covering 290 hectares, Tra Noc Industrial Zone has more than 125 projects which discharge about 12,500 cubic meters of waste water/day and night, seriously polluting the environment.

PV