Vietnam, US launch climate change project

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on January 16 launched a US$26 million climate change project in Nam Dinh province.

The project, entitled “Vietnam Forests and Deltas,” supports Vietnam’s goals for sustainable development, low carbon emission, and adaptation to climate change by improving land-use planning, forest and natural resource management and mobilizing communities into developing action plans addressing the impact of climate change.

It will expand into three more provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Long An.

USAID Vietnam Mission Director Joakim Parker said that the project will support national-level coordination on implementing policy related to climate change.

It also helps support the Red River Delta in its efforts to reverse environmental degradation and adapt to climate change, he added.

Delegates visited Nam Dinh’s Quat Lam town where the project is implemented. The town, in Giao Thuy district, bore the brunt of recent storms.

They also made a fact-finding tour of mangrove forests in Giao Phong commune, Giao Thuy district, to examine the livelihood of local coastal people.

Heroin trader receives death sentence

A Hanoi People’s Court on January 16 sentenced a Son La-born resident to death charged with heroin trading.

According to the indictment, Trang A Ky, 42, had sold a total of 18 cakes of heroin, worth VND140 million each, to Dao Van Chi and Ngo Thi Thu - a couple in Hanoi between April 22-26, 2012.

He hired a man named Nguyen Thanh Kien to transport the drug from Son La to Hanoi.

The case was brought to light after the couple and Kien were caught red handed trading six cakes of heroin in Hanoi on June 1, 2012. Chi and Thu planned to re-sell the drug to addicts in Hanoi.

In June 2013 the Hanoi People’s Court handed down death sentences to Chi, Kien, and Phan Thanh Son, a broker for the deal between the couple and Ky.  

The court also sentenced Thu to life imprisonment and issued a warrant for Ky in September 2013.

 In the courtroom, Ky pleaded guilty to the charge, saying a huge benefit from drug trading tempted him into the crime.

Bus ticket queues getting intense as Tet approaches

Thousands of people stood in line for hours on Wednesday, trying to buy a ticket from the Phuong Trang Bus Company at Mien Dong Bus Station in HCM City to return home for the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

Nguyen Thi Lan, a student at HCM City University of Food Technology, said she began standing in line at 2 am, but left in despair after eight hours of waiting.

"Hundreds of people were in line when I arrived," Lan said.

Many people slept overnight at the station to buy a ticket from the bus company, which provides high quality services.

At 7 am, when the tickets were put on sale, the station was in a state of chaos as many customers had flocked to the bus counter. Many people fainted while they stood in line.

Around 8am, the company announced that it had stopped selling tickets, but customers were still waiting at the counter.

Thuong Thanh Hai, deputy director of the station, said the confusion occurred because of inappropriate scheduling.

The four most-wanted routes were from HCM City to Quang Ngai, Da Nang, Quy Nhon and Hue, causing an overload at the counter.

More than 800 bus tickets to the central and northern provinces were sold by mid-January, he said.

Shaped trees sell big in run up to Tet

Zodiac animal-shaped trees, especially the horse, for 2014, have been selling very well in the markets despite expensive prices.

In preparation for the Year of the Horse, growers in Cho Lach District, Ben Tre Province have been producing various kinds of tree in horse shapes. A facility called Nam Cong produced 40 pairs of horse from Chinese Banyan trees. Each pair costs around VND3 million (USD143) to 5 million and has been custom made on orders from HCM City and neighbouring provinces.

Nguyen Van Cong, from the facility, said it took 50 to 70 tree branches to create a two-metre high horse. He went on to say that many people bought this product with the hope that it will bring them a successful year. Cong also said the price for a set of 12 zodiac animals would range from VND15 million to 25 million.

Tran Van Duoc, a grower in Cho Lach, used kumquat trees to make horse-shaped and dragon-shaped trees. "We have to make plans from one year ago so that the trees produce plenty of fruit. A grower needs 3.5 days to make a horse. About two-thirds of our products were already booked so we'll bring the rest to the market." Duoc said.

According to the growers, traders came and ordered trees sooner than previous years so prices increased by 20% to 30%, especially those of yellow apricot flowers and horse-shaped trees. The growers designed trees in other shapes, such as vase, tower or musical instrument.

"Traders arrived sooner because they want the best trees at cheaper prices. I have already sold 700 apricot trees," a grower said.

Tran Van Du, head of the Vinh Thanh Commune's Farmer Union, said 60% of the households are in gardening business and they have provided over 2 million products to the market.

New bus ads target rhino horn buyers

January 15 marked the beginning of a new advertising campaign targeting the illegal purchase, sale and transport of rhino horns in Viet Nam.

The ads will be featured on five buses commuting on popular routes around Ha Noi and aim to raise awareness of the harsh penalties for involvement in the illegal trade. Persons involved in the illegal rhino trade can face up to seven years in prison.

The ads are part of the three-year National Rhino Demand Reduction Campaign spearheaded by the CITES Management Authority of Viet Nam and Humane Society International. The campaign will run from 2013 until 2016.

HCM City obtains US$35 million in NGOs funding

Non-government organizations (NGOs) in 2013 disbursed US$35.4 million for many medical and social projects in HCMC among total commitments of US$41.7 million, said a senior official of the HCMC Union of Friendship Organizations (HUFO).

At a review conference on the city’s foreign relations in 2013 on Wednesday, Le Hung Quoc, chairman of HUFO, informed that his union last year introduced 14 NGOs to local partners to look for new projects. As such, these foreign organizations committed to financing many projects based on local demands, Quoc said.

A majority of the foreign funding was invested in the medical sector, HIV/AIDS fight and prevention programs and scientific studies, according to Quoc.

Meanwhile, he noted, projects in education and in other activities caring for children and the disabled and supporting the poor drew less interest. In particular, the environmental area saw little supports from NGOs, he stated

There are 142 foreign NGOs active in HCMC, including 60 American organizations, 51 European units and 31 Asian ones funding numerous supporting projects for local medical and research sectors.

Relating to its foreign relations, the city will this year sign an agreement to extend cooperation relationships in 2015-2017 with France’s Rhone-Alpes and clinching friendship and cooperation agreements with India’s Mumbai and Thailand’s Bangkok besides finalizing another deal with Turkey’s Istanbul on establishing and strengthening bilateral ties, reported the city’s foreign affairs department.

Also on the same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conferred medals on Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, deputy secretary of the city’s Party Committee, Hua Ngoc Thuan, vice chairman, Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, chairwoman of the city’s People’s Council, and Vo Van Luan, the city government’s office manager, for their great contributions to the city’s foreign relations promotions.

Besides, the city government on Wednesday honored 21 groups and nine individuals for outstanding performances in fostering foreign relations in 2013.

Fund launched for kids with heart disease

East Meets West Foundation and Nu Skin Enterprises Inc on Wednesday launched the Southeast Asia Children's Heart Fund to raise money for children with congenital heart disease.

The aim of the initiative is to save "2 Lives a Day" throughout Southeast Asia, the partners said.

Nu Skin has provided an initial VND1 billion (US$47,619) to the fund.

Each year, more than 50,000 children are born with congenital heart disease in Southeast Asia, with fewer than 5,000 children receiving surgery.

Russia seminar spotlights Hoang Sa Archipelago incident

Saint Petersburg University will host a seminar on January 18 to examine issues relating to Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago.

International scholars and policy analysts are expected to address the January 19, 1974 Hoang Sa Islands incident, which marked the beginning of China’s territorial expansion claims, along with more recent robust expansion moves of China in the Archipelago.

The seminar promises a thought provoking discussion of the regional and global impact, and in particular, the impact on military defense strategy in Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Participants include leading Russian experts from Saint Petersburg University, Baltic-Voenmekh State Technical University, International Relations School under the Foreign Ministry, Institute of Political and Geographic Issues, Institute of Asian-African countries, Moscow University, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Strategic Studies, and North-West Institute under the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.

Poor workers can go home for Tet

Provinces and cities throughout the country will provide disadvantaged and migrant workers with bus tickets and gifts during the upcoming Tet holiday.

With a fund of VND700 million (US$33,300) taken from their own budget, and also provided from enterprises, the Ha Noi Labour Federation will organise free bus trips for migrant workers to return home for the Tet holiday.

According to Kieu Hung, head of the federation's Legal Policy Board, more than 3,000 workers will benefit from the free bus programme.

Hung also revealed that the federation would offer financial gifts worth VND500,000 (nearly $24) each to 500 disadvantaged workers to help them celebrate Tet.

Further, the HCM City Support Centre for Young Workers will hand out 1,000 bus tickets to assist workers in returning home for Tet.

Workers from the central provinces of Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Ha Tinh can register for free tickets until January 20.

The centre will also organise five mobile sale points with special holiday shopping promotions for workers.

Additionally, plans call for 1,300 gifts and 200 city tour tickets to be distributed to disadvantaged workers in industrial parks and export-processing zones in the city.

In central Da Nang City, authorities have earmarked nearly VND24 billion ($1.14 million) to provide allowances for retired workers.

They also have plans to offer financial gifts to many disadvantaged workers, including cyclo riders, who are each to receive VND250,000 ($12) to celebrate Tet.

Similar activities are being carried out in other cities and provinces throughout the country.

Vietnam strives for health-related MDGs

The Government has issued a resolution to speed up the realisation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on health care in Vietnam, according to the Government Portal.

The country is doing its utmost to achieve the remaining MDGs in 2015.

Ministries and localities are asked to raise their sense of awareness of realising the MDGs.

MDGs should be incorporated in local socio-economic development plans, especially in mountainous and difficult provinces and ethnic minority areas.

Under the resolution, central and local budgets will be prioritised for the MDGs on mother and child mortality as well as HIV/AIDS prevention which Vietnam has yet attained and the maintenance of the other achieved goals such as child malnutrition, tuberculosis and malaria prevention, clean water supply and environmental sanitation.

Ministries and localities are also asked to raise financial funds for the prevention of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

In addition, technical measures will be effectively implemented such as the “Milk for schools” programme to improve child malnutrition in poor and disadvantaged regions or areas frequently ravaged by natural disasters, or the model of “child-safe home, child-safe school and child-safe community.”

In the 1990-2015 period, Vietnam has committed to fulfilling the MDGs on health relating to halving child malnutrition rate, cutting under-five mortality rate by two-thirds, lessening mother mortality ratio by three-fourths, achieving universal access to reproductive health, preventing and driving back HIV/AIDS infection by 2015, providing universal access to treatment of HIV/AIDS for all victims by 2010, stopping and controlling malaria and other diseases by 2015, and lowering the rate of people who do not access to safe water and basic sanitation conditions by half.

Vietnam shares its local governance experience

Association of Vietnamese Cities (ACVN) General Secretary Vu Thi Vinh has led a delegation to the ASEAN DELGOSEA local governance conference in Bangkok on January 15-16.

The “Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast Asia” (DELGOSEA) conference arises from the ASEAN Charter’s stipulations on promoting citizen rights through law-governed states. It also works towards the ASEAN Community’s foundation in 2015.

The cooperative DELGOSEA network aims to strengthen local governance in Southeast Asia and incorporates representatives from local governments, associations, experts, and civil leaders.

DELGOSEA has coordinated with ASEAN member nations since 2010 to carry out a project with the participation of 10 associations for public administration from Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

This year the project welcomes Laos, Brunei, and Singapore as new participants.

ACVN has proactively sought to become one of the project’s main partners. Vietnam can cite a range of successes, such as citizen involvement in Vinh City planning and decision-making and institutional management in Lang Son City.

Pilot projects, such as Tay Ninh’s administrative government models promoting small and medium-sized enterprises, or Thai Nguyen’s tourism-driven economic development, have also seen significant results.

Vinh described ACVN’s contributions to the DELGOSEA network, sharing its urban governance experiences and fine-tuning the Bangkok Declaration on local governance in ASEAN countries.

This year’s conference attracted 30 DELGOSEA members representing 10 ASEAN countries, 20 government officials, 10 communication agency representatives, and 10 ASEAN tertiary education institution representatives.

Efforts made to ease traffic hotspot

Hanoi police have installed more traffic lights and signs at O Cho Dua seven-way crossroads in a bid to ease traffic congestion.

More traffic police have been assigned to direct vehicles through the heavily-congested crossroad in Dong Da district.

Director of the municipal Transport Department Nguyen Quoc Hung told Kinh te and Do Thi (Economy and Urban Areas) Newspaper the intersection services a substantial amount of vehicles each day and had long been a "hot" spot for traffic congestion.

Traffic researchers were deployed to carefully study direction and time patterns to arrange traffic at the crossroads more effectively, he said.

A 500-m project linking O Cho Dua and Hoang Cau street was officially opened to the public last month in an effort to facilitate transportation through the crossroad. It is part of the city's Belt Road No.1 project.

According to the local authorities, the site clearance compensation for the road section had been raised to over 743 billion VND (35 million USD) from the previous 527 billion VND approved in 2008, becoming the most expensive in the country.

Hoang Thu Hanh, who often goes across the crossroad to for work, said traffic conditions were terrible, particularly during rush hour. "It used to take me between 30-45 minutes to be back home. But now, the time was reduced by half," she said.

Japanese-funded project helps Hue farmers

The Bridge Asia Japan (BAJ) organisation has decided to help farmers in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue develop planting and breeding models for small scale production.

The 2.3 billion VND (109,000 USD) project under the form of non-refundable aid will be carried out at Hue city’s Thuy Xuan, Thuy Bieu and Huong Long wards.

With the aim of improving living standards for low-income farmers, the project will provide training courses and tours to Japan to learn about sample models, along with supporting them in agro-food distribution and marketing.

Over the years, Japan has been one of the province’s key ODA providers with the current sum reaching more than 500 million USD.

Five Japanese investors have also been helping the locality’s renovation and restoration of many cultural heritage sites in the Hue imperial relic complex with total funding of about 30 million USD.

Additionally, Japan has also been offering healthcare, education and human resources training to the city.-

New plan proposed for Hoa Lac-Hoa Binh route

A fresh investment plan has been proposed for the construction of a road system connecting Hanoi to Hoa Binh province under the build-operate-transfer model, Vietnam Investment Review reports.

A proposal from the Ministry of Transport (MoT) just submitted to the Prime Minister outlines a Hoa Lac-Hoa Binh route built over 30km starting from an ethnic culture and tourism village in Hanoi’s Son Tay town and linking up to National Highway 6 next to Hoa Binh city.

It also includes expanding Highway 6’s 33km Xuan Mai-Hoa Binh section by two lanes.

Consulting unit estimates show the cost for the route, which will be later upgraded into a highway, at around 2.138 trillion VND (102 million USD), of which 566 billion VND (27 million USD) will go into site clearance.

Improving the 33km of Highway 6, including sections through crowded residential quarters, was estimated at around 341 billion VND (16.2 million USD).

“We are seeking the Prime Minister’s approval to combine Highway 6’s 33km upgrade with the construction of the Hoa Lac-Hoa Binh route,” said Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong.

This will put total project costs at around 3.129 trillion VND (149 million USD).

The project is considered urgent because Highway 6 is the only road linking the northwestern region to Hanoi and is quickly deteriorating.

Estimates show that to meet increasing transport demand by 2017, the highway needs to be upgraded and expanded. It faces a particularly great challenge as the expansion will infringe on the properties of numerous residents.

Since budget capital is not readily available for the project and it is hard to access ODA, the MoT is proposing the project be conducted under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model with all funding provided by the investor.

The investor will be granted the right to place two toll stations on Highway 6 and collections could begin immediately after the upgrade slated for 2015.

One station will be set up on the Hoa Lac-Hoa Binh route with collections starting when it opens, hopefully, in 2017.

Considering the toll price, the MoT proposed the Government apply a fee similar to that of National Highway 1’s BOT projects, where the fare exceeded the MoT’s cap by 3.5 times.

With these conditions, investment can be retrieved within 29 years.

Under the new plan, the road system connecting Hanoi and Hoa Binh will have four lanes, similar in scope to the Hoa Lac-Hoa Binh highway project that developer Hanoi Import Export JSC (Geleximco) withdrew from in August 2013.

After the project’s investment spiked to 18 trillion VND (857 million USD), Geleximco sent a document to the Prime Minister asking they be allowed to stop their involvement as they would not be able to retrieve their investment.

According to a MoT source, other local investors have since showed interest in the project, even Geleximco has renewed interest after changes to the project’s plan and model.

“This is actually a solution for both the MoT and investors when it comes to the successful upgrade of this important road system,” said a transport expert.-

Thua Thien-Hue spends 46 bln on flood damage

The People’s Committee of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on January 16 decided to spend 46 billion VND (2.162 million USD) from the State and locality’s budget to help its localities overcome damage caused by the 2013 floods.

Accordingly, 30.25 billion VND will be used to repair the infrastructure system, meanwhile 15.57 billion VND will be spent in assisting localities solve issues related to social welfare, agricultural production and aquaculture recovery as well as repairing irrigation, transport and school works.

The province will also give support for mending damaged river and sea embankments, while focusing on building resettlement areas in Huong Tra town and repairing broken infrastructure in Phu Vang district in order to arrange accommodation for households affected by the floods.

Dyke systems in Quang Dien, Phu Loc, Phong Dien and Huong Tra districts are also receiving money for repairs in order to supply water for the production of this year’s winter-spring crop.

Over 3,700 tonnes of rice varieties were also provided for local farmers to timely cultivate the crop.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Truong Luu, the locality’s Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control, Search and Rescue will continue implementing synchronous measures to prevent, deal with and timely surmount consequences caused by flooding.

The locality will pay attention to enhancing forecast ability and ensuring safety of domestic water traffic, the electricity grid and an uninterrupted communication system during the rainy season.-

Japan helps Vietnamese poor localities in education, healthcare

The Japanese Government has agreed to provide more than 817,600 USD in non-refundable aid to several Vietnamese localities with high rates of poor households.

According to the Japanese Embassy, Ambassador Hiroshi Fukada signed a range of contracts with the targeted localities on January 15, focusing on education and healthcare.

They include a project to provide health equipment to Thanh Hoa provincial eye hospital, a project to expand a health centre in Binh Bo commune, Phu Ninh district in the northern midland province of Phu Tho, and another to build a secondary school in Thai Phuc commune, Thai Thuy district, the northern province of Thai Binh.

Under the contracts, the Japanese side will also help the upgrade of several primary schools in the northern provinces of Hung Yen and Bac Giang. The assistance is expected to help improve education conditions at the schools.

Notably, the project to provide health equipment to the Thanh Hoa eye hospital will be supported by Tadashi Hattori, who has conducted free-of-charge operations to more than 10,000 patients in Vietnam over the past years.

The Japanese ambassador expressed his hope that the projects will bring into full play its efficiency in the time ahead and serve as a bridge tightening the partnership between the two countries.-

Tet gifts presented to poor people nationwide

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh and representatives from the Vietnam Red Cross Society on January 16 presented 100 Tet gifts valued at one million VND each to poor families and Agent Orange/Dioxin (AO) victims in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

Visiting locals in Nhon Ai commune, Phong Dien district on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet), Deputy PM Ninh, who is also member of the Party Central Committee and head of the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region, wished them a New Year of health and prosperity.

He called on the locals to continue strengthening their solidarity and join hands with the Government to successfully implement the programme to build new-style rural areas.

He said the Party and State always pay much attention to the caring of poor people, promoting the nation’s tradition of mutual support.

The Deputy PM also asked Can Tho city to continue creating favourable conditions for locals to step out of poverty and better their living conditions.

Over the past 15 years, the Vietnam Red Cross Society has raised more than two trillion VND and donated 11 million gifts in an effort to help poor people and AO victims enjoy a warmer Tet.

On the occasion, the Vietnam Red Cross also mobilised 600,000 Tet gifts worth more than 200 billion VND in the “Tet for poor people” programme, with a hope to bring a merrier Tet to poor people and AO victims nationwide.

Also on January 16, the Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs visited wounded veterans and beneficiaries in Kim Bang district, the northern province of Ha Nam , wishing them a healthy and happy New Year.

Ha Nam Business Association also presented 1.5 billion VND to help poor people and AO victims in the province.

Meanwhile, the central province of Quang Ngai reported that it has disbursed 9.4 billion VND to support locals build 164 new houses and repair 357 others damaged by flooding in November last year.

The money was donated by enterprises and localities nationwide to help affected people.

So far, work has been completed on 120 homes.

On the occasion, the Quang Ngai provincial Fatherland Front and the Vietnam Technology Bank (Techcombank) presented 50 houses valued at two billion VND to families facing difficulties in 12 communes in Nghia Hanh district.

In the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien , 1,500 Tet gifts worth more than 333 million VND have been presented to poor locals.

The province also provided 300 tonnes of rice to more than 5,700 families for Tet, and 1,700 tonnes to another 11,500 poor households to help them overcome the difficult period.

Businesses in the central province of Quang Nam also joined hands in helping locals enjoy a happy New Year. The RIEKE shoes company presented 1,000 gifts valued at 500,000 VND each to poor people, while the Trade Union of Quang Nam businesses offered free health check-ups to nearly 200 people in the locality.

Meanwhile, A Vuong Hydropower Company also gave over 35 tonnes of rice to 1,800 people in mountainous areas in the province.

At the same time, the local government in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai offered nearly 20 billion VND as social welfare benefits before Tet.

The province offered 2.45 billion VND as gifts to people from ethnic minority groups to enjoy the annual holiday.

On January 16, leaders of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang visited and extended New Year wishes to residents and soldiers based in the island districts of Kien Hai and Phu Quoc, praising their contributions in protecting the national sea and islands.-

Ministry offers training to 1.7 million labourers

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has set a goal of offering vocational training to nearly 1.8 million labourers in 2014, up two percent against 2013.

According to Duong Duc Lan, head of the General Department for Vocational Training under the MOLISA, the ministry will work to get 280,000 labourers trained in colleges and schools, and another 1.5 million, including 500,000 from rural areas, will receive training courses that last up to three months.

Lan said the department will step up vocational training reform to meet the industrialisation and modernisation requirements in the context of Vietnam ’s increasing international integration.

The department will design a grassroots network of 1,465 vocational training establishments, while coordinating with the Ministry of Education and Training to build a national quality standard framework to submit to the Government in February.

It will also step up preparations for the ASEAN Skills Competition that it will host in October this year, he said.

In 2013, the country had 1,339 vocational training facilities, including 162 colleges, 302 vocational schools and 875 centres, offering training to 1.7 million labourers.

More than 1.5 million labourers, including 450,000 from rural areas, participated in short-term training courses.-

Needy workers presented with Tet bus tickets

Needy workers in Ho Chi Minh City have been presented with around 6,000 free bus tickets to return to their hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

The charity programme, the sixth of its kind, is organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park Authority (HEPZA) and municipal Federation of Labour.

Since 2008, the programme has given away more than 84,000 bus tickets to over 20,000 workers operating in and out of the city’s industrial and processing zones on the occasion of the festive holiday.

According to the chairwoman of Ho Chi Minh City’s Federation of Labour Nguyen Thi Thu, 70 percent of the programme’s total cost was funded by local enterprises, with the remaining provided by local trade unions.

The programme ran from January 14-16.-

Vietnam, Japan boost IT cooperation

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) held a seminar on wireless network infrastructure in coordination with Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication on January 16 in Hanoi.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Le Nam Thang noted that the two countries have stepped up its cooperation on the information technology (IT), especially the broadband wireless technology (BWT).

BWT laid the foundation for the development of information infrastructure, social services and economic development, he added.

Thang also noted that the rapid BWT development has recently contributed effectively to addressing many global challenges, such as climate change, environmental pollution and natural disasters.

The two countries have continuously cooperated to develop the broadband infrastructure in Vietnam from urban to rural remote areas, he stressed.

At the workshop, Japanese IT companies such as NTT, NEC, FUJITSU and HITACHI shared their experiences related to the wireless technology with their Vietnamese partners.

Winners of 2013 Science, Technology Press Awards announced

As many as 23 works were presented the 2013 Science and Technology Press Awards at a ceremony in Hanoi on January 16.

Producers of the show “Investor” from Vietnam Television won the first prize in the TV category while the highest honour in the print category was given to Saigon Giai phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper with a collection of articles named “Chip technology development in Ho Chi Minh City”.

Speaking at the event, Nguyen Xuan Toan, Director of the Science and Technology Communications Research and Development Centre under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) said as many as 822 entries were sent to this year’s contest, which was categorised in print, electronic newspaper, radio and television.

Most of them had positive impacts on society, contributing to linking scientific and technological research, application and transfer among organisations, individuals and businesses, Toan added.

The contest, launched in 2011, is an annual event hosted by the MoST.-

Can Tho welcomes environmental investment

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho always welcomes and gives priority to foreign-invested projects which help improve the local environment towards sustainable development.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Dao Anh Dung made the statement at a January 15 reception for a delegation of Japan’s Hiroshima Prefecture’s the Commerce, Industry and Labour Bureau.

At the meeting, representatives from the Can Tho Department of Natural Resources and Environment said the city’s environment is at high risk of pollution caused by the lack of an effective waste treatment system, urbanisation and exhaust fumes.

They noted that the majority of local enterprises are doing small-scale business in aquatic product and rice processing, fertiliser and construction materials, with poor waste treatment processes.

The city has not yet strengthened its management of hazardous medical waste while it has only one wastewater treatment plant with an operational capacity of 5,000 cubic metres, which does not meet the demand for waste disposal.

The application of Japan’s scientific achievements and technologies will help the city reap practical outcomes in bettering the local environment.

Takashi Inoue, head of the Japanese delegation, said Hiroshima experienced a period of environmental pollution caused by its process of industrialisation. Thus, the Japanese side, with experience and modern technologies in the field, wants to introduce Vietnam to modern equipment that helps deal with waste and water in industrial parks and aquaculture areas, he added.-

Most of HCM City’s vegetables safe

Some 98% of over 14,700 hectares of vegetable farming area in HCMC has been granted with safety certificates, according to a report of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The city now has over 3,000 hectares under vegetable cultivation. Last year, the total vegetable output was nearly 336,000 tons with the total value of over VND1.8 trillion, up 3.6% against 2012.

Several concentrated vegetable growing areas have been established in Cu Chi, Binh Chanh and Hoc Mon districts. Of the safe vegetable gardens, many individual farms and cooperatives have obtained Vietnam Good Agricultural Practice certificates.

This year, the department targets to expand vegetable growing areas to 15,200 hectares, including nearly 14,900 hectares of safe farming areas.

At present, local vegetable output has met only 30% of residents’ demands. The city has to buy vegetables from neighboring provinces such as Lam Dong, Dong Nai and Long An.

Graduates expect early promotions

A survey from a popular job search site, CareerBuilder, has shown that most of new graduates in Vietnam expect to get early promotions after they get a job.

The survey, conducted between September 16 and November 15 of last year included 17,120 people who graduated in the last three years, of which 26% were trained in the banking and financial sectors.

According to the survey, around 43% of students asked hoped to get promotion after two years of working while closer to 34% wanted promotion after one year.

One-third of those asked said they expected to be managers after three years and 22% said they were able to find jobs one month after graduation. Most of the graduates said career development opportunities were the most important aspect of a job, not working hours.

Around 10% of those asked wanted a VND10 million (USD480) salary to start. Many students who studied overseas also complained that the salaries in Vietnam are too low compared to the cost of studying at foreign universities.

A number of employers, however have complained that they are not satisfied with the qualification of applicants. They say that in the past it was easier to recruit new graduates and train them, but currently they are in search for more experienced candidates in order to save on expenses due to the recession.

Tran Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of HCM City's Centre for Human Resource Forecasts and Labour Information, said, "Students need to focus more on strong working skills while still in school."

As a mater of fact, many graduates must take jobs which they were not trained for in university. The vice director of the Center for Policy Studies and Analysis,  Dao Thanh Truong, said that even after successfully placing candidates in positions, many faced problems.