Localities advocate changes to GDP calculations Bich Van By Bich Van - The Saigon Times Daily DANANG - Leaders of cities and provinces at a conference last week agreed on use of common methods to calculate gross domestic product (GDP) in order to provide exact figures of economic performance in their localities. Speaking at a conference of the Ministry of Investment and Planning in Danang City, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the calculations of GDP in a number of localities in the country are not accurate, so they need correcting. Dung said many localities reported their annual GDP growth rates of 9% or even 14%, while the national GDP growth was only 5%. “The calculations of GDP in localities are obviously not accurate. In the context of global integration, we need to calculate the GDP in a standard way, even though it will result in lower growth figures,” he said. Vo Thanh Hao, chairman of Ben Tre Province, said GDP cannot be divided among localities and there … [Read more...]

VietinBank lends VND5.4 trillion to tunnel project Hong Phuc and Thanh Thuong By Hong Phuc and Thanh Thuong - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade, or VietinBank, will provide a VND5.4-trillion loan for a project to build a tunnel linking Phu Yen Province, Van Phong Economic Zone and Nha Trang City. The Ca Pass Tunnel credit contract was signed in Hanoi on Tuesday between the bank and Ca Pass Investment Joint Stock Company, VietinBank said in a statement. The total cost of the project was originally estimated at over VND10.5 trillion but later revised down to VND6.5 trillion. Ca Pass Tunnel will be developed under build-operate-transfer (BOT) format with a total length of 3.9 kilometers. It is an important traffic project of Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces and the nation as a whole. According to the Ministry of Transport, the project is intended to reduce traffic accidents, save vehicular travel time and ensure good traffic flow in the area even … [Read more...]

The visits also opened up opportunities and prospects for stronger cooperation between Vietnamese businesses and their counterparts from these countries. Many talks and exchanges were held between Mr Dung and the leaders of the five ASEAN countries, who praised Vietnam’s increased role and position in the region, its rapid and sustainable economic development as well as its open external policy. Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah said that all the remaining nine ASEAN member countries have benefited from relations with Vietnam. He praised Vietnam’s achievements in national construction and development and its contributions to regional development. He also expressed his belief that Brunei and Vietnam will be “hand in hand” striving for the common interests of the whole region, prosperity of the two countries and happiness of all families. As a result, Mr Dung’s visit helped define and expand key cooperation areas between Vietnam and each of the five … [Read more...]

The USCIRF made the request after releasing its 2008 annual report on the religious situation in many countries, including Vietnam, on May 2. In its report, the USCIRF said that severe religious restrictions continue in Vietnam and that the Government continues to disregard its citizens’ universal right to religious freedom. It accused Vietnam of preventing the activities of religious groups such as the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao, and of monitoring, interrogating and arresting Khmer Buddhists. It also demanded that Vietnam free the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do. During a fact-finding tour of Vietnam from October 21 to November 1, 2007, a USCIRF delegation met with Government officials and saw with their own eyes free religious practices in many places. The vice chairman of the USCIRF said that Vietnam’s frank exchange has cleared up their doubts and that the country has made progress in religious freedom and human rights. USCIRF chairman Michael Lewis … [Read more...]

The reduction resulted in total earnings of US$327 million compared with the same period last year. Vietnamese tuna products were exported to 100 countries and territories, including the US, Japan, Israel and Canada, as well as the EU and the ASEAN region. From the first day to August 15, the tuna export value to the EU and Japan, two key export markets of local tuna products, fell by 23 % to $65.4 million and by 23.8 % to $12.8 million, respectively, against the same period last year. Meanwhile, the nation gained year-on-year growth of 13.8 % in tuna export value to reach $120 million for exports to the US and 8.8 % to reach $21.6 million for exports to the ASEAN region. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), tuna exports by this year-end have not shown signs of recovery, while the global demand for tuna has dropped and the supply of tuna has increased. Therefore, this year could be the third consecutive year of reductions in tuna exports, the … [Read more...]

Notes of exchange for the second phase of project-PACSA 2 were signed in Hanoi on July 6 by Japanese Ambassador Sakaba Mitsuo and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat. The project aims to eliminate coastal erosion from tides and typhoons for the protection of adjacent cultivation and residential areas. Afforestation has been one of the Japanese government’s non-refundable aid priorities for the Vietnamese forestry sector since 1992, Minister Cao Duc Phat said at the signing ceremony. Through its International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan has assisted the Central Highland province of Kon Tum in sustainable forest management and provided afforestation equipment to the northwest region. The first phase of PACSA, valued at US$11 million, was implemented in Quang Nam and Phu Yen provinces during the 2001-2005 period. As a result, 3,100 ha of forests on sandy areas along the coast have proved effective in staving off the loss of land area, as well as … [Read more...]

In the central province of Kontum, several districts remain isolated. On the early morning of September 30, the provincial authorities erected temporary bridges in areas where the water has receded to stabilize people’s lives. The Ho Chi Minh Highway section in Dak Glay district was 1m under water, while the districts of Kon Plong and Kon Ray are still blocked off by landslides. On the evening of September 29, strong winds tore down 22 houses in Song Cau town, Phu Yen province and heavy seas sank 12 fishing boats that were berthed. The provincial flood control committee is monitoring essential areas in case of surging tides. In the central province of Quang Tri, some river banks were broken, causing flooding on a large area. More than 300 houses have been destroyed or have had their roofs blown off. Hundreds of hectares of rubber trees have also been torn down. In Quang Ngai province, where the Dung Quat oil refinery is located, the local authorities advised local inhabitants … [Read more...]

Due to the impact of a tropical low pressure front approaching from the East Sea over the weekend, heavy downpours occurred in the central provinces with flood water rising up to second alert level in some rivers in Quang Ngai, Phu Yen and Thua Thien-Hue. Thousands of households in these provinces have been inundated. Meanwhile, local authorities from Quang Tri to Khanh Hoa said that more than 2,800 vessels with 19,000 fishermen received timely warnings about the tropical depression and have been guided to safe shelter. Thua Thien Hue province plans to evacuate around 21,000 households from danger areas, especially those hardest hit by storm No 9. *** Heavy rains have blocked off many streets in Quang Ngai city, making it difficult to bring patients to the provincial polyclinic. Currently, flood waters in the province’s rivers have exceeded second alert level and are predicted to continue to rise. The provincial people’s committee has mobilised all available forces to get … [Read more...]

The pregnant victims include a 25 year-old woman from central Phu Yen province, who was in her fourth month of pregnancy. The other, aged 24, from the Central Highland province of Gia Lai, was entering her seventh month of pregnancy. The two other victims are a 2 year-old girl, who was reportedly born with congenial heart disease and a 48 year-old woman, who was suffering from a blood disease. The new fatalities were in the high-risk groups that the Ministry of Health has asked the Government’s permission to inoculate against the potentially deadly flu. As of 17:00 the same day, Vietnam confirmed 10,376 A/H1N1 infections scattered across 59 provinces and cities. However, 9,952 of those have recovered and been discharged from hospital. Now that Vietnam has a formula to vaccinate against H1N1 flu for various ages-except patients with chronic diseases-the Health Ministry is building a H1N1 flu vaccination plan. The Ministry affirmed that there is no shortage of medicine to treat … [Read more...]

At 16.00 on November 1, the storm was centred at 13.7 degrees north latitude and 114.1 degrees east longitude, about 510km east of the central coast from Quang Ngai to Phu Yen provinces. It was moving west and south-west with winds gusting between 75-105km/h. In the next 24 hours, Mirinae will move in the same direction at a speed of 20-25km/h and directly affect coastal provinces from Binh Dinh to Ninh Thuan. Tropical storm-force winds will stretch out to 200km from the centre. Mirinae is expected to make landfall and bring heavy rains on November 3 before weakening into a tropical depression. The storm, together with a cold snap from the north, will also cause heavy rains in provinces from Thua Thien-Hue to Binh Thuan. At an urgent meeting on October 31, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked south-central provinces to call in fishing vessels at sea, protect dams, reinforce public works and people’s houses, and evacuate people from flood-prone areas before 24.00 on … [Read more...]

Nguyen van Le, deputy head of the district committee for flood and storm control, said that there was no big loss to property as islanders had reinforced their homes and public works before the storm made landfall. However, more than 40 hectares of newly transplanted garlic were completely destroyed by the strong winds. Quang Ngai province evacuated 450,000 residents from low-lying areas to safe zones. It also asked all primary and secondary schools in flood-prone districts to close until the storm moves further inland and weakens into a tropical depression. Experts fear that the torrential rains that began on November 1 could trigger widespread flooding in the region. Mirinae, which produced sustained winds of 100km/h, tore off thousands of roofs, snapped power lines and brought down trees in Phu Yen province. It also lashed the coastal districts of Tuy An, Song Cau, Dong Hoa and Tuy Hoa city with heavy rains. Torrential rains plus rising flood tiles submerged many parts of the … [Read more...]

The Prime Minister has decided to spend VND225 on disaster relief and send 10,000 tonnes of rice to help the provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and Gia Lai. The aid will give storm victims adequate food and money to purchase necessary items to restore production, repair and rebuild infrastructure including schools, medical clinics, irrigation systems and roads, and prevent the outbreak of diseases. The PM has asked the leaders of these provinces to use their provincial budgets and mobilise other capital resources to overcome the aftermath of the natural disaster. The storm left 98 dead, 66 injured, 20 missing. Phu Yen province took the heaviest toll with 69 dead, 16 injured and 20 missing. … [Read more...]

A total of 19 people have been confirmed dead in Phu Yen province, whilst 16 are injured and 3 still missing. In Khanh Hoa 4 people are dead, 7 injured and 3 still missing. In Gia Lai 4 people area dead and 1 person has also died in Ninh Thuan. In Phu Yen province, as many as 341 houses have collapsed while 5,428 others have been badly damaged, along with the sinking of 145 boats. In Binh Dinh province, 127 houses have been destroyed and nearly 2,500 others damaged. In Dak Lak province, over 350 houses, office buildings and schools, thousands of rubber and pine plantations and many hectares of coffee have been damaged. Landslides have disrupted traffic on National Highway 24 connecting Quang Ngai to Kon Tum. … [Read more...]

The provincial committee for flood and storm control said six deaths were confirmed in Song Cau town and five in Tuy An district. A total of 140 houses collapsed, 1,899 others were damaged, more than 625 hectares of rice and subsidiary crops were destroyed and 16 boats sank. Flooding also disrupted traffic on National Highway No1A running across Chi Thanh town and An Dan commune in Tuy An district and Xuan Loc commune in Song Cau district. Landslides brought north-south trains to a halt, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in Khanh Hoa and Binh Dinh provinces. Heavy downpours and rising flood waters hampered rescue work in low-lying areas. Many communes in Tuy An and Dong Xuan districts and Song Cau town were submerged and cut off. In Tuy An district alone, at least 3,000 houses were two to three metres under water. Eight motorised boats were called in to rescue the victims, but could not reach the isolated houses. Dao Tan Loc, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, … [Read more...]

The National Steering Board for Storm and Flood Prevention and Control has said that Mirinae has caused great human and property losses for local people in central and central highland provinces. The storm killed 73 people in Phu Yen province, 22 people in Binh Dinh province, 13 in Khanh Hoa, 5 in Gia Lai and 1 in Ninh Thuan. The storm and floods have swept away nearly 2,000 houses, blown roofs off nearly 3,800 houses and submerged about 1,000 classrooms, clinics and headquarters of communal People’s Committees. Nearly 4,000ha of crops and thousands of hectares of aquaculture raising areas have been flooded, and 332 ships and irrigation projects have been damaged. Ministries and agencies are working with local authorities to provide aid and deal with the consequences of storm and the Air Force and Air Defence Services have provided 14.9 tonnes of food aid for people in Phu Yen province. … [Read more...]

In the last two weeks, many herds infected with foot-and-mouth disease have been newly discovered. Eleven bulls contracted the disease in Ea Bia commune, Song Hinh district, southern Phu Yen province. Unsurprisingly only 32% of the local area had been vaccinated, therefore the disease was able to spread widely and quickly. Ten buffalos in Bac Son commune, Quy Hop district, central Nghe An province are also now infected. At present 14 provinces including Quang Nam, Dak Lak, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Quang Ninh, Gia Lai, Hoa Binh, Lai Chau, Tuyen Quang, Ha Tinh, Lao Cai, Nghe An, Phu Tho and Phu Yen have not yet passed the 21-day period that is needed before the area can be declared free from foot-and-mouth disease. … [Read more...]

In Hanoi, nearly 1000 youths joined the armed services on a voluntary basis on March 3. More than 90 percent of the recruits were Youth Communist League members aged 18-21. About 80 percent of conscripts have good health at level A or B. The same day, more than 1,400 conscripts in Quang Nam province left their homes to do their military service. The recruitment was assessed to be of high quality as there were no desertions and no opposition to conscription. On March 2, more than 500 young people from Danang joined the army. As many as 65 percent of them had previously graduated from high school, college or university. On the same day, 710 youths from Tuy Hoa city and some districts of Phu Yen province joined the army. … [Read more...]

So far, there have been over 250 buffalos and cows infected with the disease in Gia Lai province. It has also occurred in Dong Xuan, Song Hinh district and Tuy Hoa City in Phu Yen province, where nearly 200 head of cattle have contracted the disease. Dak Lak has the highest number of livestock with the disease-700 head in 18 communes in 8 districts. 220 head of cattle in five communes in Son La province have also been reported with the disease. Neccesary measures are being taken to control the spread of the disease, said Lo Van Tang, Head of the Animal Health Department in Son La province. … [Read more...]

The Khanh Hoa provincial Department of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs allocated much of its budget to support families who have dead, missing or injured family members as well as those whose houses have been destroyed. The Khanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee has also spent VND16 billion to restore infrastructure, roads, and irrigation and on social welfare projects. *** Phu Yen allocates aid to flood victims By November 12, it is still raining heavily in Tuy An district, Phu Yen province. Many houses in An Hai village were submerged under sand. The local authorities have mobilised people and equipment to prevent sand entering houses and asked the Tuy An district People’s Committee to devise measures to deal with the problem. According to the Phu Yen provincial Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, prolonged floods since late October have left 7 dead, one missing, and swept away nearly 100 houses. The Government has provided the province with … [Read more...]

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked localities such as Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh to combine experiences in coping with floods to avoid casualties and warn local residents to evacuate to safer areas. He also asked them to send inspection teams to help families with difficulties and rescue flood victims in a timely fashion. The Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Health, Transport and Industry and Trade were requested to co-ordinate to promptly provide localities with food, medicines, and safe water. According to a report at the meeting, the central provinces are urgently implementing measures to prevent floods by ensuring safety for irrigation works, especially in reservoirs managed by local authorities. The Thua Thien Hue Provincial Committee for Storm and Flood Prevention investigated the Binh Dien and Huong Dien hydroelectric reservoirs and asked relevant forces to prepare to evacuate more than 8,000 households to … [Read more...]