Smart cities

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Phan Tam speaks at the ASEAN Conference on 5G . (Photo: Minh Son/Vietnam+) On the morning of October 11, in Hanoi, the ASEAN Conference on 5G took place within the framework of the International Digital Week organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam. Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Phan Tam said that ASEAN countries all have 5G development strategies but are facing problems with infrastructure, standards for deployment and information security. Therefore, the cooperation of ASEAN countries to build a 5G roadmap is one of the priority tasks and goals in the coming time. Lao Minister of Technology and Communications - Boviengkham Vongdara, said technology is one of the contents of long-term cooperation between Laos and Vietnam. "Laos wants to learn from the experiences of other countries, including Vietnam, which has achieved many achievements in digital transformation," … [Read more...] about ASEAN discussing 5G deployment roadmap

Germany’s famous travel site reisereporter.de has run an article highlighting the world’s top 25 trending destinations for 2023, including Vietnam’s Hoi An ancient city and Ho Chi Minh City, recently voted by readers of TripAdvisor – the world's largest travel guidance platform. Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam occupies the second place, following Cuba (Photo: Screenshot) Specifically, Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam occupied the second place on the list as part of the annual Travelers' Choice Best of the Best Awards, following Cuba, while the southern metropolis secured 11th place. The category reveals destinations with the greatest year-over-year growth in interest on Tripadvisor based on travelers' reviews over a 12-month period between November 1 and October 31. "Hoi An on the central Vietnamese coast is a well-preserved example of the important Southeast Asian trading port it was from the 15th-19th centuries," Tripadvisor commented. … [Read more...] about Hoi An, HCM City among world’s top 25 trending destinations in 2023: TripAdvisor

All major streets in Vietnam’s tourist highland city of Da Lat were packed with vehicles on Thursday, the last day of the seven-day Tet break (2023 Lunar New Year) as so many personal cars and passenger vans traveled to the city. The traffic jams were serious as so many vehicles entered the city center even though the number of visitors during this Tet was not too big compared to last year’s edition, as noted by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters. Tran Manh Son, a visitor from Ho Chi Minh City, told Tuoi Tre that it took him nearly an hour to drive his family in his car for a distance of about three kilometers from a hotel on Trieu Viet Vuong Street to Tran Hung Dao Street. “Cars and larger vehicles were overloaded everywhere, so many cars inched a bit, as slow as walking,” Son said. The area of Xuan Huong Lake was constantly congested from 8:30 am to 11:00 am, and the same situation was recorded in many other sites, including the city’s flower garden, the Ong Dao … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s Da Lat City overcrowded with vehicles of Tet goers

A street in Hanoi is flooded after heavy rains. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Alongside urbanisation , flooding in cities of Vietnam, a country highly vulnerable to climate change, is getting complicated and needs concerted solutions, according to experts. There are more than 800 cities nationwide, including the two special municipalities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Big and populous cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Vinh of Nghe An province have frequently suffered from heavy losses caused by downpours and flooding. Nguyen Van Tien, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Vietnamese cities, especially major ones, are centres of economic, social, and cultural activities and also concentrations of infrastructure facilities and residential areas. They are exposed to many disaster risks, including flooding, which requires proactive preventive and timely response measures. … [Read more...] about Urban flooding needs concerted solutions

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the ministries to quickly resolve the relevant issues to keep the ring road project moving forward as planned. Hanoi and the two provinces of Bac Ninh and Hung Yen have made big progress in land clearance for the construction of the Ring Road 4, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said on January 27. Prime Minister talks to local people that live in the area of the Ring Road 4 on January 27. Photo: Vietnam News Agency At the moment, Hanoi municipal  authorities have developed a land clearance plan for the whole 58.2-kilometer stretch of the ring road that runs through Hanoi. The capital has relocated almost two fifths of all the graves found along the ring road. Hung Yen Province has cleared land in Van Giang, Khoai Chau, Yen My and Van Lam districts and moved almost 16% of all graves along the ring road. Meanwhile, Bac Ninh Province does not have a plan to relocate graves and cemeteries in the project area, but Bac Ninh … [Read more...] about Prime Minister praises Ring Road 4 project’s land clearance

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the scale of the Vietnamese retail market is USD 142 billion, which is expected to reach USD 350 billion in 2025, with contribution of 59% to total GDP. Last year, the total revenue from retail sales of goods and services rose 21%, exceeding the target of 8%. A survey by Vietnam Report showed that over 53.8% of total retail firms enjoyed similar and higher business results compared to the pre-pandemic level. Experts held that growth of retail sales is being supported by rise in income and the strong recovery of the tourism sector as well as relevant sectors such as transport and accommodations, as well as the effectiveness of inflation control measures. Particularly, from now to the lunar New Year (Tet) Festival, which falls in late January, consumers are predicted to loosen their wallet dramatically. At the same time, there are signs of vibrant retail activities as many foreign investors have announced their plans to … [Read more...] about Retail market forecast to bustle this year

The Ministry of Construction (MoC) has set a target of raising the urbanisation ratio of the country to 53.9 per cent in 2023. Apartments in Hanoi. In 2022, Vietnam's urbanisation ratio increased by 1.2 per cent to 41.7 per cent. According to head of the MoC Office Đậu Minh Thanh, urban planning, management and development has been defined as one of the three breakthrough stages of the sector. In 2022, the country's urbanisation ratio increased by 1.2 percentage points to 41.7 per cent, he noted, adding that in the year, the ministry recognised five areas as tier-4 urban areas. As of November 2022, the country had 888 urban areas, including two special-type areas, 22 tier-1, 33 tier-2, 47 tier-3 and 94 tier-4 urban areas. Thanh said that in 2023, the ministry will focus on implementing the Government's action plan to realise Resolution No.06-NQ/BCT on sustainable urban planning, construction, management and development until 2030 with a vision to … [Read more...] about Urbanisation ratio expected to reach 53.9 per cent in 2023

Pallas said the presence of a carrier from Southeast Asia is a victory of Victoria state’s economy and brings job opportunities to the locality, reflecting the state’s tourism and export strengths. VietJet will run three direct weekly flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne airport from April and will develop it into a daily service in December 2024. Its flights are expected to bring more than 136,000 passengers to Melbourne each year and add 97 million USD annually to the state's economy. VietJet will be the second Vietnamese airline to operate flights to Melbourne since after the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Vietnam's new-generation Bamboo Airways also launched the service in April 2022. Vietnam is now the ninth largest importer of Victoria state, with 113 million AUD (80.5 million USD) worth of Australian goods transported via airway during 2021-2022, up 77% compared to 2020-2021. Victoria state is also a popular tourist and study destination for Vietnamese. About 9,500 … [Read more...] about Australia’s Victoria state pins hope on Vietjet’s launch of flights

Hanoi earned more than VND1 trillion (US$42.6 million) from 330,000 visitors in five days of the seven-day 2023 Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, according to the city’s tourism department. The number of visitors, calculated from January 21 to Thursday, is three-fold that of the same period last year. That included 32,000 international visitors, most of whom came from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Canada, and 300,000 domestic tourists. The Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature - Imperial Academy) in Dong Da District welcomed 80,000 people, while the same number of visitors came to the Huong Pagoda in My Duc District. The UNESCO-recognized Thang Long Imperial Citadel in Ba Dinh District received 19,680 visitors. About 18,000 people visited the Co Loa relic site in Dong Anh District. Duong Lam Village and the Son Tay ancient fortress citadel in Son Tay Town drew some 15,000 visitors, Hanoi Zoo in Ba Dinh District received 17,235 people. The Hoa Lo Prison … [Read more...] about 330,000 visitors bring Hanoi $42.6mn on Tet

Total revenue from tourism activities topped 1 trillion VND (42.6 million USD), the department said. The number of tourists increased dramatically at key monuments, museums, parks, ecological zones, and resorts in the city. Notably, Van Mieu (Temple of Literature) - Quoc Tu Giam (First University in Vietnam) and the Huong pagoda received about 80,000 visitors each. Meanwhile, the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the Special National Relic of Co Loa, Duong Lam ancient village – the Son Tay ancient citadel received 19,700; 18,000 and 15,000 visitors, respectively. During the holiday, a series of art performances and cultural programs were held at relic sites and tourist attractions, while many new tourism products introduced to attract visitors. According to Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Dang Huong Giang, the agency has paid special attention to inspect the observance of regulations on tourism in tourist areas, aiming to better the quality of services. Source: … [Read more...] about Hanoi welcomes 332,000 visitors during lunar New Year holidays