Day: March 19, 2022

In recent years, residents in the Mekong Delta, one of the world’s three largest deltas, have seen growing climate change impacts on local water resources and their livelihoods.

Experts from the Institute for Environment and Natural Resources at the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, pointed out that the Mekong Delta which used to boast rich groundwater potential and benefiting from the alluvium and freshwater from the upper river is now facing groundwater degradation.

Studies showed that groundwater levels have dropped sharply, by 0.3 – 0.5 metre per year in many localities in regional localities such as Can Tho, Long An, Tien Giang, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, and Ca Mau. The decline even reached 0.55 metre per year in Tan Tru township of Tan Tru district (Long An province) and 0.92 metre per year in Lai Vung township of Lai Vung district (Dong Thap province).

Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Hong Tien, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association, said managing the use of water resources in the Mekong Delta is greatly critical to the common development of Vietnam. Over the past years, thanks to the State’s investment, international organisations’ effective support, and especially locals’ active participation, many clean water facilities have been built in both urban and rural areas, thus raising the rate of people accessing clean water.

However, he noted, the Delta is still facing a shortage of freshwater as supply facilities and surface water are contaminated with saltwater which leads to the groundwater degradation. The shortage has also adversely impacted every socio-economic aspect.

The Permanent Office of the Vietnam National Mekong Committee forecast in 2022, this region will continue experiencing a dry season with water scarcity, similar to what happened last year.

Experts emphasised that efficient and sustainable freshwater use to ensure freshwater sufficiency for the entire region is a necessary move, recommending localities in the Delta rationally tap into the potential of brackish water and saltwater in coastal areas to serve socio-economic development.

Meanwhile, to reduce saltwater intrusion risks as a result of tidal surges and rising sea levels, it is needed to carry out fully-constituted structure solutions for controlling saltwater and freshwater in a proactive and effective manner, they said, adding that it is highly important to complete and synchronise the local irrigation infrastructure system in order to mitigate water and climate-related risks, and to efficiently use water resources here.

In addition, developing a regional-scale and scattered water storage system is a thorough solution to drought and saltwater intrusion in the dry season in the Mekong Delta, experts said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers nationwide will have a total of seven days off during the two national holidays this April.

As the commemoration of the Hung Kings, the legendary founder of Vietnam, on the 10th of the third lunar month falls on Sunday April 10, people will have another day off on the following Monday, April 11.

That means this holiday will last from Saturday April 9 through April 11, according to the Department of Work Safety under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Meanwhile, the National Reunification Day (April 30) and the May Day (May 1) fall on Saturday and Sunday, so workers will have two more days off on the next Monday (May 2) and Tuesday (May 3).

These holiday schedules are applied to cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers of administrative and public agencies, as well as political and socio-political organisations. Other agencies and organisations can base on their own work plans to arrange appropriate schedules, the Work Safety Department said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the Vietnam – Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) No. 3 in southern Binh Duong province on March 19.

This is the third VSIP in Binh Duong, a major industrial hub of Vietnam, and the 11th in the country. Invested with over 6.4 trillion VND (280 million USD) in total, it will cover 1,000ha in Hoi Nghia ward of Tan Uyen town and Tan Lap commune of Bac Tan Uyen district.

The park will be equipped with uniform, green, and smart infrastructure to attract investment to the sectors of electricity, electronics, transport vehicle production and assembly, mechanics, support industry, textile – garment, food, beverage, and logistics services.

Addressing the event, PM Chinh said Vietnam and Singapore have been recording thriving relations in all fields, including economic ties as seen in the VSIPs, of which the parks built later are more modern, towards green, sustainable, and inclusive development, which matches the trend of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

He asked the Binh Duong administration and investors to form a new-generation industrial ecosystem associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution as well as green, smart, sustainable, and inclusive development that leaves no one behind, thereby contributing to the Vietnam – Singapore partnership.

VSIP No. 3 should be built into a symbol of the two countries’ relations, deeply imbued with the hallmarks of Singapore, and bring about benefits to investors, local residents, and Binh Duong as a whole, the Government leader stressed.

The PM also told the province to continue creating optimal conditions for investors and ensure increasingly better material and spiritual life of local people, including those displaced to serve the project development.

The Government always provides the best possible conditions for businesses to invest and develop on the basis of Vietnam’s laws, the country’s commitments to the international community, along with international law, he said.

Vietnam has taken part in 16 free trade agreements, so investors will have not only the Vietnamese market but also a larger market generated by these 16 deals, according to the PM.

Also at the ceremony, PM Chinh witnessed the granting of investment registration certificates and memoranda of understanding to investors in the VSIP, including a 1 billion USD project of the LEGO Group.

The same day, the PM participated in a ceremony marking the construction and inauguration of some Becamex social housing projects in the province’s Thu Dau Mot city.

As a dynamic province in the southern key economic region, Binh Duong has more than 1.6 million workers at present.

To create favourable conditions for people to live and work, local authorities have paid attention to social housing development. So far, the province has attracted 86 social housing projects covering nearly 200ha of land, with about 3.9 million sq.m. of floor. However, the existing social housing has yet to meet demand in reality./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietage, a high-end tourist railway carriage, will be reopened to travellers on the route between Da Nang city and Quy Nhon city of Binh Dinh province from April 1, according to the Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR).

This carriage will be connected with the train SE5 at Da Nang Station in the morning and return with the train SE8 from Dieu Tri Station in Binh Dinh in the afternoon the same day.

Unveiled in July 2020, The Vietage with only 12 seats, accompanied by restaurant, bar, and massage services, was designed to ensure the best comfort and privacy for passengers.

It offered daily round-trip journeys between Da Nang and Quy Nhon, along the coast of the southcentral Vietnam, promising luxurious travel experiences for tourists while exploring different lands of the country.

In late 2021, The Vietage was named by CNN as one of the six amazing Asia train journeys.

CNN wrote: “For travelers seeking a more comfortable experience, The Vietage offers a stark contrast — and a price tag to match at 350 USD per person one-way.”

“The scenery is as peaceful as it is lush: water buffaloes graze in wide-open fields, humble villages flit by and impossibly green fields beg to be photographed. Onboard, marble tables, rattan screens and private booths evoke the romance of vintage rail travel.”/.

Source: Vietnam News Agency