Day: September 29, 2022

Work started on September 29 on flight management works – the component Project No.2 in the first phase of the Long Thanh International Airport Project in the southern province of Dong Nai.

 

They are large-scale infrastructure works with the most complex technology ever built by the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM).

 

The component project has a total investment of nearly 3.5 trillion VND (147.3 million USD). Its works include an air traffic control tower and supporting items, primary/secondary surveillance radar stations and VHF radio base stations, weather surveillance radar, and automated weather observing system (AWOS).

 

Covering a total area of more than 5,580 hectares, the Long Thanh International Airport will spread across six communes in Long Thanh district in Dong Nai province. The airport’s total investment is 336.63 trillion VND, with construction divided into three phases.

 

In the first phase, a runway and one passenger terminal along with other supporting facilities will be built at a cost of 109.112 trillion VND to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year.

 

The project started in 2021. Once fully completed by 2050, the airport will be able to handle 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo annually.

 

Located 40km to the east of Ho Chi Minh City, the airport is expected to relieve overloading at Tan Son Nhat international airport in the southern metropolis, now the country’s largest airport./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The Economic Zone Authority of northern Hai Phong city (HEZA) pledged the most favourable administrative procedures for foreign investors, while meeting with China’s Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (TEEMA) on September 28.

 

This was the third delegation of Taiwanese businesses to visit Hai Phong since the start of this month to learn about the local investment climate.

 

At the meeting, HEZA made known the city’s advantages, including infrastructure and human resources, along with incentives for investors at  its economic zones (EZs) and industrial parks (IPs).

 

It also highlighted the readiness to connect Taiwanese enterprises and investors with Hai Phong universities, vocational schools, and training establishments to boost cooperation in improving human resource quality.

 

Developers of IP infrastructure also provided an overview of local IPs and EZs, investment attraction orientations, logistics potential, and transport and technical infrastructure there.

 

The TEEMA delegation expressed their interest in local potential, advantages, and investment attraction policies.

 

As of August 31, Hai Phong was home to 60 Taiwanese projects worth 1.46 billion USD, accounting for 6.1% of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the city. Twenty-seven of the projects are located in IPs and EZs, with a combined capital of 1.25 billion USD.

 

Taiwanese firms in the city posted revenue of 1.15 billion USD in 2021 and 668 million USD in the first half of this year, statistics show./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on September 29 hosted an official welcome ceremony for his Cuban counterpart Manuel Marrero Cruz who is on an official friendship visit to Vietnam.

 

Following the ceremony, the two leaders held talks.

 

This is Manuel Marrero Cruz’s first visit to a country outside Latin America since he took office in December 2019, and also the first to Vietnam by a Cuban leader since 2018. The visit aims to promote the implementation of agreements reached by the two countries’ leaders and develop Vietnam-Cuba special ties, manifesting both countries’ determination to further tighten the loyal friendship and solidarity, mutual trust and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States, Governments and peoples.

 

Earlier, the Cuban Government leader paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum, and is scheduled to pay courtesy visits to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and meet National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. Also on the occasion of the visit, the Cuban PM will witness the signing of cooperation agreements, attend a Cuba-Vietnam business forum, and meet leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, among other activities./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh has set aside more than 400 billion VND (16.82 million USD) this year to promote the socio-economic development in areas where the Khmer ethnic minority group inhabits.

 

Of the total, 167.39 billion VND comes from the central budget, while more than 25 billion VND is from the local budget, 162 billion VND from soft loans and 47 billion VND will be mobilised from other sources.

 

According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Van Han, the money, part of the efforts to implement the national target programme for socio-economic development in ethnic minority-inhabited and and mountainous areas in 2022, will be used to build public works serving the Khmer community, enhance the human resources quality, and preserve and promote the community’s traditional culture.

 

The Khmer community will receive support in housing and farming land, and livelihood. Meanwhile, the infrastructure system will be developed, along with education and healthcare services.

 

Khmer people account for nearly 32% of the total population of the province. In the 2022-2025 period, Tra Vinh will implement 10 projects to support the community at a total cost of over 1.7 trillion VND, the official said.

 

Tra Vinh has set a target that in 2025, the average per capita income of the community reaches 80 million VND each year, while the rate of poor households will be reduced 3% per year. The locality also aims for 50% reduction in the number of difficult hamlets and no extremely difficult commune./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 13.67% in the third quarter, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

 

The three months posted such high growth as the same period last year which saw the COVID-19 pandemic breaking out strongly and seriously affecting production and business activities.

 

With upbeat signs reported in almost all aspects between January and September, the GDP was estimated to rise 8.83% for the period, the highest nine-month growth recorded in 2011-2022.

 

In the context, the GSO also pointed out that the agro-forestry-fishery sector grew by 2.99% in the first nine months.

 

The industry and construction, meanwhile, increased by 9.44%, contributing 41.79%; and service rose by 10.57%.

 

Regarding GDP use, final consumption expenditure climbed 7.26% over the same period last year; accumulated assets rose by 5.59%; exports of goods and services up 8.94%; and imports of goods and services up 4.74%. Head of the GSO Nguyen Thi Huong said in the period, ministries, sectors and localities have drastically implemented the Government’s resolutions serving the nation’s programme for recovery and socio-economic growth.

 

As a result, macro-economy was stabilised, inflation put under control, major balances ensured, monetary and fiscal policies conducted flexibly and effectively, business investment environment improved positively, and social security guaranteed, she noted./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Heavy rains caused by Storm Noru that hit northeastern Thailand on September 28 night have added more difficulties to the country’s provinces already suffering from floods.

 

At least 12 provinces, mostly in the northern and northeastern regions, have already experienced varying degrees of flooding caused by downpours that have pounded Thailand since last week, said the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department under the Ministry of Interior.

 

In Ubon Ratchathani province, Governor Pongrat Piromrat said on September 28 that the Mun River burst its banks, flooding villages and farmland in 14 districts and forcing the evacuation of over 4,100 residents to high ground and temporary shelter centres. More than 15,800ha of farmland was damaged.

 

Ubon Ratchathani Airport was also battered by heavy rain and strong winds, making it impossible for aircraft to land.

 

Meanwhile, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration decided to distribute 2.5 million sandbags to areas in the capital city prone to flooding./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The Vietnam – UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) has substantially assisted Vietnam’s coffee sector to expand its market share in the UK, according to the Foreign Trade Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

 

Under the UKVFTA, import duties will be eliminated for 99.2% of the tariff lines, equivalent to 99.7% of Vietnam’s export revenue, after six years since the deal took effect.

 

Therefore, businesses should quickly move to seize opportunities brought about by the agreement, which officially came into force on May 1, 2021, the agency recommended.

 

Experts said to increase Vietnamese goods’ presence in the UK, businesses should align production with British quality standards, grasp export procedures, and continue improving product quality by upgrading preservation and transportation technology, especially for farm produce.

 

Firms were also suggested to pay more attention to registering and protecting brands in the UK while proactively seeking partnerships with major distributors in the market.

 

Vietnam shipped 34,680 tonnes of coffee worth 70.68 million USD to the UK in the first eight months of 2022, up 57.9% in volume and 84.2% in value from a year earlier. Export prices also rose 16.6% to 2,038 USD per tonne, according to the MoIT.

 

The share of Vietnamese coffee in the UK’s total imports surged to 29.92% in the first half of 2022 from 16.33% in the same period last year./

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency