Day: December 24, 2022

A night-time food and pedestrian zone was officially opened on Dao Ngoc – Ngu Xa, an islet on Truc Bach Lake in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh district on December 23 evening.

 

The zone covers two streets, Ngu Xa and Nguyen Khac Hieu, traversing the centre of Dao Ngoc – Ngu Xa, the folk name for a 4.5ha islet on Truc Bach Lake in Truc Bach ward.

 

It focuses on developing existing restaurant and market activities, selling goods recognised under the “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme, introducing the traditional Ngu Xa bronze casting at the bronze casting museum, and holding street cultural events on the weekend.

 

In spring festivals, local authorities will also organise traditional activities at historical and cultural relic sites such as Than Quang Pagoda and Ngu Xa Communal House.

 

The food zone is open all days and closed to vehicles from 6pm on Fridays to midnight on Sundays to serve pedestrians.

 

Addressing the opening ceremony, Chairman of the Ba Dinh People’s Committee Ta Nam Chien expressed his hope that the Dao Ngoc – Ngu Xa food and pedestrian zone will become a new culinary destination in the district while helping introduce local OCOP products and tourism gifts and honour the traditional bronze casting to contribute to Hanoi’s tourism development./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Construction will concurrently start on 12 component projects of the second phase of the North-South Expressway project (2021-2025) on January 1, 2023.

 

Accordingly, the groundbreaking ceremonies will be held in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Quang Ngai, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Hau Giang and Ca Mau provinces.

 

The second phase of the expressway project consists of 12 component projects with a total length of 723.7km, of which the Ha Tinh-Quang Tri section is 260.9km, Quang Ngai-Nha Trang 352.1km and Can Tho-Ca Mau 110.9km.

 

The total investment is initially estimated at nearly 147 trillion VND (6.23 billion USD)./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) recently launched a special website to mark the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan friendship and cooperation next year.

 

The website introduces events to be held in Japan or ASEAN member states in celebration of the anniversary.

 

There are also special columns such as “People of ASEAN-Japan” to introduce those who are contributing to connecting and enhancing the understanding between the people of ASEAN member countries and Japan, or “Happy ASEAN-Japan 50!” to share congratulatory messages.

 

The website’s management board will hold an Instagram photography contest from January to July 2023, with the theme changed every two months.

 

From February, it will hold a film production campaign in which film producers from all ASEAN member states and Japan will co-produce a film celebrating the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan relations./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The second Vietnamese martial arts championship in Algeria kicked off at Loucif Hamani Gymnasium in Tizi-Ouzou city on December 23.

 

The Algeria Federation of Vietnamese Martial Arts said the event attracted hundreds of competitors from 16 provinces and cities across the African country to select the best for coming international tournaments.

 

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Nguyen Thanh Vinh welcomed the tourney and described it as a contributor to the friendship between the two countries’ people.

 

He stressed that the practice of traditional martial arts of Vietnam in Algeria is a bright spot in bilateral relations, calling on the two countries to continue promoting cultural and sport exchanges.

 

For his part, President of the Algeria Federation of Vietnamese Martial Arts Rabie Ait Medjber noted the two countries’ long-standing multifaceted ties. He also appreciated Ambassador Vinh’s presence at the event./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The People’s Committee of Sa Pa town in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on December 23 opened the Winter Festival themed “Sa Pa – Snowy Paradise”.

 

Located 350km northwest of Hanoi, Sa Pa is 1,600m above sea level, with the average temperature of 15-18 degree Celsius. The town is among few locations in Vietnam where snow and ice sometimes appear in winter.

 

The Travel, a well-known travel site in Canada, recently listed Sa Pa among the 10 most attractive snow-watching destinations in Asia.

 

The winter festival is one among five seasonal festivals held by Sa Pa authorities this year, which also include Spring Festival, Love Season Festival, Summer Festival and Autumn Festival. This festival is expected to serve 120,000 domestic and foreign tourists

 

So far this year, the town has welcomed 2.43 million tourists, earning 7.12 trillion VND (301.88 million USD)./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The national COVID-19 caseload rose to 11,524,202 with 109 new cases documented on December 24, the lowest daily number recorded in over one year, according to the Ministry of Health.

 

With 71 patients given the all-clear during the day, the number of recoveries rose to 10,610,763.

 

Meanwhile, there are 39 patients needing breathing support.

 

No death from COVID-19 was recorded in the past 24 hours. The total fatalities remain at 43,184.

 

With 15,915 doses administered on December 23, the total number of doses of COVID-19 vaccines injected rose to 265,354,235./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) and the Cambodian NA and Senate visited THACO Group in the central province of Quang Nam on December 24.

 

The working visit was part of an experience sharing programme between the two parliaments.

 

Founded in 1997, THACO has developed from an automobile trading and repair company into an industrial conglomerate operating in six industries, namely automobile, agriculture, mechanics and supporting industry, investment and construction, trade and services, and logistics.

 

In Cambodia, it has purchased some companies to form agricultural complexes with a view to converting poor-performing agricultural projects into large-scale, mechanised, circular, and organic ones. As of 2022, it has invested 717 million USD in 15,000ha of fruit farming.

 

Talking to the Vietnamese and Cambodian officials, THACO leaders said the business has joined hands with localities of Cambodia in fighting COVID-19 and providing assistance for Vietnamese people in the country. Besides, it has also helped build roads and technical infrastructure, ensure social security, and develop education in the localities accommodating its projects.

 

Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese NA Nguyen Duc Hai highly valued THACO’s investment in Cambodia over the last five years and attributed its achievements partly to the support from Cambodian authorities and people, especially in the provinces housing its projects.

 

He called on Cambodia to continue support for Vietnamese enterprises operating in the country and increase investment chances for other firms. He also asked THACO to boost investment and business activities there, not only in agriculture but also other fields it is strong at such as mechanics, manufacturing, and logistics.

 

Hai affirmed that effective activities by businesses, including THACO, have helped promote bilateral economic, trade, and investment partnerships, thus contributing to the good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability between the two countries.

 

Men Sam An, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the NA – Senate Relations and Inspection, and Chairwoman of the Cambodia – Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group, applauded THACO’s investment projects in her country which have helped develop modern and large-scale agriculture as well as infrastructure in Cambodia.

 

She stated that Cambodia always welcomes and creates favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms, including THACO, to operate and expand investment to more fields so as to help strengthen the countries’ all-round cooperation./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

The Class I Special Immigration Office of Soekarno-Hatta Airport announced on December 23 that 71,416 foreign travellers had entered Indonesia through the airport from December 7-21, ahead of Christmas.

 

Chief of the airport’s Immigration Office Muhammad Tito Andrianto said that the foreign travellers mostly come from Malaysia (13,398 people), Singapore (8,189 people), China (7,689 people), the Republic of Korea (4,920 people) and Japan (4,499 people).

 

Soekarno-Hatta Airport’s executive general manager Dwi Ananda Wicaksana said that the number of flights to/from the airport during the peak period of Christmas and New Year 2023 is predicted to reach 1,090 per day.

 

In total, there will be 159,282 passengers during the year-end holiday period, Dwi said./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency