Category: General

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference on tackling difficulties to speed up highway projects and disbursement of Official Development Assistance (ODA) capital in the Mekong Delta, which took place in Can Tho city on July 8 afternoon.

At present eight highway projects with a total length of more than 460km are being implemented in the Mekong Delta, with total investment of approximately 94.4 trillion VND (3.99 billion USD).

Officials of relevant ministries, sectors and localities reported that those projects are facing obstacles related to ground clearance and a shortage of materials for roads’ foundation.

Stressing that the Mekong Delta is an especially important strategic region and the greatest agricultural hub of the country, PM Chinh said the Party and State have issued many policies and undertaken measures to make the best use of the region’s potential and advantages, one of which is investment in infrastructure.

A series of highway projects were launched in the delta recently, aiming to increase the total length of highways in the region to 554km in 2026.

To remove the obstacles and accelerate the transport projects, the PM instructed that investors of those projects should closely monitor the pace of construction and take firm actions in controlling the quality and pace of work as well as the use of capital.

Relevant ministries must work closely with People’s Committees of provinces and cities where the projects run through to create favourable conditions and timely address arising problems for the projects, he said.

Regarding those projects which have not completed ground clearance, the Government leader required local administrations to intensify the work so as to hand over the ground to contractors before December 31 this year at the latest. He particularly reminded the administrations to pay attention to ensuring housing and livelihoods for people who have to relocate to make way for the highway projects.

Regarding ODA projects in the Mekong Delta, the average disbursement rate in the region in the first six months of this year is only 5.3%, much lower than the national rate of 15.7%. The region now has 62 projects using ODA and foreign loans worth over 56.4 trillion VND (2.8 billion USD).

Participants at the conference attributed the slow disbursement to obstacles caused by outdated institutions and regulations, poor preparations for the projects; problems in adjusting projects, investment intents and loan agreements; and issues in procedures of both Vietnam and donors.

PM Chinh required Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees of 13 Mekong Delta localities to review ODA projects and select project management boards and investors with good capacity and experience for implementation.

He also instructed the Ministry of Planning and Investment to coordinate with the Finance Ministry and related agencies and localities to work with development partners on streamlining and harmonizing procedures of the partners and Vietnam./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has warned that Thailand could experience dry conditions due to the El Nino phenomenon until early next year.

TMD Director-General Chomparee Chompurat said rainfall in all regions of Thailand has been below average despite the rainy season beginning more than a month ago. Rainfall nationwide was 25% below average and dry periods are forecast in various regions until July 17. The director-general warned that the situation could intensify in November and continue until early 2024.

Meanwhile, the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) has reported that its four major dams comprising the Bhumibol, Sirikit, Kwai Noi Bamrung Daen and Pa Sak Jolasid dams, are at an average of 40% capacity. Recent rainfall has helped increase water levels in some areas but officials are closely monitoring the situation.

Authorities from related departments will also implement measures to mitigate the impact on water resources, agricultural activities and the overall ecosystem. Members of the public, especially farmers, are advised to prepare for the upcoming dry conditions./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced that it will continue to impose anti-subsidy duty of up to 31.58% on steel coat hangers imported from Vietnam.

In its final conclusion of the second sunset review of the order to impose anti-subsidy tax on this product, DOC said this tax rate does not change from the current rate.

According to the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the case was announced by DOC on April 3, 2023 and no Vietnamese enterprises participated in the review.

The authority recommended that new Vietnamese exporters (if any) need to contact the DOC before exporting to get their own anti-subsidy tax calculation, otherwise they will be subject to a general tax rate of 31.58%.

Businesses can also contact the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam for support, it added. /.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang on July 8 worked with leaders of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on the progress of projects using official development assistance (ODA) in the city.

The Deputy PM earlier inspected the 500-bed Can Tho Oncology Hospital project; the Can Tho River dyke project; and Tran Hoang Na bridge project.

The Can Tho Oncology Hospital has a total investment of 1.72 trillion VND (72.7 million USD), 80.66% of which is funded by the Hungarian Government. As scheduled, all of the capital should be disbursed by July 11, 2022. However, so far, just 22.77% of the total has been disbursed.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the major reason behind the slow disbursement is problems in the contract between the Can Tho Department of Health and Hungarian contractors.

The People’s Committee of Can Tho proposed two solutions to the issue, thus speeding up the project’s progress.

Meanwhile, the Can Tho River dyke funded by the French Development Agency (AFD) is delayed due to slow ground clearance process, with only 88.6% of the project land handed over to contractors. It has also faced administrative obstacles for disbursement procedures.

At the same time, the construction of Tran Hoang Na bridge has been completed by 80.53%. The investor has asked the contractors to ensure that the project will finish by September 2.

Speaking at the working session, Deputy PM Quang underlined the important role of the Can Tho Oncology Hospital in the Mekong Delta region. He said he will direct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to consult the Hungarian side on the project.

He asked the Can Tho People’s Committee to submit a report on the project, clarifying detailed data, technical solutions and difficulties of the project, adding that he will convene a meeting on the project after receiving the report and another from the Foreign Ministry after its discussions with the Hungarian side.

For the Can Tho River dyke project, Deputy PM Quang asked the Ministry of Finance to assist Can Tho in dealing with problems with the AFD. He also asked Can Tho to ensure the progress of the Tran Hoang Na bridge project as scheduled./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Party Committee of Ho Chi Minh City held the 21st conference in its 11th tenure on July 8 to review the socio-economic development in the city in the first six months of the year, and set out key tasks for the second half.

The conference is expected to give opinions on the draft Directive of the municipal Party Committee on leading and organising the implementation of Resolution 98/2023/QH15 of the National Assembly on piloting some specific mechanisms and policies for the development of the city.

Politburo member and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen said HCM City recorded positive results in economic development in the first half, including a year-on-year growth rate of 3.55% in gross regional domestic product (GRDP).

He stressed that the NA’s approval of Resolution 98 opens up great opportunities for HCM City to remove the “bottlenecks” in development, mobilise resources for investment and development and effectively exploit its potential, advantages and strategic location to promote rapid and sustainable development.

Nen asked delegates to pool their ideas to find out sound solutions to further enhancing effectiveness of the leadership and administration work in the coming time./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A technical mission of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), led by Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish) Nguyen Quang Hung, held a working session with the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG-MARE) of the European Commission (EC) on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) on July 6-7.

The delegation updated the EC side on Vietnam’s progress in implementing the EC’s recommendations made by its inspection team to Vietnam in October 2022.

The two sides discussed and agreed a number of issues related to provisions in the Decree amending Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP on transferring quotas of fishing licenses; the use of fishing vessel monitoring system (VMS); responsibilities of suppliers of VMS installed on fishing vessels; the control of the legal origin of fishing vessels imported into Vietnam; and designated fishing ports.

They also considered the amendment of Article 70 on control under the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), and the supplement of regulations on control of aquatic products originating from fishing activities imported into Vietnam by container ships.

The Vietnamese side informed the EC side on the pace of deploying the management of offshore fishing vessels and vessels’ movement through ports, and supervision of fishing output at ports; the implementation of the Capture Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Protection Plan; the fisheries management plan; the traceability work to ensure that shipments exported to the European market are legal; and the enforcement of law with a focus on handling vessels violating foreign waters and building a database on the handling of such violations from central to local levels.

According to Hung, the two sides have basically reached agreement on discussed issues and the DG-MARE also agreed with the work that Vietnam has carried out.

The EC suggested that Vietnam take stronger measures to combat illegal fishing and put an end to fishing boats violating foreign waters, as well as to handle fishing vessels that lose VMS connection, he said.

The MARD and DG-MARE are scheduled to hold an online dialogue in September to continue to exchange and update the implementation of recommendations before the EC sends its inspection team to Vietnam to examine the country’s efforts on IUU fishing prevention and control in October. /.

Source: Vietnam News Agency