A joint Vietnam-Slovakia business exchange was held in Hanoi on 27 January to increase economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, VOV news reported. Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Assembly Nguyen Duc Kien affirmed that the Vietnamese government attaches great importance to strengthening ties with Slovakia and it’s time for the business communities of the two countries to boost investment cooperation. He hoped that businesses would discuss specific measures to seek their investment opportunities, establish partnerships and enter their huge European and ASEAN markets. Slovak National Council Speaker Pavol Paska pointed out both countries’ potential and said they can cooperate in energy, transport, health care and national defense. Slovakia supports bilateral cooperation and it believes that such cooperation will bring about good results, said speaker Paska. Representatives of 10 Slovak economic groups and businesses introduced their potential fields in transport, pharmacy and construction to nearly 40 Vietnamese businesses. The event was co-hosted by the Slovak Embassy and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (neurope.eu)

The construction of the new Nam Dinh – Phu Ly road started on January 29 in Nam Dinh city with the Tasco Joint Stock Company as its investor.

The road, 25 kilometres in length, has a total investment capital of nearly VND 3 trillion.

According to the investor’s commitment, the road will have been put into operation by 2014, making a contribution to avoiding traffic jams and minimising traffic accidents and creating opportunities for investment attraction and socio-economic development in Nam Dinh and Ha Nam provinces and their surrounding provinces in the southern area of the Red River Delta.

The Thu Thiem Bridge over Sai Gon River in Ho Chi Minh City opened fully to traffic on Sunday, January 31, after the second phase of its construction was completed.

The bridge, built at a cost of VND1.45 trillion (US$78.5 million), will be a significant contributor to the city’s expansion to the east, officials said.

Work on the bridge started in April 2005 and its first phase was completed two years ago.

The 1.25 kilometer long, six-lane bridge links District 2 with Binh Thanh district on either banks of the river. It also creates a connection between the Thu Thiem New Urban Area and downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, standing deputy chairman of the city People’s Committee, Nguyen Thanh Tai, said: “The bridge will help the city restructure its population and shift its socio-economic development to the east, making the Thu Thiem New Urban Area a regional trade and financial hub in the near future.”

Also present at the event were city Party leader Le Thanh Hai, city People’s Committee chairman Le Hoang Quan, and officials from the ministries of Transport and Construction.

The same day also saw work begin on three major routes at the Thu Thiem New Urban Area. The ground breaking ceremonies for these projects were held in the presence of representatives from municipal administration, the city’s Transport Department, the Management Board of the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, District 2 authorities, and the Vietnam Infrastructure Development and Financial Investment Corporation.

One of these routes is a beltway, which is 3.6 km long and 55 m wide and has six lanes for cars, two lanes for motorcycles and two sidewalks. It connects the heart of the new urban area with the residential area in the north and to Luong Dinh Cua Street.

The second route is a road that is 2.8 km long and 28.1 m wide, linking the area with the Hanoi Highway, and the third is a road that will run alongside the Saigon River.

The project comprising the three routes is estimated to cost about VND6.73 trillion ($363 million) and scheduled for completion in 48 months.

Upon completion, the three routes and the East-West Highway will basically meet traffic needs of the new urban area, officials said.

Genoa, Italy, this year will seek investment opportunities and strengthen trade exchanges with Vietnam through improved information channels, implement joint economic, cultural and educational projects, and join activities in celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi.

Genoa City leaders made the announcement at a recent meeting with Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Dang Khanh Thoai. They added that Italian businesses want to invest in Vietnam. However, their current investment in this potential market is still modest because they lack information.

As a developed industrial city with a big seaport, Genoa is ready to step up co-operation with Vietnam in shipbuilding, sea transport, vocational training and import and export activities.

Ambassador Thoai invited Genoa to take part in the celebrations of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, both in Vietnam and Italy. Accordingly, a committee called “Genova City celebrates the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi” has been set up to organise events such as exhibitions and music performances.

Loans will be sought from the World Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for building an expressway linking Danang City with Quang Ngai Province at a cost of nearly US$2.5 billion.

Preparations are being pushed up so that work can start later this year on the project, which once in place will become part of the north-south expressway.

Under a notice the Government Office released last week, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai had agreed with the funding plan using loans from the World Bank and JICA. The amount will then be re-lent to the state-owned Vietnam Expressway Corporation to develop the 130-km long expressway running through Danang City, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces.

JICA is expected to finance the section from Danang to Tam Ky in Quang Nam Province stretching 65 kilometers, while the World Bank would fund for building 66 kilometers from Tam Ky to Quang Ngai. Counter capital from Vietnam will be used for project management, land clearance and resettlement costs.

According to the transport ministry, the Danang-Quang Ngai road requires a huge fund of US$2.48 billion, including US$1.5 billion for building the first phase of the project.

The feasibility study of the project has been finished by experts of Japan External Trade Organization, or Jetro, since 2007. However, the World Bank has asked for updating the study and the Project Management Unit 85, in charge of managing the investment project, has named Japan’s Nippon Koei as the consultant.

The management unit is expected to organize a bidding round to select contractors for the project in the early months this year. If everything goes smoothly, work will start the road late this year for the first-phase completion after three years.

The road has been designed for four lanes in the first phase, allowing for a maximum vehicular speed of 100 kilometers per hour. In the second phase, the road will be expanded into six lanes.

The road will create a strong communication route between economic zones in the central area and facilitate the development of new urban townships, industrial parks and tourism facilities.

Deputy PM Hai also asked the Ministry of Transport to join forces with two ministries of planning-investment and finance to devise solutions for ensuring the viability of the project as well as meeting requirements of the international lenders.

Besides the Danang-Quang Ngai, the transport ministry is also seeking the World Bank loans for the Ninh Binh-Thanh Hoa expressway.

Vietnam is pursuing an ambitious plan to develop an expressway across the country with 16 sections stretching a total length of over 1,800km, or some 74km shorter than National Highway 1A as the country’s current backbone.

The country will need a hefty budget of VND312.8 trillion (US$18.4 billion) for the north-south expressway project.

Cau Gie-Ninh Binh in the north is now the first expressway allowing vehicles to travel at over 100 kilometers per hour, while the HCMC-Trung Luong expressway is to be opened to traffic on February 3.

Vietnam plans to spend VND28.13 trillion ($1.52 billion) on building a 3,041-kilometer long road along the country’s coastline, the government said in a statement Thursday.

The road is being built with an aim to effectively use the country’s resources, boost socioeconomic development and enhance national defense, it said.

The government will spend VND16 trillion on the construction of the road from now to 2020, and the rest after that, it said.

Vietnam has a coastline of 3,260 kilometers.

The construction of the Bach Ho (White Tiger) bridge spanning the Huong (Perfume) River commenced in Thua Thien – Hue province on December 22, with a total investment of VND 673 billion.

The bridge, 542 metres in length and 24.5 metres in width has a fine art lighting system and six gazeboes so that people can enjoy the scenery of the Huong river.

This is a work of significance to make an active contribution to the local socio-economic development, gradually improving infrastructure in order to turn Thua Thien – Hue province into a prosperous province and Hue City a centrally-run city soon.

The Phu Tho provincial People’s Committee in coordination with the Ministry of Transport organised a groundbreaking ceremony on December 23 for a section running through the northern province of Phu Tho under the Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway project.

The 31.64km 4-lane section, stretching from Viet Tri City, through Phu Ninh and Lam Thao districts and Phu Tho town to Cam Khe district, has a total investment capital of over VND2,385 billion.

Construction work, scheduled for completion in 40 months, is under taken by the Republic of Korea’s Posco E&C Co. Ltd under supervision by Spain’s Gentinsa consulting firm.

The Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway is the longest one (264km) and most expensive (US$1,249 million), running through 5 provinces and cities, including Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Yen Bai and Lao Cai.

Lo Dieu and Tan Thanh are accessible by motorcycle or car from Bong Son Town on National Highways 1A, a beginning point of a coastal road that runs by these two beaches and other obscure but tranquil beaches in the province.

Nestled in a small hamlet between two passes named Lo Dieu, the beach of the same name in Hoai My Commune looks like a giant bow and its yellow sand tempts sea lovers to at least sit or lie leisurely on the beach or else jump into the turquoise waters.

As the beach is rather remote, it is quiet most the year round except for Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, when locals and visitors from Bong Son put on parties on the beach in the late afternoon to enjoy local foods and the joys of the biggest holiday of Vietnam.

We did not have any party during our visit to Lo Dieu Beach over the weekend as we arrived after breakfast and before noon, so it was not an appropriate time to have a party. Furthermore, we had a long way ahead and more beautiful beaches to explore.

We got into our hired nine-seat car after touching down on the sand and taking photos to move on to other unspoiled beaches along the way, a drive that put a few of our group to sleep. But, they were awakened when our car ran over some holes on some sections of the road.

After traveling more than 50 kilometers of rough road we reached Tan Thanh, a beach that can attract both sea lovers and those who are afraid of the scorching ocean side sun. Breezes from the ocean welcome all visitors.

Tan Thanh Beach is bounded by lines of pine trees, naturally creating a wonderful area for visitors to take a siesta or rest while listening to the gentle waves clapping against the shore and the bells hung on the cows and oxen grazing the weeds in the far distance.

For lovers of swimming in the sea, they cannot miss their chance at Tan Thanh Beach to cool down, shrug off the tiredness and be revitalized after hours of sitting in a car.

There are no showers here and some may be scared of not being able to rinse their skin with fresh water after the sea water. Never mind. A good towel and a change of clothes is enough to be comfortable on the way to Quy Nhon City for a proper bath.

Before leaving Tan Thanh, ask the locals to point out the mountain whose peak has a boulder that looks like a woman waiting for her husband. Visitors can see this landmark attraction even from the car on the way to Quy Nhon, the capital city of Binh Dinh Province.