HCM CITY

Several deadlines have been missed in the planning of a pilot project to develop "new rural areas" in HCM City, a senior Party official said last Friday.
The new rural area is a novel concept that seeks to promote and preserve agriculture and national cultural traditions while ensuring their socio-economic development.
Speaking at a meeting held to assess the pilot project, Nguyen Van Dua, permanent deputy secretary of of HCM City Party Committee, said that plans for proper land use, construction of infrastructure and residential areas as well as environment improvement measures had not yet been finalised.
Planning should have been finished in the first quarter of this year, Dua said.
He asked the Department of Planning and Architecture and other relevant agencies to expedite the process.
The pilot programme, with a total investment of VND2.073 billion (US$100 million), will be implemented in five HCM City communes:Thai My (Cu Chi District); Xuan Thai Thuong (Hoc Mon District); Tan Nhut (Binh Chanh District); Nhon Duc (Nha Be District); and Ly Nhon (Can Gio District).
Pilot projects to develop new rural areas, which have been approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, will be carried out in 11 communes nationwide.

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Ha Noi

General Secretary Nong Duc Manh delivers a speech at the 12th meeting of the Communist Party of Viet Nam’s Central Committee. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Xuan Tuan

The four documents include:

The 2011 Political Platform - based on the 1991 Political Platform - designed to further build Viet Nam in its transition towards socialism;

The socio-economic development strategy for the 2011-20 period;

The 10th Central Committee’s draft political report, to be submitted to the 11th National Congress; and

A report dealing with implementation and proposed changes to the Party Statute.

The drafts will be publicised before the congress for feedback from the public and party organisations at all levels.

The fundamental infrastructure for a socialist economy would be completed at the end of the transitional period, with an appropriate political, ideological and cultural superstructure to serve as a foundation for an ever more prosperous socialist nation, Manh told the 12th conference of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee here yesterday.

The Party and people must spare no effort to build Viet Nam into a modern and socialist-oriented industrial nation between now and mid-century.

Affirming the significant achievements of the Vietnamese people in the past decade of carrying out the 2001-10 socio-economic development strategy, Manh outlined the development strategy for the next ten years.

It would include rapid but sustainable development; uniform economic and political renewal towards building a socialist and powerful Viet Nam with a wealthy people and a democratic, equitable and civil society; practising democracy and promoting to the highest extent the human element in development, considering people as the subject, primary resource and object of development.

The strategy would also call for strong development of the workforce, with more advanced technology, while improving labour relations and institution for an independent and self-reliant economy in the conditions of international integration.

The strategy would set an overall target that, by 2020, Viet Nam would become an industrialised nation with political stability and social consensus in the form of a democratic and disciplined society, Manh said.

The material and spiritual lives of the people must be clearly elevated and national independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity firmly maintained, he said, with Viet Nam’s position in the international arena raised to create a basis for further development.

In order to attain these targets, Manh called for concerted efforts to achieve such strategic breakthroughs as: perfection of a socialist-oriented market economy, focusing on fair competition and administrative reform; comprehensive reform of the educational system towards developing the nation’s human resources; and the construction of a co-ordinated system of infrastructure.

At the same time, the efficiency and effectiveness of State administration needed to be enhanced, he said, stressing to the need to advance the fight against corruption and waste, strengthen the Party’s leadership, and promote the people’s right to mastery over the State apparatus.

During 2011-15, Manh said, the nation would continue to comprehensively advance the renewal process, enhancing the Party’s leadership capacity and combativeness, building a pure and strong political system, promoting democracy and national unity, hastening sustainable economic development, raising the people’s spiritual and material living standards, firmly maintaining political stability, and enhancing foreign affairs while protecting national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

To obtain these targets, Manh noted the tasks necessary to stabilising the economy, renewing growth models and economic structure, raising quality and efficiency, effectively using resources, and incrementally building modern infrastructure.

He touched on the importance of raising the quality of education in order to develop science, technology and a knowledge-based economy, as well as taking progressive steps toward achieving social equality, reducing the proverty rate, improving healthcare and preserving and promoting the nation’s fine traditions and cultural values.

Active preparation for and mitigation of natural disasters and contingency plans for climate change were all necessary,Manh reminded the conference.

He spoke of the need to boost national defence and security to firmly maintain political stability, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, ensure social order, prevent and foil all schemes of sabotage by hostile forces, and enlarge the scope of foreign relations.

Manh called for the promotion of democracy and the strengthening of the great national unity, increasing the effectiveness of a socialist State governed by law, by renewing the operation of the National Assembly, Government and local administrations and advance the struggle against red-tape, corruption and waste.

He urged a renewal in the quality of work performed by the Fatherland Front and mass organisations and greater Party-building and rectification efforts, following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example as a matter of routine. He also stressed the need to raise the quality of Party members and cadres and continue renewing the Party’s formula of leadership.

Manh said that building and strengthening Party organisations from the grassroots up was closely connected to the process of building and consolidating the political system of the new regime under the Party’s leadership. Through practical review, recommendations to adjust Party’s statutes would be made in order to make them commensurate with development laws and the Party’s leadership role in the near future.

Changes to party statutes needed to be made in line with three principles: loyalty to the basic principles of the Party and Party-building on the basis of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought; studying provisions in Party Central Committee resolutions concerning Party-building to ensure that they have been implemented on a trial basis and found to be correct, necessary, ripe to be put into practice, universal and within the jurisdiction of the national Party congress; and promoting democracy in discussion and the gathering of opinions voiced by Party members, committees and organisations and members of the political system, particularly opinions and comments drawn from theoretical and practical Party-building work and approved with high concensus by the entire Party.

In order for the 11th Party Central Committee to be strong enough to accomplish the enormous tasks set for the coming stages of the revolution, Manh said, those with political firmness and the grit and determination to carry out the lofty goals of the Party and people on national independence and socialism should be selected.

"They are those who have exemplary morality with excellent lifestyles, integrity, free from red-tape, corruption and waste, renewed and creative thinking, intelligently and practically capable of performing their tasks and taking part in making Party policies and decisions, bearing responsibility for the common good, showing and creating solidarity and enjoying high prestige among Party members and the people," Manh said.

He also mentioned the need to ensure the structure and harmony of the Party Central Committee, ensuring full representation by geographical areas, branches, ages, gendre, ethnicity and social strata, with a close adherence to criteria in selecting candidates for the Party Central Committee as key.

Manh affirmed that the factors discussed and decided at this conference would be of tremendous significance, constituting a basic step toward the preparation of draft documents for comment by Party committees at all levels, the National Assembly and the public.

He called on the Party Central Committee and Party committees as well as Party organisations nationwide to simultaneously carry out preparations for Party congresses and the Resolutions of the 10th National Party Congress, considering accomplishment of the Resolutions of the 10th Congress and the implementation of the 2006-10 socio-economic plan as the most important duties.

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HA NOI

High interest rates, land prices and construction costs were weighing against investment in apartment projects, prompting a warning of caution from property investment analysts.
The apartment market had under-gone complicated changes as it recovering from the economic crisis, with higher material prices creating upward pressure on prices, the analysts said.
But the number of buyers willing to raise loans and take the risk of buying an apartment had reduced, plus there was competition in the market for sales, withdemand being soaked up by hundreds of new housing and urban area projects, including low-income schemes.
It was now more difficult to sell apartments at higher prices to cover the increasing construction costs, the analysis said.
Colliers International Ha Noi’s Price Study and Valuation Department head Nathan Cumberlidge said apartment prices needed to increase as costs increased for the projects to remain viable.
Viet Nam Steel Association statistics showed building steel prices rose 10 per cent last month.
Association chairman Pham Chi Cuong said the rise was the result of increasing prices in steel embryo, electricity and petrol. It was also influenced by exchange rales.
Prices of brick and cement were also expected to rise.
Song Da Joint Stock Company, which is an investor in Van Khe Urban Area in Ha Dong District, had increased their apartment prices by 12 per cent. Apartments in the Mo Lao Urban Area would also be higher priced than previously announced. However, apartment prices in some new urban areas including Trung Hoa Nhan Chinh, Nam Trung Yen and Van Quan in Ha Noi remained unchanged because of low demand.
Nam Cuong Group has 116 apartments for sale in the CT3 tenement building in Hoang Quoc Viet Residential Area but the number of buyers was described as "modest".
Thu Duc Housing Development Joint Stock Company general director Le Chi Hieu said it had been unable to increase apartment prices because of the new projects coming on line.
Real estate firms said investors were turning to land lots instead of apartments, but even then there was need for caution.
On Hanhudland Estate Trading Floor, people were buying land lots in the West of the city, including Van Canh, Cau Dien and Nam An Khanh. Prices ranging from VND22-30.5 million ($1,180-1,600) a square metre.
Prices of land lots in Lang-Hoa Lac had also increased after a "quiet" spell with prices of VND38-40 million ($2,054-2,162) a square metre.
However, analysts warned that many land lots had been in a period of land clearance for some time.
Analysts said it was difficult to see high growth in the apartment market in the near future as interest rates of 18-20 percent were causing project investors to hesitate.
Cumberlidge said the housing market would be subject to "unstable demand" with more caution over borrowing.
Head of the Ministry of Construction’s House Management and Real Estate Market Department Nguyen Manh Ha said businesses and individuals should be cautious when investing in projects.

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CAN THO

Farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta have for long adapted to rising sea levels and are used to a life of hardship, but current challenges have rendered them most vulnerable in years, experts say.
National and international experts including scientists and academics said at a climate change conference opened yesterday that climate change adaptation challenges were exacerbated by several other problems facing Delta farmers today.
The two-day conference in Can Tho City has drawn the participation of more than .10 experts from several univer-sities and agencies including the American Western Washington University, German United Nations University, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, and the delta-based universities of Can Tho and An Giang.
Participants held open discussions on the daily life challenges of delta farmers, scenarios for rice production in the coming time and the ways to assist farmers with in-formation and better sales of agricultural products.
Delivering the keynote address to open the conference. Prof. Vo Tong Xuan of An Giang University said increase in sea levels was not a strange phenomenon to the delta farmers and they have been adapting to it for a long time.
"Before 1972, delta farmers cultivated a 7-month floating rice crop with a yield of one tonne of rice per ha; now they cultivate two crops a year with each lasting just three months, yielding 10 to 14 tonnes of rice per ha a year," Xuan said.
He told the conference" that environmental changes and impacts from development have brought several trans-border issues to the fore, including drifting gases on river flows, the spread of brown plant hoppers, and the shortage of fresh water.
Dr. Mart Stewart of the Western Washington University said, "Farming in general - and rice farming in the densely populated Mekong [Cuu Long] Delta in particular - has rarely been easy, seldom been secure, and never been risk-free."
However, he was now alarmed by the "the growing vulnerability of many agriculturalists to powerful middle-men."
Xuan told Viet Nam News that the only way to assist farmers was strong measures by the Government to improve the system of rice purchase in the delta.
Lack of control over prices, poor market information and lack of access to common properly resources are being lost to increasing privatization were making it more difficult for farmers, especially with small landhold-ings, to make their livelihoods sustainable, the conference heard.
Prof. Mauro Agnoletti of the Italian University of Florence spoke of the importance of traditional knowledge and adaptation techniques in climate change learning from the Mediterranean region.
Today’s sessions will cover aquaculture and sustainabilily; comparison -culture - and history; perception, resilience and adaptation.

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DA NANG

Luxury real estate projects in central Da Nang City have flourished while a focus on low- and mid-end projects continues to characterize the industry, which is still reeling from the global economic crisis, around the country.
Da Nang became a destination for tourism real estate after the city’s beaches were selected as among the six most beautiful beaches on earth by US-based Forbes Magazine, said Trevor Morlcy from real estate consulting firm Savills Viet Nam.
Da Nang’s beaches are prized by developers who in reaction to high tourism demand are racing to construct villas and luxury apartments.
The demand is evident after recently constructed projects along the beaches of Son Tra and Ngu Hanh Son districts sold much faster than expected. Another project by VinaCapital Real Estate, the Ocean Villas project, sold 80 per cent of recently constructed luxury beach villas before the end of the project’s first phase. Mario Lotti, director of the Hyatt Recency Da Nang Residences project, comprising 174 luxury apartments and 27 beach villas, said 75 per cent of properties of his project had been sold even though the project had yet to be completed.
Development activity is not showing signs of slowing after VinaCapital Group signed an exclusive contract with the Southern Cms Development Company in March to construct the luxury Norman Estates beach villa complex worth US$40 million.
According to the Savills, 13 projects to construct a total of 670 villas and 19 projects for 8,600 apartments, were planned over the next five years.
Luxury apartments in Da Nang continue to be priced high, with average prices ranging from $485,000 - 2.5 million per apartment.
Nguyen Quang Tam from Cuong Hung Thinh Real Estate Transaction Exchange said domestic properly investors, especially from HCM City and Ha Noi, were increasingly seeking holiday houses for the purpose of relaxation.
Da Nang airport welcomed nearly 1.4 million visitors in 2009. Of that figure 1 million were Vietnamese, representing a 15 per cent increase over the previous year.

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HCM CITY

The Viet Nam Guinness Book of Records (Vietbooks) and An Hao Design and Printing Company will introduce Viet Nam’s largest block calendar In HCM City today.
The 800-kg Lich Su Viet Nam (History of Viet Nam) calendar is 2m wide and 3.7m high. It features 365 silk paintings about Viet Nam’s history from its beginnings to Reunification Day in 1975. An Hao Company spent more than 18 months and VND500 million (US$26,200) to make the calendar that has a wooden frame carved with dragons.
In September, to celebrate 1,000 years of Thang Long - Ha Noi, the company will also release 1,000 smaller 80kg versions of the calendar, 1.2m high and 1.7m wide, for sale. Twenty-one copies will be granted lo governmental agencies and some Viet Nam embassies.
At today’s calendar launch at Binh Quoi 2 Tourism Area. Vietbooks will present certificates and trophies to 32 record makers chosen from nearly 300 submissions from across the country last year.
Individuals established 20 of the records including largest colour painting of a flower, largest gem dragon and oldest apricot tree.
Records established by groups include largest dictionary written in Nom (Vietnamese script transformed from Han) and the most blood donors in one day. Le Tran Truong An, Vietbooks general director, said the 18th meeting in HCM City was in preparation for a meeting of 100 Vietnamese record makers in Ha Noi’s Imperial Academy) on September lo celebrate the millenium of Thang Long- Ha Noi.

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