Hanoi to fulfil 2010 land use right auction plan

HANOI - Hanoi was well on track to fulfilling its target of land use right auction income for 2010 although some problems still remained unresolved, said a high-ranking city official.

Nguyen Trong Dong, Deputy Director of Hanoi's Department of Natural Resources and Environment said so far, 18 districts had conducted auctions for 11.7ha of land, raking in VND 2.5 trillion, accounting for 97 per cent of the city's planned budget income.

In December, the city will conduct more auctions to earn VND 80 billion more to fulfil the plan for the year. Land in Thon Bon, Ngo Thi Nham, Dong Dung in Ha Dong district and Trau Quy in Gia Lam district will be up for auction and is expected to bring in VND 370 billion for the city.

Dong said, however, there were still many problems which needed to be addressed.

Among them were the slow pace of land clearance and infrastructure construction, and the lengthy task of preparing necessary documents.

In a recent meeting between city leaders and district officials on this issue, many officials at district level said they were unsure about how to implement the new government decision on land auctions as it had not issued guideline documents.

According to Decree 17/2010/ND-CP on property auctions released in March, local authorities need to invite auctioneers from the city to attend the auctions in a supervisory role. But many district officials said this was both unnecessary and ineffective.

Tran Duc Nguyen, deputy head of Thach That district's People's Committee said his district were unable to hold auctions due to this stipulation.

The district officials also pointed to bid rigging as a major problem.

Many land rights owners deliberately made high bids for adjoining land to increase the value of their own, but then refused to pay after the auction finished, said local officials.

An official of Quoc Oai district suggested that the city should raise the deposit for land auctions in order to tackle this problem.

Vu Hong Khanh, deputy head of the city's People's Committee said city authorities would hold discussions with other related ministries to work out feasible solutions to the remaining problems. VNS

Related Articles

• Ha Noi meets land auction goals
• Local tour operators honored in Thailand
• Hanoi model wins Miss Vietnam 2010
• University plans molecular and nano architectures center
• Blue seas and unspoiled beaches

Workers fight for survival as prices soar

Consumers buy food at the Dich Vong wholesale market in Ha Noi. People, especially low-income earners, are facing a price hike of goods as the Vietnamese dong continues to depreciate. — VNA/VNS Photo The Duyet

HA NOI — As the lunar New Year festival approaches, the prices of goods have soared as usual. But the increase has come earlier this year. As the Vietnamese dong continues to depreciate, people have been faced with increased living costs.

Ta Van Sy, a labourer at HCM City's Tan Tao Industrial Park, said last month he had to send his wife and children back to their native province to cut costs as his family relies solely on his modest salary of VND2 million (US$102) a month.

"It is impossible to resist the price storm now," says Sy, "I work on Sunday to send extra money to my wife and children in the countryside."

To cope, workers have cut daily expenses dramatically.

Another worker, Pham Thi Vy, also earns about VND2 million a month and uses almost all of it to pay for food, electricity, water and her brother's school tuition.

Vy says she recently moved into a 10q.m room with a friend to save money.

As of mid-August, the monthly price for a room near the industrial parks and export processing zones in HCM City increased by between VND50,000 (US$2.5) and VND100,000 ($5.1).

Prices for foods like rice, cooking oil, meat, and vegetables have also increased to dizzying levels.

Nguyen Thi Nhung, an employee at a State enterprise in Ha Noi, jokes that shopping in supermarkets is harder than performing magic tricks.

"I have very little money and everything is expensive and all prices are increasing," Nhung says.

Economist Ngo Tri Long, former deputy head of the Market and Price Research Institute, attributes rising prices to multiple causes.

He says the exchange rate rise between Vietnamese dong and the US dollar is one factor.

Long says Viet Nam has been exposed to dollarisation (the holding by residents of foreign currency), meaning the impact of the rate adjustment may have been even stronger once imported goods are sold and people convert dollars to dong.

"The rate adjustment has devaluated the dong, causing increased input costs to produce goods," Long says.

The economist also attributes price rise to the loss of consumer confidence and to the trend among traders of hoarding rice to export to neighbouring countries, a situation Long says will immediately affect prices.

According to deputy director of the Ha Noi Industry and Trade Department Nguyen Van Dong, the total commodity circulation in February will be about VND19.2 trillion in value ($960 million) or an increase by between 20 and 22 per cent compared with the earlier months.

He says Ha Noi will have to import pork from other provinces because it has met only 70 per cent of the city's demand.

The inability to meet consumption demand will encourage hoarding or the spread of false information to raise prices and earn illegal profits, says deputy head of Ha Noi Market Watch Vuong Tri Dung.

To reduce pressure, Ha Noi authorities have decided to lend enterprises VND400 billion ($20.5 million) with preferential interest rates to help them stock goods for the lunar New Year period.

But Nguyen Minh Phong, an expert at the Ha Noi Socio-Economic Development Institute, says this will not be effective enough to stabilise market prices.

Phong suggests the State satisfy demand for foreign currencies among enterprises and apply drastic measures to stabilise the price of products like electricity, coal, water, and oil and gas. — VNS

Related Articles

• Ha Noi employers dangle higher paychecks to attract workers
• Minister praises role of fund in keeping petrol prices down
• Handicraft workers use own trademarks
• Banks lavish loans on Delta agriculture
• Market moves up sharply

Health officials issue dengue fever warning

Preventing the multiplication of mosquito larvae is key to controlling the spread of dengue fever, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health reiterated at a workshop Wednesday.

Department officials expressed concern that the incidence of the fever had risen over the last several months and several localities were not taking preventive measures in a timely and effective manner.

Le Truong Giang, deputy head of the department, said that the preventive health centers in city districts had to guide grassroots administrations in spraying chemicals to kill mosquitoes and prevent their larvae from multiplying.

Companies, schools, offices, public spaces and residential areas were still to focus adequately on these tasks, he said.

The city would spray chemicals three times this month, he said, adding local authorities should encourage residents to implement preventive measures at least once a week.

The city's Preventive Medicine Center has said that the number of patients with fever dengue has steadily increased over the last three months.

From 633 patients in July, the number increased to 1,133 in August and 1,624 in September.

As many as 166 out of 322 communes and wards, or almost 50 percent, have recorded increasing number dengue fever patients, accounting for 80 percent of the city's total.

In September alone, the number of dengue patients rose by more than 400 each week.

Nguyen Dac Tho, deputy head of the city's Preventive Medicine Centre, said the number would continue to increase as timely steps were not taken.

Measles vaccinations

Tho also announced at the workshop a plan on vaccinating children for measles.

Under the plan, nearly 600,000 children between one and six years old will be vaccinated next month.

The department will co-operate with the Department of Education and Training to vaccinate children at schools from November 1-25.

There are an estimated 400,000 school-age children in the city. Children not of school-going age will get their measles shots at health clinics in their communes and wards.

Tho asked preventive medicine centers at districts as well as at communes and wards to ensure residents are aware of the measles vaccination program so that it is implemented effectively.

Related Articles

• ASEAN's socio-cultural issues promoted at Da Nang meeting
• New decree hopes to protect holders of convertible bonds
• New tool helps measure family planning effects
• Hanoi’s sustainable development in limelight
• New tool helps measure family planning effects

HCM City needs school rooms

HCM CITY — Construction of new classrooms in HCM City has not met demand for the school year, forcing some districts to increase classroom enrolment.

At a workshop held yesterday in HCM City, Le Hong Son, deputy head of the city's Department of Education and Training, said that all levels from kindergarten to high school were faced with a classroom shortage.

Although detailed plans on classroom construction have been concluded for some time, the pace of building projects has remained sluggish.

Son said the city had built 1,059 new classrooms for the academic year, but this was still not enough.

Do Thi Hoa, deputy head of the Education Bureau in Go Vap District, said two wards in the district had no primary or secondary schools.

Students who live in these wards have to go to school in other wards, leaving classrooms crowded and teachers overburdened with work.

For this school year, Go Vap District lacks 460 classrooms, which has led to a decline in the number of day-boarders.

Moreover, the district's schools cannot meet the standard classroom size, which is 30 students for kindergarten and 35 for primary school.

Nguyen Thi Kim Quy, deputy chairwoman of the Fatherland Front Committee in Tan Phu District, said a shortage of rooms led to a drop in the number of children studying during the day.

Tan Phu District lacks 628 classrooms, including primary and secondary ones.

In Thu Duc District, the number of first graders has increased this year, overcrowding classrooms.

The average number of first-graders in each classroom in Thu Duc District is 43, according to the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Committee of HCM City's Board of Cultural and Social Affairs. — VNS

Related Articles

• IFC: Vietnam needs to increase PPP to support economy
• Transport of pigs under scrutiny to stop blue-ear
• Energy group asks for 50% price hike
• Poor rural children blaze education trail
• Development harms Hue's water quality