Động lực mới cho Khu vực Tam giác phát triển

Duy Trinh (Viết từ Vientiane, CHDCND Lào)
Lễ ký biên bản ghi nhớ về hình thành các chính sách ưu đãi cho khu vực Tam giác phát triển Hội nghị Cấp cao CLV ra Tuyên bố Vientiane phát triển sâu rộng hợp tác giữa ba nước Campuchia – Lào - Việt Nam đã mở ra nhiều cơ hội đầu tư vào khu vực này.

Khu vực Tam giác phát triển lại có thêm động lực mới khi Bản ghi nhớ về xây dựng Cơ chế chính sách ưu đãi đặc biệt cho Khu vực Tam giác phát triển vừa được các bên ký kết tại Hội nghị Cấp cao Campuchia - Lào - Việt Nam (CLV) lần thứ V diễn ra tại Thủ đôVientinane (CHDCND Lào) ngày 26/11/2008 dưới sự chứng kiến của Thủ tướng Chính phủ ba nước.

Phát biểu khai mạc Hội nghị, ông Bouasone Bouphavanh, Thủ tướng CHDCND Lào nhấn mạnh rằng, việc thành lập Khu vực Tam giác phát triển không chỉ cải thiện tình hình kinh tế - xã hội, nâng cao mức sống của người dân trong Khu vực, mà còn góp phần thúc đẩy quan hệ kinh tế, thương mại và đầu tư giữa ba nước.

Trong bài phát biểu trước 300 đại biểu đến từ ba nước tham dự Hội nghị, Thủ tướng Chính phủ Nguyễn Tấn Dũng cho rằng, Hội nghị là dịp tốt để trao đổi hợp tác giữa ba nước và với sự nỗ lực của các bên, Khu vực Tam giác phát triển sẽ trở thành khu vực kinh tế năng động, phát triển ổn định.

Theo mục tiêu đề ra, Việt Nam và Campuchia phấn đấu nâng kim ngạch thương mại song phương lên 2 tỷ USD vào năm 2010. Việt Nam và Lào cũng quyết tâm phấn đấu đưa kim ngạch thương mại song phương lên 1 tỷ USD vào năm 2010; 2 tỷ USD vào năm 2015 và trên 5 tỷ USD vào năm 2020.

Khu vực Tam giác phát triển hiện có tiềm năng lớn về thương mại, đầu tư, nông nghiệp, năng lượng, giao thông, du lịch. Số liệu thống kê sơ bộ cho thấy, tại Khu vực Tam giác phát triển, nhiều dự án lớn đầu tư vào thủy điện, khai thác và chế biến khoáng sản, phát triển và chế biến sản phẩm cây công nghiệp có giá trị cao… đã và đang được triển khai. Hầu hết các dự án của doanh nghiệp Việt Nam tập trung tại các tỉnh thuộc Khu vực Tam giác phát triển. Tổng vốn mà các doanh nghiệp Việt Nam đầu tư vào khu vực này chiếm 60-80% tổng vốn đầu tư vào Campuchia và Lào. Riêng tại Lào, con số này là 85,24%, tương đương hơn 490 triệu USD.

Hiện tại, các doanh nghiệp Việt Nam có thể tìm thấy ở Lào, Campuchia cơ hội đầu tư vào du lịch, khoáng sản, xây dựng, viễn thông, chế biến gỗ. Các doanh nghiệp Lào, Campuchia có thể cung ứng cho Việt Nam những sản phẩm thủ công mỹ nghệ, sản phẩm du lịch khá hấp dẫn.

Tới nay, nhiều doanh nghiệp Việt Nam như Tổng công ty Sông Đà, Ngân hàng Sài Gòn Thương Tín, Tổng công ty Bưu chính - Viễn thông quân đội… đã tham gia thực hiện dự án thủy điện, bưu chính - viễn thông, trồng cây công nghiệp… tại Lào và Campuchia. Các doanh nghiệp Lào và Campuchia cũng hợp tác với doanh nghiệp Việt Nam tập trung trong một số lĩnh vực như dịch vụ giao thương, buôn bán hàng tiêu dùng…

Mặc dù có những bước tiến đáng khích lệ, nhưng trong quá trình đi lên, Khu vực Tam giác phát triển còn gặp không ít trở ngại. Chính vì vậy, theo Thủ tướng Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, Thủ tướng CHDCND Lào Bouasone Bouphavanh và Thủ tướng Campuchia Samdec HunSen, để tiếp tục thúc đẩy phát triển kinh tế 3 nước nói chung và tại Khu vực Tam giác phát triển nói riêng, cần khuyến khích đẩy mạnh đầu tư trực tiếp của các doanh nghiệp; tiếp tục đầu tư vào các lĩnh vực năng lượng điện, hợp tác thăm dò khai thác khoáng sản, trồng và chế biến cây công nghiệp có giá trị cao; tăng cường các giải pháp và cơ chế chính sách thúc đẩy hợp tác phát triển và tập trung vốn ngân sách đầu tư kết cấu hạ tầng nhằm tạo môi trường đầu tư thuận tiện cho các nhà đầu tư. Ngoài ra, cùng kêu gọi vốn hỗ trợ phát triển chính thức (ODA) vào một số lĩnh vực để sớm hình thành cơ sở vật chất cần thiết cho mục tiêu phát triển trong Khu vực tam giác.

Tuy còn gặp một số khó khăn, song theo đánh giá chung của Hội nghị Cấp cao CLV lần thứ V, tình hình kinh tế - xã hội tại Khu vực Tam giác phát triển đang từng ngày thay đổi và chuyển biến theo chiều hướng tích cực. Đây là thực tế được Hội nghị Ủy ban Điều phối chung ba nước Campuchia - Lào - Việt Nam (CLV) lần thứ ba diễn ra trước đó ghi nhận. Với sự phối hợp chặt chẽ của các bên, cùng với việc kêu gọi các nhà tài trợ, chắc chắn những tiềm năng của Khu vực Tam giác phát triển sẽ sớm được khai thác và kinh tế khu vực này sẽ đạt được những bước tiến vượt bậc.

Source:VIR

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Vietnam digs into South American markets

Brazil and Argentina are the two targets of a trade delegation visiting South America from Nov. 17 - 26, led by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Huu Hao.

Hao was accompanied by executives representing several national industrial giants, such as the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), the Vietnam Electricity Group and the Vietnam Coal - Mineral Industries Group.

In Brazil , the delegation met with Deputy Foreign Minister Samuel Pinheiro Guimaraes Neto, who is also Chairman of the Brazilian arm of the Vietnam-Brazil Joint Committee, to consider the timing of the committee’s first meeting. Their discussions focused on projects of great mutual interest to the two nations.

A number of Vietnamese businesspeople also attended an international conference on bio-energy, and business forums in Goinas and Sao Paulo .

PetroVietnam held a working session with the Brazilian state-run oil and gas group Petrobras, during which they discussed measures to deploy a protocol on the production and use of ethanol alcohol.

In Argentina , they conducted working sessions with the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Economics, the ENARSA Energy Company and the Metallurgy Engineering Group IMPSA, where host and guest reached a consensus on restoring the Inter-Governmental Committee sometime in the near future.

Numerous Vietnamese businesspeople were also in attendance at a business forum in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires .

Brazil and Argentina represent two promising South American markets for Vietnam .

Regarding its trade links with Brazil , bilateral trade reached a record high of 323.3 million USD during 2007. This record, however was immediately broken by the amount recorded during the first ten months of this year – almost 468 million USD. So far this year, Vietnam has exported more than 172 million USD of goods to Brazil , representing a year-on-year increase of 98 percent. Its imports from the largest Latin American economy reached 295.7 million USD, or 73 percent more than the corresponding period last year.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Argentina reached an all-time high of 387.6 million USD during 2007, and have fetched 350.1 million USD during the first 10 months of this year.

So far this year, Vietnam has earned 56.8 million USD from exports to the South American market, more than double that achieved in the same period last year. Its imports from Argentina , although falling by 4.5 percent year-on-year, remain high at 293.3 million USD, almost five times more than export.

Source:VNA

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Vietnam to build Space Technology Center

A project to build a space technology research and development center at the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park, Hanoi is now being researched.

According to a workshop introducing JETRO Study Team’s report on this project, held in Hanoi on Thursday, the total capital for this project totals US $350 million, coming from Japan’s ODA sources. The project will be implemented from now until 2017.

The Hoa Lac Space Center will be built on 9 ha. of land in the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park, 30 km from Hanoi’s centre. The center will have a space technology operating zone, a small satellite assembly, integration and testing zone, a planetarium, a research and training zone and a ground station to receive data from satellites.

Japanese experts will help Vietnam manufacture a small satellite and apply remote sensing technology to serve economic and social development.

According to Takeo Matsuzawa, from the JETRO Study Team, the Hoa Lac Space Center will have the most modern equipment. Thanks to this centre, Vietnam can cut 10% of their losses that are caused by natural disasters, according to the Japanese expert. The centre can also help manage oil spills, forest fires, and prevent the illegal exploitation of timber.

Besides supervising disasters and managing natural resources, the centre can help Vietnam develop sci-tech and supporting industries.

Dr. Dang Vu Minh, Chairman of the National Assembly Committee for Science and Technology, Director of Space Technology Institute, said the Institute and JETRO experts are still working on the feasibility report of this project. The report will be submitted to the Vietnamese and Japanese governments in late 2008.

In June 2006, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) signed a framework cooperation agreement in the field of space technology.

On October 14, 2006 the Prime Minister approved the Strategy on Research and Application of Space Technology to 2020.

In a talk between the Vietnamese and Japanese Prime Ministers in October 2006, the two sides agreed that the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park would be one of three key cooperation projects between the two countries.

On November 20, 2006 the Prime Minister signed a decision to set up the Space Technology Institute (STI) under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.

In November 2007, the joint statement of the Vietnam-Japan cooperation program named “Looking to strategic partnership between Vietnam-Japan” defined space technology as one of the cooperation fields between the two countries.

In July 2008, the Japanese Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry (METI) set up a consulting group, under the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), to do feasibility research of the Hoa Lac Space Center.

In August 2008 the management board of the Hoa Lac Space Center project was established.

On August 18, 2008, the Institute for Space Technology Institute and JETRO signed a cooperation agreement on writing the feasibility research report for the Hoa Lac Space Center project.

Source: VNN

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Vietnam has first software lab

On Thursday, the Institute for Information and Communication Strategy opened the first software laboratory in Vietnam.

This lab will provide the following services: consultation, imitation, evaluation of software, and testing of technology, IT solutions and IT products.

According to the Institute for Information and Communication Strategy, the laboratory is built to promote the application of IT in Vietnam. The lab is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.

The Institute for Information and Communication Strategy signed an agreement with the Vietnam Data Communication Company (VDC), under which VDC provides the Internet connection and server service for the lab.

The Institute also signed contracts with Vietsoftware and Onenet to imitate, test and evaluate IT applications.

Source: TBKTVN

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Vietnam learns from foreign education systems

The Ho Chi Minh City National University held a seminar on Nov. 28, drawing on European and Southeast Asian experiences in university organisation and management.

Sixty delegates from France, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam attended the seminar.

According to Le Quang Minh, Deputy Director of the Chi Minh City National University, countries with well-developed education systems possess a wealth of knowledge that Vietnam could apply in developing its education sector, particularly in the area of university self-governance.

Effective university self-governance entails universities preparing their own course programmes, deciding on their own staff and training fees, and particularly, managing their own financial resources.

Vietnam’s university system suffers from a lack of applied standards, particularly international quality standards. Furthermore, there is no real connection between the courses offered and public demand.

Participants discussed the prospects of university self-management in Vietnam under the orientation of the Government and the management of the State.

A number of successful models of university self-governance were presented at the seminar.

According to Peter Mayer, Chairman of the Social Sciences and Business Management Department of the Osnabrueck Applied Science University in Germany, ensuring strong financial resources is of the utmost importance for successful university self-governance.

Source: VNA

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Malaysia willing to replace Thailand as AFF Cup host

The tension in Bangkok has made the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) consider moving matches of AFF Cup 2008 from Thailand to Malaysia.

Malaysia’s top daily the New Straits Times on Tuesday quoted some senior officials of the Malaysian Football Federation as saying that Malaysia is willing to host B group of AFF Cup 2008 if the security situation in Bangkok doesn’t allow the organisation of these matches there.

Thailand and Indonesia are the two hosts of the qualifier round of AFF Cup 2008. Group A has Myanmar, Singapore, Cambodia and host Indonesia playing at Senayan Stadium in Jakarta. Group B features Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam and host Thailand scheduled to compete at Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok.

Because of a demonstration last month, the surface of Rajamangala Stadium was damaged and the host decided to organise AFF Cup matches in Supachalasai Stadium.

Yet, as demonstrations and the political situation have become tenser in Bangkok recently, a question has been raised: “Is Thailand able to host Group B?” Even the Thai Football Association is not sure.

“The situation in Bangkok is not really stable, especially after demonstrators blockaded Suvarnabhumi International Airport,” an anonymous official from the Thai Football Association said.

According to the New Straits Times, if it replaced Thailand as the host of Group B of AFF Cup, Malaysia would receive $150,000 from the AFF.

The AFF plans to release an official decision about this issue in the next few days, after it receives a report from Thailand.

Senior officials of the VFF are now working in China and they haven’t made any statement.

Source:VNE

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Oil and gas corporation to exploit oil in Venezuela

Hanoi (VNA) - PetroVietnam Exploitation and Production Corporation (PVEP), a subsidiary of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), will establish a joint venture with a Venezuelan firm to exploit and refine heavy oil in Venezuela .

On Nov. 27, PVEP signed a memorandum of understanding with the Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation (CVP), a member of the Venezuela Oil and Gas Group (PDVSA), on the establishment of a joint venture and contract to exploit and refine heavy oil at Lot Junin 2 in the Orinoco heavy oil belt in Venezuela .

One operational, the project will turn out up to 200,000 barrels a day, equivalent to 10 million tonnes of oil per year.

Heavy crude oil pumped up by the JV will be refined into light oil by its plant.

The JV contract will come into effect immediately after it is ratified by the Venezuelan parliament.-Enditem

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Money transfers made easier

Western Union on Nov. 25 began officially providing money-transfer services at the Vietnam Post Corporation offices nationwide.

In the first period, Western Union services will be provided at over 600 of the 3,000 Vietnam Post Corporation (VNPost) offices across the country. In the next 18 months, this will be expanded to 1,700 VNpost locations.

Customers can receive money via Western Union in either Vietnamese dong or US dollars from 7:30am to 7pm everyday.

The cooperation between VNPost and Western Union will make sending and receiving money safer and faster.

Users only need to fill out a form and present some form of identification to use the service, a private account is not required.

Western Union has offered money transfer services in Vietnam for the last 14 years, cooperating with banks and enterprises to set up a network of 4,500 transaction centres across the country.

This is the first time they offered services at VNPost locations.

Western Union is the leading money transfer company in the world with more than 200,000 transaction sites located in 195 countries and territories.

Source: VNA

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PVTrans gets loan to buy oil tankers

PetroVietnam Transportation Corporation (PVTrans) on Nov. 26 signed a 175-million USD term loan facility agreement with a group of foreign banks led by Citigroup.

Other lenders include Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank, Fortis Bank and Societe Generale.

The proceeds will be used to finance the purchase of three oil tankers with capacities ranging between 80,000 tonnes and 120,000 tonnes.

The 13-year loan is guaranteed by the Nippon Export Investment Insurance (NEXI) and the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chief Executive Officer of Citibank Vietnam Brett Krause said: “The successful closing of this long term loan facility amidst highly challenging credit market conditions, both locally and internationally underlines the strong fundamentals and outlook for PetroVietnam as well as PetroVietnam Transportation Corp.”

Krause added that Citibank was honoured to be selected by PVTrans to play a key role in this landmark transaction which demonstrated their continued commitment to clients in Vietnam.

“The global economy and financial crisis has impacted Vietnam , some global investors have left Vietnam , but the economy continues to grow and we see Vietnam growing in the future,” Krause said. Citibank has poured capital into Vietnam , three times more than regulation limits, and we have no intention of taking investment capital out of the market because we have a stable and robust base in Vietnam ,” he added.

PVTrans Corp is a subsidiary of PetroVietnam- which holds 60 percent of PVTrans’ charter capital. The main business operation of PVTrans is the transportation of crude oil, petrol and other chemical products. CEO of PVTrans Pham Viet Anh said, “PVTrans expects to reach pre-tax profits of more than 100 billion VND (6 million USD) this year, and increase profits one and a half times in 2009”.

PVTrans has the largest fleet of liquid tankers in Vietnam with a combined capacity of nearly 400,000 tonnes. PVTrans has been assigned as the main carrier of oil products for the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Factory which is expected to start operations from February 2009.

According to the company’s development plan to 2015, PVTrans plans to invest 3 billion USD in developing its fleet in order to meet the transport needs for oil refineries in Vietnam, develop its international oil transportation services and invest in other services such as floating storage, and other oil and gal services.

Source: VNA

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Japanese investor planning $5 billion steel project in Vietnam

The government has given Japan’s JFE Group permission to make a pre-feasibility research report on a steel complex in Dung Quat Economic Zone in the central province of Quang Ngai.

The report will be submitted to related ministries and agencies for consideration. The Prime Minister will make the final decision on the project.

JFE Steel Group official Akihiko Ishida said the investor wants to build a plant that can produce 6-10 million tonnes of steel per year, at a cost of around $5 billion.

All gas yielded during the production process would be collected to produce electricity to run the plant and to sell to other businesses in the Dung Quat Economic Zone and local people.

At the Vietnamese government’s request, JFE’s report must clearly show its goals, investment scale, duration and construction pace, range of products, market, equipment and technology, and others.
Source: chinhphu.vn

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Private, foreign-invested sectors create most jobs

The private sector is fuelling the number of new jobs created each year, according to the General Statistics Office.

The Government’s target of creating 1.7 million new jobs next year is expected to be unevenly distributed, with the bulk in the private and foreign investment sectors, and the minority in State-owned companies.

In 2001, the public sector employed up to 59.5 percent of the labour market, while the private sector had only 29.4 percent. But by 2007, the private sector had expanded to 50.2 percent of the labour market while the public sector dropped to 28.3 percent.

Employment in the foreign-invested sector nearly doubled from 11.5 percent in 2001 to 21.5 percent in 2007.

Still, while the public sector lags behind in both employment share and job creation, it has received the largest amount of investment, or 43.3 percent of total capital invested in the economy.

The non-State sectors have been the main driver behind the robust growth in the labour market in recent years, with the Government setting a target of a total of half a million private companies by 2010.

However, the private sector is beginning to feel the impact of the global financial crisis as domestic consumption falls, overseas markets contract and credit are tightened, experts have said.

Source: VNA

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Vietnam Airlines helps stranded passengers return home

The national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, said it plans to increase flights and provide bigger planes on its routes from Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City to three Bangkok gateways to help passengers who have been stranded in Thailand return home.

The three gateways have been named as Siem Reap and Phnom Penh ( Cambodia ) and Vientiane ( Laos ).

The company is in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok and its representative office in Thailand to provide information regarding flight timetables and immigration procedures for passengers.

According to Thailand news agency (TNA), on the night of Nov. 25, civil aviation authorities in Bangkok closed Suvarnabhumi Airport after hundreds of anti-government protesters broke through police lines and flowed into the busy terminal, disrupting airport operations, in an attempt to prevent Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from returning home from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Peru .

The current conditions at Bangkok ’s Suvarnabhumi airport are still strained, and have forces Vietnam Airlines to cancel four flights from the country to Thailand since Nov. 26, in order to ensure the safety and security of its flights and passengers.

Source: VNA

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Malaysia willing to replace Thailand as AFF Cup host

The tension in Bangkok has made the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) consider moving matches of AFF Cup 2008 from Thailand to Malaysia.

Malaysia’s top daily the New Straits Times on Tuesday quoted some senior officials of the Malaysian Football Federation as saying that Malaysia is willing to host B group of AFF Cup 2008 if the security situation in Bangkok doesn’t allow the organisation of these matches there.

Thailand and Indonesia are the two hosts of the qualifier round of AFF Cup 2008. Group A has Myanmar, Singapore, Cambodia and host Indonesia playing at Senayan Stadium in Jakarta. Group B features Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam and host Thailand scheduled to compete at Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok.

Because of a demonstration last month, the surface of Rajamangala Stadium was damaged and the host decided to organise AFF Cup matches in Supachalasai Stadium.

Yet, as demonstrations and the political situation have become tenser in Bangkok recently, a question has been raised: “Is Thailand able to host Group B?” Even the Thai Football Association is not sure.

“The situation in Bangkok is not really stable, especially after demonstrators blockaded Suvarnabhumi International Airport,” an anonymous official from the Thai Football Association said.

According to the New Straits Times, if it replaced Thailand as the host of Group B of AFF Cup, Malaysia would receive $150,000 from the AFF.

The AFF plans to release an official decision about this issue in the next few days, after it receives a report from Thailand.

Senior officials of the VFF are now working in China and they haven’t made any statement.

Source: VNE

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'Meat intake cut' on cancer fears

One in 10 people has tried to cut down on processed meats such as bacon in the wake of a report linking them to cancer, a survey suggests.

Older people among the 2,124 questioned were most likely to have done this.

A World Cancer Research Fund report last year said those eating two rashers of bacon and two sausages a day faced a 63% higher risk of bowel cancer.

A bowel cancer charity said other factors, including smoking and alcohol, were also key.

The cancer prevention report highlighted the evidence for the potential dangers of processed meat, but also pointed to other elements of diet and lifestyle which could either reduce or increase cancer risk.

" There is increasing evidence that lifestyle issues such as poor diet, obesity and lack of exercise are directly linked to an increased risk of the disease " Spokesman Bowel Cancer UK

A quarter of those questioned in the online survey said they had tried to eat more fruits and vegetables as a result of media coverage of the report, while 18% of people said they were making more effort to watch their weight, after the report described evidence linking excess weight to six forms of cancer.

Heavy consumption of red meat has already been linked to bowel cancer, and 11% of those asked said they had been trying to cut down.

Gut chemicals

However, scientists believe that chemicals created during the curing or processing of meat pose an additional threat to the cells lining the gut.

Among the over-55s, 37% said they had tried to reduce their intake of processed meat.

Younger people were less motivated, with only 6% of them doing this.

Richard Evans, the head of communications for the World Cancer Research Fund, said: "This survey shows that if people are told how they can reduce their risk of cancer then many of them will make changes.

"However, recent market research has shown that despite the wall-to-wall media coverage of our report, many people are still unaware of how things like diet and physical activity affect cancer risk."

The survey also found nearly two in five people were trying to be more physically active, and 9% were trying to cut down on alcohol in response to health messages.

A spokesman for Bowel Cancer UK said: "There is increasing evidence that lifestyle issues such as poor diet, obesity and lack of exercise are directly linked to an increased risk of the disease.

"We recommend that people who eat a diet high in processed meats cut down and eat more fruit and vegetables, but it is also important to remember to not focus on this alone.

"There are many other factors that might contribute to an increased risk of bowel cancer, such as smoking and an excess of alcohol, which should not be ignored."

Source: bbcnews

The question for you is: " How to prevent and cut CANCER?" Read more here...

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Russia-Venezuela nuclear accord

Russia and Venezuela have signed an agreement to promote the development of nuclear energy for civilian use.

The agreement was signed during a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Venezuela's capital, Caracas, on the latest leg of his Latin American tour.

Under the accord, Russia would help Venezuela build a nuclear energy plant. Joint gas projects were also approved.

Military co-operation is also high on the agenda of Mr Medvedev's talks with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Russian and Venezuelan warships are scheduled to hold joint military exercises later this week.

The Russian vessels, including the flagship missile cruiser Peter the Great and two support vessels, appeared off La Guaira, near Caracas, early on Tuesday.

The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko docked while Venezuelan forces fired a 21-gun salute.

This is first Russian deployment of its kind in the Caribbean since the end of the Cold War.

New alignments

Russia is already a major arms supplier to Venezuela, with contracts worth some $4.4bn (£2.39bn).

Mr Medvedev's visit is part of a Latin American tour aimed at boosting both Russia's presence and trade ties in a region traditionally of strategic importance to the US.

BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the Russian president's aim is to show Washington, where President-elect Barack Obama is preparing for office, that if the US does things in Europe near Russia's borders which Moscow does not like, then Russia can pursue its own policies in a region long seen by Washington as its backyard.

Boosting bilateral trade between Russia and Latin America, which could reach $15bn (£9.9bn) this year, is another priority for the Russian president during his talks.

The Russian leader travelled to Venezuela from Brazil, where he and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held talks on boosting trade and technical co-operation.

In Rio de Janeiro, the two presidents expressed their view that the "Bric" countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - should hold their first summit in Russia in 2009.

Mr Medvedev's visit takes place just a few days after the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, toured several Latin American nations with a view to strengthening ties.

Source:bbcnews

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Tăng cường hợp tác trong khu vực Tam giác phát triển

Sáng 26.11 tại thủ đô Vientian (Lào), Thủ tướng Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, Thủ tướng Lào Bouasone Bouphavanh và Thủ tướng Vương quốc Campuchia Samdec Hunsen đã tham dự khai mạc Hội nghị cấp cao lần thứ 5 giữa 3 nước về Tam giác phát triển (CLV). Đây là khu vực với phạm vi 10 tỉnh của 3 nước, trong đó có 4 tỉnh ở khu vực Tây Nguyên VN.


Tại cuộc họp, ba thủ tướng nhất trí đánh giá từ Hội nghị lần thứ 4 tại Đà Lạt (tháng 12.2006) đến nay, hợp tác giữa ba nước về xây dựng Tam giác phát triển đã đạt được những kết quả quan trọng trên nhiều mặt, góp phần thúc đẩy tăng trưởng kinh tế, cải thiện điều kiện sống của nhân dân các địa phương ở khu vực này; khẳng định quyết tâm tăng cường hợp tác, tạo thuận lợi hơn nữa cho các doanh nghiệp của ba nước đầu tư vào khu vực này; nhấn mạnh cần đẩy mạnh hợp tác trong các lĩnh vực giao thông, khai khoáng, sản xuất và chế biến nông sản, phát triển năng lượng, viễn thông và du lịch...; nhất trí thúc đẩy sớm hoàn thành việc điều chỉnh quy hoạch khu vực này đến năm 2020 theo hướng gắn kết quy hoạch, kế hoạch phát triển của mỗi nước với các hợp tác tiểu vùng Mê Kông. Ba thủ tướng đánh giá cao việc ba nước vừa ký Bản ghi nhớ về việc xây dựng các cơ chế, chính sách ưu đãi đặc biệt cho Tam giác phát triển; nhất trí ủng hộ sáng kiến của Thủ tướng Lào về việc tổ chức Diễn đàn doanh nghiệp CLV; đồng ý tổ chức Diễn đàn thanh niên Tam giác phát triển. Các thủ tướng cũng đánh giá cao kết quả hợp tác CLV+Nhật Bản trong việc xây dựng khu vực trên.

Kết thúc hội nghị, ba thủ tướng đã thông qua Tuyên bố chung của Hội nghị cấp cao CLV lần thứ 5, ký Tuyên bố Vientian về tăng cường hợp tác trong khu vực Tam giác phát triển và biên bản ghi nhớ về việc hình thành các chính sách ưu đãi cho khu vực này.

* Tiếp tục các hoạt động tại Vientian, chiều cùng ngày, Thủ tướng Nguyễn Tấn Dũng đã hội kiến Tổng bí thư, Chủ tịch nước CHDCND Lào Choummaly Sayasone.

Tổng bí thư, Chủ tịch nước Choummaly Sayasone mong muốn trong thời gian tới, VN và Lào tiếp tục hợp tác chặt chẽ hơn nữa trong công tác giữ gìn an ninh, ổn định ở khu vực biên giới; đề nghị VN giúp đỡ tiêu thụ sản phẩm nông nghiệp ở những vùng sâu, vùng xa và xây dựng những cụm bản biên giới của CHDCND Lào.
Theo TTXVN - Website Chính phủ

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Đứt ống dẫn tại Dung Quất, dầu tràn ra biển

Sóng to, gió lớn đã làm đường ống dẫn dầu từ phao số 0 (SPM) tại vịnh Việt Thanh vào Nhà máy lọc dầu Dung Quất bị đứt 3 đoạn ngay các khớp nối, đã gây sự cố tràn dầu ra biển vào đêm 24/11.

Đây là lượng dầu diezen đang bơm từ tàu EAGLE MILWAUKEE (Singapore) vào nhà máy. Sau khi phát hiện đường ống dẫn dầu bị hỏng, nhà thầu Technip kịp thời cho Tàu dừng hoạt động bơm dầu để khắc phục sự cố tràn dầu ra biển.


Sáng nay (25/11), BQL dự án Nhà máy lọc dầu Dung Quất và Nhà thầu Technip đã huy động phương tiện chuyên dụng, lực lượng ứng cứu tràn dầu, xe cứu hỏa tại chỗ và cùng với Chi cục môi trường Quảng Ngãi khẩn trương khoanh vùng, xử lý lượng dầu tràn ra biển nhằm hạn chế thấp nhất việc ô nhiễm môi trường trong vùng.

Đồng thời, nhà thầu điều động chuyên gia nước ngoài, kỹ sư tập trung khắc phục nhanh sự cố đường ống và tiếp tục nhập hoàn tất 52.500 tấn dầu diezen trước ngày 30/11 để bảo đảm phục vụ chạy thử Nhà máy lọc dầu Dung Quất theo lộ trình qui định.

Source: Dantri

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Vietnam, Brazil plan for future cooperation

Vietnam and Brazil should look towards other countries to increase levels of cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South American Common Market (Mercosur).

Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorin were unanimous in this viewpoint during a meeting on the sidelines of the first ASEAN-Mercosur Foreign Ministerial Meeting that opened in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia on November 24.

After reviewing progress in the implementation of previous agreements signed between the two countries, particularly following Brazilian President Lula Da Silva’s visit to Vietnam in July, the two ministers expressed their pleasure at the dynamic recent developments in their bilateral relationship.

They said they believed that the cooperation between the two nations would develop rapidly in the future, particularly in the areas of economics and trade.

During the meeting, Deputy PM Khiem and the Brazilian foreign minister signed an agreement regarding visa exemption for citizens from the two countries’ who hold official passports.

During the ASEAN-Mercosur Ministerial Meeting, the nations’ ministers discussed a host of regional and international issues, such as the current financial crisis, energy and food security and the WTO’s Doha negotiations, as well as orientations and measures to boost ASEAN-Mercosur cooperation.

They agreed on areas of priority for cooperation, including economics and trade, finance, energy, agriculture, transport and a number of other trans-national challenges.

They also agreed to hold regular ministerial-level meetings to strengthen multilateral cooperation between the two blocs in the near future.

Mercosur is a regional organisation which consists of five members: Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Source: VNA

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Bangkok’s airport paralyzed after protesters’ intrusion, big loss expected

(26/11/2008)Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport was paralyzed on Wednesday, with most flights canceled for the day, after protesters led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) expanded their besiege on state agencies to the airport on Tuesday evening in a showdown to topplethe government led by premier Somchai Wongsawat.

The escalated political confrontation is expected to cause more loss to the country's image and tourism industry.

Thousands of passengers, many of them foreigners, were stranded at the airport after the PAD stormed into the passenger terminal, blocked the toll way towards the airport on Tuesday evening, prompting the Airports of Thailand (AOT) to shut down the airport's operation after 9:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) for now.

To add to the tensity, four explosions happened early Wednesday morning near the Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Don Mueangdomestic airport, injuring at least 12 people.

The PAD announced Wednesday that the protesters would occupy and shut down the Suvanarbhumi airport until Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat resigns.

Some foreign embassies, including those of China and United States, have warned its citizens against travelling to Thailand for now or staying away from demonstration sites in the country to avoid possible harm.

Thai airliners on Wednesday canceled most of their international flights outbound or inbound. On Tuesday night, some international flights heading to Suvarnabhumi were forced to shift destinations to land at nearby countries like Singapore or other provincial airports in Thailand like Chiang Mai, or return to origins.

Thai Airways International (THAI), the country's flagship carrier on Wednesday that its 16 flights initially scheduled to land at Suvarnabhumi Airport on the day were diverted to Don Mueang airport and U-Tapao airport in Chon Buri province, some 200kilometers from Bangkok.

All its inbound and outbound flights from Suvarnabhumi are temporarily suspended until the airport resumes normal operations, the company's statement said.

Bangkok Airways announced that it canceled 24 domestic and international flights to and from the Suvarnabhumi Airport Wednesday.

The budget airliner Thai Air Asia said its 28 flights to and from Suvarnabhumi on Wednesday were canceled.

Serirat Prasutanon, director of the Suvarnabhumi airport, said the PAD besiege caused the airport to lose about 50 million baht (1.43 million U.S. dollars) of income daily. Some 700 flights use the airport daily, but now most of them were canceled.

The PAD protests, especially the intrusion into airports, are expected to deal another big blow to the already sluggish Thai economy, which is foreign-investment and tourism-oriented, at a time just weeks away from the peak tourist season during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Olarn Chaipravat, Deputy Prime Minister overseeing economic policy, acknowledged that the PAD protests would undermine the country's image abroad and hurt investor confidence.

"They (PAD) have the right to protest, but they must consider the rights of others. And they should also consider the damage caused to the entire country," Olarn was quoted by Bangkok Post assaying.

The PAD stormed airports in key tourist hubs in the country, prompting brief shutdowns of Krabi, Phuket and Hat Yai airports in Thai south in August when they seized state agencies and occupied the Government House, in their first mass battle to bring down the Somchai government, which the PAD said is a proxy of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The government had to set up a temporary office at the Don Mueang airport, the former Bangkok International Airport before Suvarnabhumi opened in September, 2006, and now used for domestic and military use.

On Tuesday, the PAD besieged Don Mueang airport at initial reports that the charter plane boarding Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from Peru was to land there. But the flight was reportedly delayed and the premier was expected to arrive in Thailand on Wednesday en route a yet-to-confirm provincial airport.

Apichart Sankary, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), predicted that the Thai tourism business will suffer great loss next year because of the political turmoil.

Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kohsurat said authorities were working with the Thai Travel Agents Association and Airports of Thailand to assist tourists and advise on alternative travel routes to Suvarnabhumi airport.

Source: VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

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HoChiMinh City urges more investment in ports

HCM City expects to expand development of seaports in the next few years, city officials told the 34th annual conference on seaports organised by the ASEAN Ports Association on Nov. 25.

The conference focused on ways of developing the city’s port system, staff to operate the systems, and privatisation.

Nguyen Trung Tin, deputy chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said upgrading seaports was vital for the city’s economic growth.

Tin added that incentives would be offered to companies that invest in developing the city’s ports.

According to the Vietnam Port Association, 50 million tonnes of commodities are transported annually through the city’s port system.

They predicted that goods transported through city ports would increase to 100 million tonnes by 2011.

Vietnam has about 150 ports of varying sizes. Those in the south play a key role in the movement of commodities.

Source: VNN

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30 percent of oil refinery stocks to be sold abroad

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has announced that it will sell up to 30 percent of its shares in oil refineries to foreign partners that are ready and willing to supply crude oil to those plants on a long-term basis.

Delivering this announcement during the West Pacific gas industry’s 10 th conference-cum-exhibition that took place recently, PetroVietnam’s General Director Tran Ngoc Canh stressed that the percentage of stocks to be sold may be increased in special cases.

As well as Dung Quat, the country’s first oil refinery, currently being built in the central province of Quang Ngai and scheduled for completion in February 2009, PetroVietnam has plans to build two other plants.

One of these two, with an estimated output capacity of 200,000 barrels a day and investment capital of 6 billion USD, is to be built in the central province of Thanh Hoa in a joint venture with the Kuwait international oil and gas group and the Idemitsu Kosan group of Japan .

The other, also with a production capacity of 200,000 barrels a day, is scheduled to be built in the southern region, the country’s largest consumer centre. The project is still at the discussion stag with foreign partners, including the Venezuelan National Oil and Gas Group.

Despite being the third-largest producer of crude oil in Southeast Asia with an average output of 300,000 barrels a day, Vietnam still has to import petroleum due to lack of oil refineries.

According to PetroVietnam, the country will need to buy approximately 26.5 tonnes of crude oil to supply the three refineries when they are operational.

Currently, BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, as well as a number of companies from Venezuela and the Middle East are in a race to become a supplier of crude oil to Vietnam .

Once operational, these three oil refineries will help the country to reduce its import and trade deficit.

Source: VNA

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Tet crush begins at HCMC railway station

Scalpers are offering Tet travelers a reprieve from the madness of trying to book train tickets through official channels.

By noon Monday, many people at the Saigon Railway Station were exhausted after queuing for hours for tickets to travel for next year’s Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

Despite the fact that the SMS ticket booking service has been rolled out to smooth the path for train travelers, it appears joining the rush at the station is still the only sure-fire way to get a ticket home.

At Tet, which falls on January 26 next year, Vietnamese everywhere return to their families, even from abroad, after working away from home for a year.

Saigon Railway Station launched an SMS ticket service on November 15. The service is supposed to allow customers to send a message from their cell-phones to book a ticket. The train station is supposed to reply with a time for the customer to collect their tickets.

But many travelers have complained of technical problems when trying to book tickets through cell-phones.

“I had to get up at 4 a.m. to send a message to the service,” said Lan Anh, a student from the Ho Chi Minh City-based Open University. “But it was not until I sent a fifth text that I received a time to pick up the tickets.”

“My [slot] number is 508,” she said. “It is already 11 a.m. and the 308th customer has only just been able to collect their ticket. I have no idea when it will be my turn.”

Trang, a sophomore at the HCMC Economics University, said she began sending texts to the e-ticket service at 4:30 a.m.

“But I had to use three different cell-phone numbers and the message was only delivered on my 10th try,” Trang told Thanh Nien.

Trang said she had been waiting at the station for four-and-half hours and her turn was yet to come up.

To make matters worse, the www.vetau.com.vn website, which usually offers a pre-Tet online booking service, crashed on November 15 and has not been restored.

Saigon Railway Station head Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuong told Thanh Nien the SMS ticket service was just a last resort. She said the station would just be able to meet around 30 percent of passenger demand for tickets when it hits a crescendo a week before Tet.

The train is the most popular mode of transportation for Tet holidays as many consider long-distance road travel too time-consuming and unsafe and air travel too expensive.

Scalpers jump in

The logjam in the regular ticket booking service has created a lively black market in tickets, supplied by scalpers who buy tickets in bulk with the intention of selling them at a premium.

Last week, a Thanh Nien correspondent was asked for a VND170,000 (US$10) “commission” on each of the five train tickets to Da Nang he asked a scalper to supply.

Train tickets to Hanoi, usually VND900,000 ($53.2), attracted an additional VND220,000 each from scalpers.

A ticket dealer, identified only as C., said he could even deliver tickets to a customer’s home.

All the scalpers Thanh Nien met knew the train and fare schedules very well.

But many of them declined to give out their cell-phone numbers, fearing their shady business would be exposed.

Do Quang Van, deputy head of the Saigon Railway Station, said in recent days the security guards had suspected several people, who had bought tickets in bulk, of being scalpers.

The District 3 police, where the station is based, said they had questioned at least 15 scalpers. But the common practice was just to reprimand them, police said.

The station management said it will increase surveillance for scalpers by noting customers’ identity card numbers to ensure each person does not exceed the three ticket maximum.

Source: thanhniennews

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East-West highway project to meet 2010 deadline

The East-West Highway project in Ho Chi Minh City will meet the February 2010 deadline, the management board of East-West Highway and HCMC water environment projects announced Tuesday.

According to the board, 60 percent of the 22-kilometer highway project is done. Construction of the project’s major bridges Chu Y, Cha Va and Calmette are scheduled for completion in early 2009.

Dang Ngoc Hoi, head of the HCMC water environment project, said work for the project’s sewage treatment factory and drainage system will be completed later this year.

Source:thanhniennews

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FDI exceeds US $60 billion

In the past 11 months, more than US $60 billion of foreign capital (FDI) was registered in Vietnam. A large part of the sum comes from large-scale industrial projects.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, foreign investors registered to invest US $59 billion in new projects and to increase capital for operating projects by US $1.09 billion so far this year. Registered FDI for November alone hit over US $781 million.


Industry and construction are the most attractive fields, attracting US $32.5 billion, followed by service sector with around US $26.2 billion. Agriculture and pisciculture is less attractive to foreign investors, luring nearly US $250 million.

Malaysia, thanks to the Lion Group’s US $9.8 billion steel complex project in Ninh Thuan Province, becomes the largest investor in Vietnam. This huge project was kicked off last week in Ninh Thuan. Taiwan and Japan rank the second and the third largest investors.

Other provinces which attracted large foreign investment include Ninh Thuan, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and HCM City.

Source: VNE

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Online payments open nation to e-commerce

A new online payment portal, PayNet, is set to open up the world of e-commerce in Vietnam after being launched at a ceremony on Nov. 22.

Paynet chief executive officer Nguyen Chien Thang, said he was optimistic about the development of the online payment system in Vietnam over the next few years.

Vietnam currently boasts more than 60 million mobile subscribers, 15 million bank accounts and more than 20 million people access and use the internet. That means huge potential for online payment service providers, he said.


Paynet online payment portal, which could be reached at http://netcash.paynet.vn , will function similarly to Paypal in the United States , which has more than 160 million accounts globally, or to Chinese Alipay that has around 100 million online payment accounts.

In order to ensure the privacy and security of sellers and buyers, the portal is made based on OpenWay’s Way4 technology. Buyers can make online transactions via the portal without having bank accounts, Visa and Master Card like other portals in Vietnam .

Each customer will set up an account with a private code number, to be able to do online shopping. All the money that buyers put into the account will be deposited into banks after being transferred to sellers. All transactions will be followed up with email or SMS mobile phone message.

Present, the portal is on a trial run at e-commerce floor www.hlink.vn .

Thang said he hoped the portal would soon become a standard system and would make an active contribution to fostering the development of online payments in the country.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, 30 of the country’s 63 cities and provinces have approved e-commerce development plans, and a number of leading international firms in the field of electronic payment systems have targeted the Vietnamese market.

The expansion of e-commerce has been made easier by the creation of a legal framework. The Law on Electronic Payments was passed in 2006. The Government also issued Decree No. 57/2006/ND-CP stipulating that electronic documents have the same legal validity as traditional paper documents. The decree applies to all commercial activities such as soliciting and accepting offers and signing and implementing contracts.

The e-commerce sector, however, still has hurdles to overcome. They include poor network security, a common distrust of e-commerce among the general population, a relatively new and untested legal framework, and the lack of a comprehensive and reliable goods delivery system.

Source: VNA

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Ministry issues rules for OTC market

The Ministry of Finance has issued a regulation on over-the-counter (OTC) stock transactions at the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre (HASTC).

Under the regulation, the minimum allowed transaction volume in unlisted shares traded through HASTC would be 10 shares or bonds, and new shares registered for their first day of transactions would be traded electronically only by the negotiation method, without using a daily trading band.


Thereafter, there would continue to be no daily trading band for bonds, while shares would be able to trade within a 10 percent band.

Whether foreign investors would be allowed to participate will depend on a decision by the Prime Minister.

Other regulatory provisions regarding the OTC market are similar to those governing the listed market. For instance, investors are allowed to open a single trading account and are not allowed to buy and sell shares under the same code during the course of a single day.

Source: VietNamNews

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The race for retailing premises becomes blazing hot

Vietnamese retailers do not have many more days to get prepared for the opening of the retail market, slated for January 1, 2009, for they have to speed up to scramble for advantageous positions for retailing premises before it is too late.

Fighting over retailing premises

Retailers have all heard about the fight to get the right to develop the business premises at No. 168 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in district 3, HCM City, conducted by Saigon Co-op.

The land plot was the asset of the bankrupted Epco-Minh Phung Group, which was seized under a court’s verdict and being put under the management of Vietcombank HCM City branch.


Vietcombank has been leasing to Saigon Co-op for the retailer’s supermart for the last eight years. Now Vietcombank plans to appraise the value of the asset and sell the land plot by auction. However, the land appraisal and auctioning have raised arguments, especially about the prices.

Nguyen Thi Hanh, General Director of Saigon Co-op, has confirmed the determination to get the land plot. Hanh said that Saigon Co-op needs the business premises to serve its strategy on expanding the retail network. Besides, Saigon Co-op has spent a lot of money to build and develop Saigon Co-op supemart on the land plot, therefore, it will not lose the well known retailing point.

Not only has Saigon Co-op been trying to expand in retail, but other retailers have also been trying their best to expand the distribution networks and book the most beautiful positions in cities and towns for retailing premises. Parkson, for example, after firmly positioning themselves in HCM City, is marching towards the north and choosing two advantageous positions in Hai Phong City and Hanoi which have the total area of 35,000 sq m.

Vien Thong A, specializing in mobile phones and laptops, have also continuously been launching new distribution points. Vien Thong A has opened nerly 30 supermarts and is planning to have 40 supermarts by the end of the year.

A General Director of a supemart chain, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the money injected in supermarts now will not bring money promptly. However, retailers still need to ‘book’ advantageous positions, which will bring money later on.

The director said that if retailers only decide to make investments when the purchasing power increases, they will not have opportunities because all the best positions will be fully occupied.

Meanwhile, according to him, the most important thing for retailers is to have the best and beautiful premises. This is also the thing which local distributors use to compete with foreign retailers, who have big money and good experience.

Shaking hands with real estate developers

In order to shorten the investment time, retailers now tend to join forces with real estate developers.

Saigon Co-op Investment and Development Company (SCID) and Building Materials and Construction Company (BMC) have been joining forces to develop the trade and service centre and Co-op supermart at the building invested and built by BMC.

Under the agreement signed between the two sides, Saigon Co-op uses the premises at the projects carried out by BMC to open supemarts. The first supermart, established under the agreement, was Coop Mart BMC, set up in mid-2006 in Phu Tho Hoa ward in Tan Phu district, HCM City.

Nguyen Van Ngoc, General Director of BMC, said the cooperation with retailers can bring more facilities to people while helping make it more attractive for real estate projects. Meanwhile, Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of Saigon Co-op, said that the cooperation with real estate developers allows retailers to develop the distribution networks rapidly and with low investment costs.

Source: Tuoi tre

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State says ‘no’ to corruption

VietNamNet Bridge – State chief inspector Tran Van Truyen talks with Dai Doan Ket (Great Unity) newspaper about a decisive Government policy to combat corruption.

Offices and organisations are currently misusing different levels of ‘confidential’ documents to hide and limit the public of their clandestine actions. Will this problem be amended to ensure transparency?

Foreign consultants have made very clear that public transparency was the first compulsory condition to effectively fight corruption. This must go into the State’s policies and regulations on social management. People will not be able to provide adequate supervisory oversight, if everything is not transparent.

The State Inspectorate has already lodged a petition to the Government, asking it to re-stipulate the promulgation of documents it publishes, except those documents about national security and State secrets.

It is impossible to say that every document is confidential.

There is a Government policy which regulates that ministries and companies must have a "spokesperson" in charge of providing information to the press and the public. How do you evaluate the implementation of this in the past years? What does the draft plan say about the rights of the press and people in accessing information?

The "spokesperson" regulation has been implemented in many ministries and industries. This, in my opinion, is a sound measure to provide information to the press, through which people are able to understand the policies and laws of the Party and Government, as well as providing relevant information for civil authority activities.

Yet, the regulation has not yet been strictly implemented in many places. I have received many complaints from journalists and people about the problem. It is difficult to say in specific, but many ministries, central offices, cities and provinces are inadvertently or intentionally hiding information. They are also providing only part of the truth, which causes people to not be able to access sufficient information.

The State Inspectorate will complete the regulation in the draft plan about the corruption prevention strategy to maintain the role of "spokesperson" as a way to tell the truth to the press and people.

The pending report on property and income of government officials has not been finished. Why is it so late? Why have some offices refused to publicise the income of their staff?

Publicising income is a fundamental target to fight corruption, but it depends on each country’s conditions to implement it, of which the financial control system is a legal basis.

At present, transactions are mainly in cash. So, in essence, the portion of publicised income is very small, while the unpublished one is fairly big. It is only a formality, if we ask them to publicise their income immediately. Such publicity will only have an effect if national income is controlled through the banking system.

In addition, the constitution also regulates to not publicise some issues relevant to personal properties. In the coming time, the constitution will probably have to be amended, and legal documents created to help people have oversight over the property and income of government officials and civil servants.

Then, once it is discovered that people are embezzling funds, there must be methods to make the person accountable for his actions, even if he no longer works.

Is there any sanctions for officials who delay making their income public?

Although the State Inspectorate already supervised and tried to push organisations, many officials were very slow to publicise their income.

There are many reasons, I think.

Under the regulation, they must complete enumerating their property and income by December 31, 2007. But many officials in enterprises, cities and provinces could not finish it on time, because they had to concentrate on their economic development duties.

The draft plan on anti-corruption strategy by 2020 will expand the number of people required to declare their property and income, while regulating their accountability to explain the origin of their property and income.

It will also regulate payment through accounts for expenditures paid from the State budget to government officials.

Source: VietNamNews

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Maradona suýt bị giết

Một thông tin gây chấn động làng bóng đá thế giới khi một người đàn ông quốc tịch Anh đã bị bắt giữ do có ý định tiếp cận và ra tay hạ sát tân HLV Argentina trong trận đấu giao hữu giữa đội bóng vùng Nam Mỹ và Scotland diễn ra hôm 19-11.


Kẻ ám sát được xác định là Ian Wellwort, 43 tuổi, cư trú tại Middlesbrough. Hắn là người không có việc làm và có biểu hiện bất thường về tâm lý. Wellwort bị phát hiện có hành vi nghi vấn quanh khu vực ngoài SVĐ Hampden Park, Scotland, trong trận đấu ra mắt trên cương vị HLV của Maradona.

Ian khai rằng hắn ta muốn trả thù Maradona vì cho rằng bàn thắng "Bàn tay của chúa" trong trận đấu Argentina vượt qua Anh tại World Cup 1986 (ảnh) đã khiến hắn mất cả tiền thua độ lẫn người vợ. "Tôi đã vay mượn số tiền 500 bảng để đánh cá. Nếu Anh giành chiến thắng tại Mexico 1986 thì tôi sẽ có số tiền gấp 5 lần nhưng cuối cùng tôi phải trả nợ 125.000 bảng".

Người đàn ông 43 tuổi này tiết lộ ý định muốn "cắt cổ" Maradona. Báo chí Argentina đưa tin, chỉ một tuần sau vụ việc ám sát bất thành xảy ra, danh tính cũng như mưu đồ của Wellwort mới được tiết lộ. Tên này sẽ phải đối mặt với mức án tù 5 năm.

Source: thanhnien

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FIFA trừng phạt Peru

Tổng thư ký LĐBĐ Nam Mỹ, Eduardo Deluca đã thông báo cho các quan chức bóng đá Peru về việc cấm vận của FIFA.
Theo quyết định của FIFA, đội tuyển quốc gia Peru (ảnh) cũng như các CLB thuộc quốc gia này sẽ không được tranh tài tại các giải đấu quốc tế. Nguyên nhân là do chính phủ Peru can thiệp vào công việc của LĐBĐ nước này.

Trước mắt, trong cuộc bốc thăm chia bảng Copa Libertadores, các CLB Peru sẽ không có mặt. Nhưng đó không phải điều nguy hiểm nhất với bóng đá Peru. Đội tuyển quốc gia của họ có thể bị loại khỏi vòng loại World Cup 2010 dù đã thi đấu được 1/2 chặng đường. Ngoài ra, quyền đăng cai giải U-20 Nam Mỹ của Peru vào năm tới cũng sẽ bị tước.

Source: thanhnien

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DCG optimistic about Vietnamese economy

Vietnam’s economy is becoming good again after a period of “too hot” development, said John Shrimpton, director of Dragon Capital Group (DCG) in Ho Chi Minh City.

Addressing a forum about Vietnam, as part of the 10th Euro Finance Week held in Frankfurt, Germany, from November 19 to 23, the economist from the DCG pointed out good signals in the economy, including lower inflation, reduction in trade surplus, and the stability of the Vietnamese currency.

Vietnam’s exports during the first ten months of the year increased by 13 percent, the highest level in Asia, he added.

The 10th Euro Finance Week draws the participation of about 600 experts and 10,000 visitors from 60 countries around the world.

It is the biggest forum on the financial and insurance sector in Europe.

Source: VNA

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Work starts on $9.8 billion steel mill in central Vietnam

The construction of the US$9.8 billion Ca Na Steel Mill Complex in the central province of Ninh Thuan began Sunday, Nov 23'2008.

The four-stage steel project, being developed by Malaysia’s Lion Corporation and the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin), is due for completion in 2025.

The complex will be built on 1,650 hectares and will include coal and steel processing plants, two thermal power plants and a seaport.

The investment for the first phase, from 2008 to 2010, is estimated at nearly $2.75 billion.

When it becomes fully operational, the Ca Na Steel Mill Complex will have an annual capacity of 14.42 million tons and a workforce of 50,000.

Source:thanhniennews.com

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HCMC to adjust business license fees

Ho Chi Minh City will halve the fee for issuing business licenses to VND100,000 ($6) for cooperatives, cooperative unions, private education institutions, private medical clinics and cultural and information agencies.

The new fees will apply when the HCMC People’s Council approves a proposal submitted Monday by the municipal People’s Committee.

However, the business license issuance fee of VND100,000 will remain unchanged for private and joint businesses, as will the VND200,000 fee for joint-stock, limited and state-owned companies.

Business licenses are free for state-owned companies becoming joint-stock companies.

Source:thanhniennews.com

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SMART_ Technology solution for transportation in developping cities

What is SMART?
SMART (Stormwater Management And Road Tunnel)is an acronym for Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel, a project under the Federal Government initiated to alleviate the flooding problem in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. The project is implemented through a joint venture pact between MMC Corp Berhad and Gamuda Berhad with the Department of Irrigation And Drainage Malaysia and the Malaysian Highway Authority as the executing government agencies.

Studies had indicated that the critical stretch of Sungai Klang between Sg Klang /Sg Ampang confluence and Sg Gombak/ Sg Klang confluence to be flood prone areas and the fact that the river is further constrained by the Jalan Tun Perak Bridge (near Masjid Jamek) which is low, has resulted in the surrounding areas to experience flash floods.

The SMART system will be able to divert large volumes of flood water from entering this critical stretch via a holding pond, bypass tunnel and storage reservoir. This will reduce the flood water level at the Jalan Tun Perak Bridge, preventing spillover.


Other benefits of SMART
The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) project was incepted by the project proponent, namely MMC Corp Berhad-Gamuda Berhad Joint Venture, primarily to mitigate the recurring floods in the city of Kuala Lumpur, the financial, business and commercial hub of Malaysia. However, at the design stage of SMART, the dual purpose concept was born from the ingenuity of the project proponents and the motorway tunnel was integrated into the system to relieve traffic congestion at the main Southern Gateway to the city centre.

The Motorway to Ease Congestion
The motorway tunnel will provide an alternative route for motorists from the Southern Gateway, i.e. KL-Seremban Highway, Federal Highway, Besraya and East-West Link entering and exiting the city centre. This will reduce traffic congestion at the Southern Gateway leading to the city centre. The travel time will be reduced significantly. For example from the Jalan Istana Interchange-Kampung Pandan the expected travel time is a mere four minutes compared to ten to fifteen minutes using the existing roads.

Source: smarttunnel.com.my

( From Attirily: this is a good solution to manage and improve the flood prevention and traffic congestion in developing cities. Malaysian government had commissioned to a company to construct a dual purposes tunnel right under Kuala Lumpur city. How to construct this tunnel successfully and where SMART should be applied? Please visit smarttunnel website here for more information and give your valuable comments for SMART.)

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Đường hầm giao thông thoát lũ độc đáo ở Kuala Lumpur

Hệ thống đường hầm giao thông và điều tiết lũ (SMART) là công trình đầu tiên thuộc thể loại này trên thế giới, với sự kết hợp “hai trong một” - hầm ngầm thoát nước và đường hầm xa lộ, tạo thêm một tuyến đường ra vào cửa ngõ phía nam Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

Sau trận mưa lớn và dài, với lượng mưa hàng trăm mm/ngày xảy ra vào năm 2004, cả Thủ đô Kuala Lumpur từng lâm vào tình trạng ngập lụt nặng, giao thông đình trệ, thiệt hại lớn, tương tự như trận mưa vừa xảy ra ngập lụt ở Thủ đô Hà Nội.

Trước tình hình này, chính quyền thành phố Kuala Lampur đã cho phép Tập đoàn Gamuda cùng Công ty MMC thực hiện dự án theo hình thức BOT, với tổng vốn khoảng 700 triệu USD, khai thác trong 40 năm, thông qua thu phí xe ôtô đi vào đường hầm, với giá 2 Ringgit (RM)/lượt (1RM tương đương khoảng 4.000 VND).

Theo thiết kế, SMART có chiều dài 4,7 km (đường hầm xa lộ dài 3km, 1,7 km đường dẫn), cao 13,2 m (2 tầng cho giao thông, 1 tầng cho thoát nước khi mưa nhỏ) rộng 6,5 m (2 làn xe), 250 m có 1 cửa thoát lũ và thông khí, 1 km hầm có độ độ chênh 1 m; lưu lượng 30.000 xe/ngày, tốc độ xe thấp nhất 60 km/h; được điều khiển từ trung tâm thông qua 220 camera và 72 màn hình.

Với hệ thống công nghệ và kỹ thuật hiện đại, mọi thông tin liên lạc bằng di động và sóng radio đảm bảo tốt trong SMART.

Hệ thống SMART hoạt động theo nguyên tắc ba chế độ dựa vào lưu lượng nước và trạng thái hoạt động của đường hầm xa lộ.

Chế độ thứ nhất: trong điều kiện bình thường: khi mưa ít hoặc không mưa, đoạn xa lộ này mở cửa cho các phương tiện giao thông.

Chế độ thứ hai: trong điều kiện lượng mưa ở mức trung bình: hệ thống SMART được kích hoạt, nước mưa được dẫn vào đường hầm phụ nằm dưới đường hầm xa lộ, đoạn xa lộ này vẫn mở cửa cho phương tiện giao thông đi lại.

Chế độ thứ ba: bão lũ: các trạm giám sát sẽ theo dõi nhu cầu đóng cửa xa lộ (có tính đủ thời gian để xe cuối cùng ra khỏi xa lộ), các cổng hầm tự động mở để nước mưa tràn vào và thoát nước ra hồ chứa. Khi hết bão lũ, SMART mở cửa lại trong vòng 48 giờ kể từ khi đóng cửa.

SMART còn có những tính năng an toàn mà một đường hầm thông thông thường như: cổng kiểm soát nước lũ tự động; lối thoát hiểm; hệ thống thông khí.

Ông Wan Azhar Wan Yeop, Trợ lý Truyền thông, Tập đoàn Gamuda cho biết: theo tính toán khi thiết kế, SMART có tần suất sử dụng thoát lũ 2 lần/năm, nhưng trên thực tế, kể từ khi đưa vào sử dụng (tháng 7/2007) đến tháng 5/2008 đã có 7 lần SMART hoạt động ở chế độ thứ 2 và 2 lần hoạt động ở chế độ thứ ba.

Thay vì trước đây ô tô phải mất 30 phút để đi từ ngoại thành phía Nam vào trung tâm Kuala Lampur, nay nếu qua đường hầm chỉ mất 5 phút. Đặc biệt, từ khi SMART vào hoạt động, Thủ đô Kula Lampur đã thoát cảnh ngập lụt như trước đây.

By Mỹ Dạ
Via: Vneconomy

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"Bê tông linh hoạt" chịu được động đất

Công ty xây dựng Kajima (Nhật Bản) đã nghiên cứu và chế tạo thành công loại "bê tông linh hoạt" có thể chịu được động đất. Hiện nó được sử dụng tại nhiều tòa nhà cao tầng ở Nhật để chống các cơn địa chấn.

Loại bê tông này chứa những sợi polyme dày bằng sợi tóc người, thường được sử dụng trong vỏ xe, đan lại với nhau để ngăn chặn vết nứt lan tỏa trong bê tông.

Thay vì bị bẻ cong và có thể đổ về một phía có lực tác động lớn sau khi có vết nứt như các loại bê tông thông thường, bê tông này sẽ làm cho tòa nhà vững chắc hơn nếu chúng bị rung chuyển bởi động đất và vẫn bình thường nếu có một trận động đất với cường độ lớn tác động.


Công ty Kajima đã mất 10 năm nghiên cứu "bê tông linh hoạt” và sản phẩm đã được giới thiệu vào năm 2003, nhưng cho đến nay loại bê tông này chỉ mới chiếm 0,1% thị trường bê tông Nhật Bản, một phần do giá thành của nó cao gấp 10 lần bê tông thông thường.

Nhật Bản là đất nước thường xuyên hứng chịu các trận động đất, chiếm 20% số trận động đất có cường độ lớn hơn 6 độ Richter trên thế giới.

Source:ashui.com

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Shanghai Tower Named Year's Best Skyscraper

The Shanghai World Financial Centre, the world's second-tallest building that some say resembles an elegant bottle opener, was named on Thursday by architects as the best skyscraper completed this year.

"The simplicity of its form as well as its size dramatises the idea of the skyscraper," said Carol Willis of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, an international group of architects and engineers.

The Shanghai tower was design by architectural firm Kohn Pederson Fox Associates, which was founded in New York and has offices worldwide.

Architect Tim Johnson, who led the council's selection committee, cited the building's innovative structural design. Steel trusses gird against the forces of wind and earthquake and "made the building lighter, made it use less steel, and contributed to its sustainability," he said in an interview.

The tower's tapered form creates the impression it is dissolving into the heavens, he added.

The Council on Tall Buildings is the body that determines the world's tallest building – a designation that seems to jump around the globe and will soon shift to Dubai.

Willis, who heads New York's Skyscraper Museum, said there are periodic predictions that the skyscraper is dead but super-tall buildings are back in vogue – especially across Asia and the oil-rich Middle East and Russia.

Signature skyscrapers have become a tool for cities like Dubai, Moscow and Shanghai to showcase themselves as global financial centres and provide a comfort zone for executives, Willis said. The towers in Dubai project an image of modernity for the desert capital.

The 2001 terror attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers conjured fears for many about living and working in landmark buildings, but those concerns seem to have largely subsided, the experts said.

Hurdles

24 buildings of at least 800ft tall (244m) were completed this year, compared to just eight in 2005, according to Emporis, a company that compiles building data. Next year, 47 towers of that height or taller are scheduled to be completed, though the economic downturn could halt construction on a few, the firm's Daniel Kieckhefer said.

A significant hurdle for the 101-storey, 1,614ft-tall (492m) Shanghai tower was a long construction hiatus from the mid-1990s to 2000. Construction resumed after China emerged from the Asian economic downturn. Another hurdle was a revision in the plans for a taller tower with a trapezoidal hole at the top in answer to complaints that a round hole in the original design evoked Japan's rising sun symbol.

The Shanghai tower was chosen by the group over three newly completed buildings in other regions that received praise: the New York Times Building in New York, 51 Lime Street in London, and the Bahrain World Trade Centre in Manama.

The Shanghai tower contains four million square feet of floor space (377,000m²) to be occupied by some 12,000 office workers on 70 floors, with retail space and a conference centre below, a hotel above, and topped by an observation deck.

The tower stands second in height to the 1,667ft-tall (508m) Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan, but both will soon be eclipsed by the Burj Dubai under construction in Dubai. Once its spire is finished, the mostly residential Burj Dubai is expected to soar 2,625ft (800m) into the sky though its ultimate height has been kept a secret.

Developers of another planned residential tower in Dubai say that it will be 1km, or 3,280ft, high.

By Andrew Stern, Reuters.

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Sửa chữa công trình bê tông cốt thép bằng phương pháp… dán!

Sửa chữa, gia cố công trình bằng cách sử dụng vật liệu FRP - fiber reinforced polymer là một phương pháp mới được nghiên cứu và áp dụng tại các nước tiên tiến. Phương pháp này có rất nhiều ưu điểm như thi công đơn giản, nhanh chóng, không cần phải đập phá kết cấu, không cần sử dụng cốp pha, đảm bảo giữ nguyên hình dạng kết cấu cũ, có tính thẩm mỹ cao, đặc biệt là với các công trình đòi hỏi khả năng chống thấm và ăn mòn cao.

Vật liệu FRP là gì?

FRP là một dạng vật liệu composit được chế tạo từ các vật liệu sợi, trong đó có ba loại sợi thường được sử dụng là sợi carbon CFRP, sợi thủy tinh GFRP và sợi aramid AFRP. Đặc tính của các loại sợi này là có cường độ chịu kéo rất cao, mô đun đàn hồi rất lớn, trọng lượng nhỏ, khả năng chống mài mòn cao, cách điện, chịu nhiệt tốt, bền theo thời gian… Các dạng FRP dùng trong xây dựng thường là: dạng tấm, thanh, cáp, vải, dạng cuộn… Trong sửa chữa và gia cố công trình xây dựng thường dùng các loại FRP dạng tấm và dạng vải.


Với các tính chất kể trên, vải FRP thường được dùng để sửa chữa sự giảm khả năng chịu lực hoặc hư hỏng của các phần tử kết cấu bằng cách dán hoặc bọc bên ngoài cấu kiện.

Chúng ta có thể sử dụng vật liệu FRP trong những trường hợp sau đây:

- Tăng khả năng chịu cắt và chịu uốn của dầm bê tông cốt thép để sửa chữa, gia cố và tăng cường khả năng chịu tải động.

- Tăng cường khả năng chịu uốn của sàn bê tông cốt thép tại vùng có mô men dương và mô men âm.

- Tăng khả năng chịu uốn và bó cột bê tông cốt thép để tăng cường khả năng chịu lực, chịu tải động.

Trong kết cấu bê tông cốt thép, đối với tường bê tông nhẹ và tường không có cốt thép như các khối xây gạch, vật liệu FRP cũng chứng minh lợi ích bằng cách tăng khả năng chịu cắt và chịu uốn. Ngoài ra, đối với kết cấu tường vật liệu FRF còn có khả năng chống cháy, nổ rất tốt. Các kết cấu sử dụng PRP để tăng cường khả năng chịu lực hoặc sửa chữa hư hỏng cũng rất đa dạng như: tường cứng bê tông cốt thép, dầm, cột, sàn bị khoét lỗ, khối xây, tấm sàn, bề mặt sàn và các dạng công trình khác như dầm sàn cầu, ống khói, đường hầm…

Các phương pháp thi công

Mục đích của công tác thi công sửa chữa gia cố kết cấu bê tông cốt thép bằng tấm FRP là đặt tấm FRP vào vị trí cần tăng cường khả năng chịu lực với hướng sợi phù hợp với phương chịu lực, để tận dụng được khả năng chịu kéo và độ bền của sợi FRP, đồng thời phải đảm bảo cho tấm FRP không bị tách lớp, cũng như tách khỏi bề mặt bê tông. Thông thường việc thi công dán tấm FRP gồm các bước: chuẩn bị sửa chữa bề mặt, sơn lót tăng cường độ bám dính, trét phẳng bề mặt, phủ keo hoặc nhựa dán, đặt tấm dán lên lớp keo, chờ lớp keo khô với thời gian quy định rồi dán các lớp tiếp theo, cuối cùng đợi cấu kiện khô hoàn toàn thì sơn phủ bảo vệ và thẩm mỹ. Hiện nay phổ biến nhất là hai phương pháp thi công đối với loại vật liệu tấm (sheet) và vải (fabric) FRP: dán theo phương pháp khô và dán theo phương pháp ướt.

Thi công dán theo phương pháp khô: Bước 1 là chuẩn bị bề mặt bê tông, trước khi gia cố lắp đặt tấm FRP thì bề mặt bê tông phải được xử lý kỹ. Sự nguyên vẹn của hệ thống phụ thuộc vào chất lượng và khả năng chịu lực của bê tông đủ để cho liên kết dán của tấm FRP và bê tông được đảm bảo. Các vết nứt, các mảnh vụn sứt mẻ và cốt thép bị gỉ cần phải được chú ý. Các sứt mẻ và các loại hư hỏng khác cần phải được loại bỏ và được vá lại với các loại vữa sửa chữa phù hợp. Tất cả các vết nứt có bề rộng lớn hơn 0,25 mm cần phải bơm epoxy để sửa chữa. Bước 2 là sơn lót kết cấu cần gia cố, bằng cách dùng cọ lăn ngắn hoặc trung bình. Bước 3: phủ bột trét làm phẳng bề mặt, bột trét được trét bằng các bay cầm tay. Bột trét được sử dụng để làm phẳng bề mặt và lấp các khuyết tật; việc bao phủ hoàn toàn không cần thiết. Bột trét có thể trét lên bề mặt sơn lót còn ướt không cần đợi sơn khô. Bước 4: phủ lớp keo thứ nhất, keo được quét lên bề mặt đã được sơn lót và làm phẳng bằng cọ lăn. Lượng keo sử dụng phụ thuộc vào từng loại FRP được sử dụng. Bước 5: dán tấm FRP, tấm FRP cần được đo và cắt sẵn trước khi đặt lên bề mặt cần gia cố. Tấm FRP được đặt lên bề mặt bê tông và ấn nhẹ nhàng vào lớp keo dán. Trước khi lột lớp giấy dán mặt sau, dùng con lăn bằng cao su lăn theo hướng sợi cho keo dễ dàng ngậm vào các sợi riêng rẽ. Cọ lăn không bao giờ được lăn theo hướng vuông góc với hướng sợi để tránh sợi có thể bị hỏng. Bước 6 là phủ lớp keo thứ hai, có thể được phủ lên sau 30 phút kể từ khi đặt và lăn tấm FRP. Đến lúc này lớp keo đầu tiên đã rút hết vào tấm FRP.

Thi công dán tấm FRP theo kiểu ướt: về trình tự rất giống với phương pháp khô, chỉ có khác biệt trong bước thoa keo nhúng nhựa tấm FRP. Ta chỉ sử dụng tấm vải FRP dạng khô chưa tẩm nhựa. Tấm FRP khô sẽ được tẩm đẫm nhựa đến khi bão hòa và được dán lên bề mặt bê tông đã được xử lý kỹ.

Ưu điểm của phương pháp dán ­ướt là có thể sử dụng cho cấu kiện có kích thước lớn (cột đường kính lớn, mặt đáy sàn, dán bọc ba mặt dầm), liên kết giữa lớp FRP với bề mặt bê tông cũng như liên kết giữa các tấm FRP được đảm bảo hơn, sẽ ít có trường hợp bị phá hoại liên kết. Tuy nhiên, khi dùng phương pháp dán ướt sẽ sử dụng một lượng keo dán rất lớn nên thời gian đợi cho tấm FRP khô keo sẽ lâu, làm cho thời gian thi công kéo dài hơn.

NGÔ QUANG TƯỜNG
(Đại học bách khoa TP.HCM) - báo Khoa học phổ thông
Source: huynhphuclinh.wordpress.com

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Vietnam aviation sector targets airport expansion

VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnamese aviation sector is embarking on a plan to develop a network of 26 airports, including 10 international ones, by 2020.

The plan, which includes expanding existing airports and building new ones, is to cost 221.5 trillion VND, according to an aviation transport development scheme drawn up by the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

According to Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) Chief Pham Quy Tieu, the Government has given the nod to an expansion plan proposed by Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi .

Under the approved plan, a new terminal will be built at Noi Bai, which will help the airport to receive up to 50 million passengers a year by 2020, a huge increase on the estimated 8 million passengers who will use the airport this year.

The CAAV is considering the enlargement of Tan Son Nhat international airport in Ho Chi Minh City to enable it to provide facilities and space for around 70 planes to land by 2015, the CAAV chief said.

It is expected that once the enlargement scheme is completed, Tan Son Nhat airport will be able to handle 23.5 million passengers and 600,000 tonnes of cargo a year.

According to the aviation transport development scheme, the country’s largest airport, Long Thanh international airport will be built in Ho Chi Minh City ’s neighbouring Dong Nai province, with the facilities to provide services to 100 million passengers a year.

Several small airports are currently being upgraded to substitute for Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports if needed, including Da Nang airport in the central city of Da Nang and Cat Bi airport in the northern city of Hai Phong.

Chu Lai airport in the central province of Quang Nam will get 11 trillion VND to build a new passenger terminal with the aim of enabling the airport to cater for 2.2 million passengers by 2015.

Lien Khuong airport in the central highlands province of Lam Dong is being also upgraded so it can serve 943,000 passengers a year by 2015. A new airport to serve planes providing short and medium-range flights is under construction in Phu Quoc island, Kien Giang province. The Phu Quoc airport is expected to welcome 2 million passengers a year.

Rach Gia airport, which is also in Kien Giang province, is set to be expanded to receive 300,000 passengers a year by 2015.

A terminal designed to serve 3 million passengers a year at Can Tho international airport in the Mekong delta city of Can Tho is expected to become operational in May 2010.

There are currently 20 airports in Vietnam , including five international airports which provide services for an estimated 30 million passengers a year, according to the CAAV.

Source: VNA

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PM launches Phu Quoc island airport project

Kien Giang (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended a ground-breaking ceremony for an international airport project on the Phu Quoc island district in the southern province of Kien Giang on November 23 to make the resort island a national tourist and commercial hub.

Once completed in 2012, the Phu Quoc international airport is expected to meet the 4E category of the International Civil Aviation Organisation to ensure the landing of modern aircraft such as B777 and B747-700 and a limited number of the current largest planes such as A380-800.

The 16.2 trillion VND project will cover over 905 ha of land to welcome 20 planes at the peak hours and 7 million passengers a year. The first phase from now till 2020 will take in half of the total investment that will come from the Southern Airports Corporation.

At the ground-breaking ceremony, PM Dung emphasised the importance of the project as a springboard of development for not only the island district of Phu Quoc but also the entire nation.

He called on other relevant agencies to work closely with the Kien Giang administration in upgrading the infrastructure system systematically, emphasizing the north-south transport highway, the island belt road and connection roads.

Only by so doing, should we turn Phu Quoc island district into a national mecca of tourism, services and commerce, concluded the Government leader.--Enditem

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