VietNamNet Bridge - Can Tho airport will come into operation this December, 6 months earlier than expected, according to the Southern Airports Corporation.
Can Tho airport is built on former Tra Noc airport with an expanded area of 400 ha. Almost all the construction items of the 520 billion VND (31 million USD) project, including an upgraded 2,400m runway, have been basically completed.
Early flights will bridge Can Tho and some southern airports, including Tan Son Nhat, Rach Gia and Ca Mau, the Corporation said.
It also plans to lengthen the runway by 600 metres for the airport to receive B767, B777 and similar airplanes.
In March 2008, the Southern Airports Authority began a 1,000 billion VND (60 million USD) project to construct a terminal that can serve 2 million passengers per year. International flights from and to the terminal are planned for 2010.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Can Tho airport to operate in December
Central bank invites int’l bids for project
Hanoi (VNA) - The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) made an announcement on Nov. 19, stating that it is to apply international competitive bidding procedures for goods contracts for its Financial Sector Modernisation and Information Management System (FSMIMS) project. The International Development Association (IDA) has provided a credit facility of 60 million USD to support the SBV’s project. The money will be used to pay for goods and consultancy services necessary for the implementation of the project. The project consists of three primary components; the first of which is designed to modernise the SBV. It will assist the central bank in developing its policies and an institutional framework, as well as increasing capabilities for information management and informed decision-making.
It will provide key input to providing specifications of user needs and the functional requirements of a new ICT platform for information management, and design and build a centralised ICT platform that meets international IT standards to support SBV’s evolving role as a central bank, taking into account all relevant international practices and critical Vietnamese realities.
The second component focuses on strengthening the Credit Information Center (CIC) by assisting the CIC in restructuring the processes for its core business as Vietnam’s public credit registration centre, as well as acquiring and installing a centralised data management system for the collection, storage, processing, analysis and sharing of credit information.
The third component is aimed at enhancing the Deposit Insurance of Vietnam (DIV). It will assist the government-owned deposit insurance agency in re-engineering its business processes and increasing its technological capacity so that the government-owned deposit insurance agency can consolidate its role in Vietnam ’s financial sector safety network.-Enditem
ASEAN forum discusses quality in education
Hanoi (VNA) –The use of independent agencies for the evaluation of education systems is a necessity for ASEAN member countries, said the participants at the 2 nd ASEAN Education Forum in Hanoi on Nov. 19.
Regional differences in educational targets and requirements make the assessment of the quality of education more difficult, they said.
The application of information technology is the best way to bridge the gaps between nations, according to experts attending the forum, hailing from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members nations, as well as non-members.
They also recommended that the region’s governments increase the engagement of non-state educational sectors in order to help relieve the burden on state budgets and achieve the goal of “education for all.”
Taking the theme of “Linking knowledge bridges in ASEAN – Education for all”, the forum focused on creating an ASEAN education space, developing a regional verifying system, improving competitiveness in education, as well as numerous other issues.-Enditem
Yellow Lion oilfield starts pumping black gold
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s fourth-largest oilfield, the Su Tu Vang (Yellow Lion) oilfield, situated on lot 15-1 on a continental shelf off the central province of Binh Thuan, has officially commenced production.
Vu Ngoc An, General Director of the Cuu Long Joint Operating Company (CL JOC), told a press briefing in Hanoi on Nov. 19 that in the month since the field’s first oil well began pumping on Oct. 14, the company has put another four wells into use.
An said that, once the sixth well in the Su Tu Vang oilfield is operational, his company expects to double its crude oil output to 100,000 barrels per day. As a result, the total output for this year is expected to hit 3 million tonnes, 10 percent higher than planned.
The CL JOC, the first company of its kind in Vietnam, was established under an agreement regarding oil exploitation on Lot 15-1, signed on Sept. 16, 1998 by the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam)’s Exploration and Production Corporation (PVEP), the UK’s ConocoPhillips, the Republic of Korea’s National Oil and Gas Corporation and SK Company, and Monaco’s Geopetrol Company.
The company now operates four oilfields, including Su Tu Den (Black Lion), which commenced operations in Oct. 2003. Su Tu Trang (White Lion) and Su Tu Nau (Brown Lion) are scheduled to begin production in next few years.
The CL JOC has been one of the nation’s top two companies in crude oil output and export since 2003, second only to the Vietnam-Russia Oil and Gas Joint Venture (Vietsovpetro).-Enditem
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Vietnam Airlines to sell tickets online
The national air carrier of Vietnam will finally sell tickets on the Internet as of December 15, 2008.
When passengers book their tickets online and pay for the tickets, they will receive an announcement from the airlines verifying their booking. Buyers can pay by credit card Connect 24 issued by the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank).
Passengers can bring the printed version of their Vietnam Airlines’ announcement and their personal documents to the airport to fly with Vietnam Airlines.
Vietnam Airlines had planned to start selling tickets online in November 2006, but it was postponed to February 2007, then to June 2007, and now December 15, 2008.
Online booking service is a necessary condition for implementing the e-ticket project but for Vietnam Airlines’ passengers who buy an e-ticket they would still have to go to the firm’s booking office to declare personal information and show up with their personal documents.
Explaining this sluggishness, Vietnam Airlines’ official Le Hong Ha said the firm’s passenger service software, including the booking software, is designed to have connection to and process information from various booking systems of other airlines in the world so it still requires a lot of time for testing.
