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The two metro lines that will connect downtown areas are among 57 major infrastructure projects that city authorities are calling for investment for the 2020-2025 period.

The city envisages both routes being built under the public-private partnership (PPP) investment form.

The east-west route would run from Nam O 1 residential area in Lien Chieu District through downtown areas to My Khe Beach in Son Tra District, while the south-north route will connect the Son Tra Tinh Vien nature reserve on Son Tra Peninsula, areas around the Da Nang Airport and the Khue Trung area in Cam Le District.

The city also called for investors to build an electric metro train project connecting with the neighboring Hoi An Town, a famous tourist hotspot in Quang Nam Province. This project carries an estimated value of VND7.49 trillion to VND14.99 trillion.

Another project is a 3.7-kilometer tunnel at the Da Nang Airport with six lanes that requires a total investment of VND8.2 trillion. The project’s investment will be raised from the city’s budget, official development assistance (ODA) and the PPP model.

The city of 1.1 million also seeks investment for the Lien Chieu Port, which is expected to use VND3.4 trillion from the state budget and VND3.9 trillion from the private sector.

The 220-hectare port, expected to spearhead Da Nang’s logistics development, will be built below Hai Van Pass in central Vietnam.

City authorities are also seeking investors for other major projects like the 500-bed international standard oncology treatment center at VND11 trillion, the VND5-trillion Opera House, a VND3 trillion waste treatment plant worth up to VND3 trillion and VND4.5 trillion horse racing.

Da Nang, the urban hub of central Vietnam and a popular tourism hotspot, is considered the country’s third most important city after Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The deployment of 5G service is hoped to accelerate the building of e-government. (Photo: insidetelecom.com)

According to the BIDV Securities Company (BSC), the pandemic has sped up digital transformation and investment in technologies at many businesses, while facilitating the sustainable development of tech enterprises that have pioneered providing solutions, platforms, services, and products for digital transformation.

The rising move towards digital transformation is expected to help such firms as FPT and CMC benefit from software exports.

FPT’s growth remained in the double digits last year despite the pandemic, with turnover at 29.83 trillion VND (1.29 billion USD) and pre-tax profit 5.26 trillion VND, increases of 7.6 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively. Net profit rose 13.1 percent to 4.22 trillion VND.

Of note, digital transformation contributed 3.21 trillion VND to turnover, up 31 percent against 2019.

In the tech sphere in particular, its turnover was some 13.9 trillion VND, up 23 percent year-on-year. Customer numbers also grew nearly 19 percent, while the number of projects worth millions of US dollars rose nearly 29 percent.

BSC said it hopes domestic enterprises with “Made in Vietnam” products will be prioritised in the Government’s digital transformation project.

Tech bidding packages, it said, are expected to be stepped up this year thanks to public and annual investments in technologies.

Packages for 11 road routes will total 4 trillion VND, focusing on services such as smart transport, administration, management, and automated toll collection.

Fixed broadband and 5G services will also drive growth among businesses operating in the telecoms sector.

The Ministry of Information and Communications said the sector earned more than 130 trillion VND last year, up 0.3 percent against 2019.

Between 2016 and 2020, fixed broadband rose 15 percent each year while mobile broadband grew 22 percent.

As of January, Vietnam had more than 1 million km of cable spanning all villages, communes, and wards. Mobile phone services covered 99.81 percent of the national population, while 98 percent of the population had access to 3G and 4G services.

According to BSC, major telecoms providers like Viettel, Vinaphone, and MobiFone will expand 5G services nationwide after partially launching services in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

To promote 5G development, the ministry has proposed the Government issue a decree on radio frequency fee collections and the auction and transfer of the right to use radio frequencies.

The deployment of 5G service is hoped to accelerate the building of e-government while serving as a prerequisite for promoting telecoms infrastructure and helping businesses with digital transformation, BSC said.

Telecom firms posted strong growth last year despite COVID-19.

Specifically, Viettel’s total turnover exceeded 264 trillion VND, a year-on-year increase of 4.4 percent and representing 102.4 percent of the annual target.

Pre-tax profit was 39.8 trillion VND, up 4.1 percent and 103.9 percent of the annual target.

The group posted growth of 6.4 percent in the telecom sector; nearly double the global average.

Its overseas investment also rose 24.4 percent, or six times higher than the global average, earning it nearly 42 trillion VND.

The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) also recorded positive growth, with total turnover hitting 162.7 trillion VND./.VNA

Many hotels in HCM City cut tariffs dramatically to attract clientele following the COVID resurgence just before Tết, yet only managed an average occupancy rate of 10 per cent. – Photo: nld.com.vn

HCM CITY — The HCM City Tourism Association has asked for a complete or at least a 50 per cent waiver of value-added tax payable by accommodation, catering and travel businesses until the end of this year.

A resurgence of COVID-19 just before the peak Tết (Lunar New Year) tourism season has severely hit HCM City’s services and other consumer sectors, especially tourism.

Many hotels in the city’s bustling central district continue to offer sharp rate cuts to survive.

Room rents at a two-star hotel on Bùi Viện Street in District 1 are 73 per cent down to VNĐ75,000 (US$3.25) per night.

Five-star hotels are not doing any better: Sofitel, Majestic, Nikko, Oakwood, New World, and Lotte are offering rooms at VNĐ1.2-2.2 million ($52-95.4).

Yet, occupancy rates during the seven days (February 10-16) of Tết were only 10 per cent.

The situation is due to the decline in the number of both local and foreign tourists due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Figures from the General Statistics Office (GSO) show there were fewer than 11,000 international visitors to Việt Nam in February, down 38.3 per cent from January and 99.1 per cent from a year ago.

Most of them were experts, business executives, foreign investors, high-tech workers coming to work on important projects in Việt Nam, and drivers transporting goods across borders.

The travel and tourism sector’s revenues in the first two months of the year were down 62.1 per cent year-on-year at VNĐ2.5 trillion ($108.5 million).

HCM City was the third worst hit by the latest wave of the pandemic behind Thừa Thiên-Huế and Hải Dương provinces.

The revenues of accommodation and catering providers fell by 4.3 per cent to VNĐ88.4 trillion ($3.8 billion). The biggest declines were seen in Đà Nẵng (16.1 per cent), Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu Province (15.9 per cent), HCM City (14.1 per cent), Hải Dương Province (7.8 per cent), and Hà Nội (7.6 per cent).

The GSO added that the pandemic has led to cancellations of a number of festivals and a decrease in tourism activities.  VNS