Wood exports plummet as amid virus outbreak Wood production and exports have hit a slump in recent months after showing strong numbers during the first half of the year, according to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The country exported US$8.71 billion worth of wood products in the first half of 2021, a 62.9 per cent increase year-on-year. However, the sector has been hard hit by yet another outbreak of the virus. The virus has paralysed some of the largest production centres of the industry including the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai, said Bui Chinh Nghia, deputy head of MARD's department of forestry. "We have seen significant drops in wood exports in recent months. Exports for June, July and August dropped by 16 per cent compared to the previous three-month period. August saw the biggest drop at 22 per cent compared to July," said Nghia. More than half of the country's wood producers have had to shutter or scale down …
Completion of HCM City’s Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro delayed to 2024
The Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien urban railway project will be completed by the end of 2023 or early 2024. According to the latest report by the Management Board of HCM City Urban Railway Projects (MAUR), the metro line 1 or Ben Thanh -Suoi Tien metro route has completed 87.5% of the total workload, and is expected to fulfil 91% of the workload by the end of 2021. Since 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, the project has faced many difficulties in mobilizing human resources, according to MAUR. Currently, the workforce on the construction site has been significantly reduced due to social distancing measures as workers in locked down areas cannot go to work. When Ho Chi Minh City implemented social distancing in accordance with Directive 16, the investor and contractors applied the 'three on the site’ and the '2 destinations - 1 road' models, but the number of workers for this project continued to drop due to travel restrictions within the city. In the early …
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Việt Nam places Japan as partner of top importance: PM
Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính met with Japanese Defence Minister Kishi Nobuo on Sunday. — VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — The Party, State, Government and people of Việt Nam place Japan as one of the partners of top importance which enjoys a high trust in the country’s foreign policy, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính told visiting Japanese Defence Minister Kishi Nobuo in Hà Nội on Sunday. The PM also affirmed to facilitate the development of the bilateral national defence co-operation, and said Việt Nam welcomed Japan’s active contributions to and supported its greater role in maintaining peace, stability and development in the region and the world as a whole. He thanked Japan for providing Việt Nam with over 3 million doses of vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic and facilitating Vietnamese working and living in Japan, and asked the country to help Việt Nam with vaccines. PM Chính asked the Japanese side to continue providing Việt Nam with new ODA projects, and pledged Việt …
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Consulting and supervision costs at Cat Linh-Hadong metro line soars by $7.8 million
Delayed progress has increased costs at Cat Linh-Hadong metro line, according to the Ministry of Transport's report. Cat Linh-Hadong metro line. In a document sent to the Ministry of Finance in early September, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) said that because the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract of the Cat Linh-Hadong metro line project could not be completed on schedule, the construction time had to be extended, which increased the cost of the supervision and consulting contract by about $7.8 million. However, this cannot be covered from reciprocal capital from Vietnam, while the additional loan agreement of China is about $26.4 million. Therefore, in April, the MoT requested Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) to consider and approve financing the increased cost of the supervision and consultancy contract from the additional loan agreement. However, at the end of August, China Eximbank refused including the additional costs …
Vietnam takes Japan as partner of top importance: PM
The PM also affirmed to facilitate the development of the bilateral national defense cooperation, and said Vietnam welcomes Japan’s active contribution to and support its greater role in maintaining peace, stability and development in the region and the world as a whole. He thanked Japan for providing Vietnam with over 3 million doses of vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic and facilitating Vietnamese working and living in Japan, and asked the country to help Vietnam with vaccines. PM Chinh asked the Japanese side to continue providing Vietnam with new ODA projects, and pledged Vietnam will continue creating a transparent and favorable environment for investment by foreign countries, including Japanese ones. The Japanese minister spoke highly of the Vietnam Government’s efforts in the fight against the pandemic and affirmed he will ask relevant authorities to continue the vaccine assistance to Vietnam. Japan will continue cooperating with Vietnam in the field of Vietnam’s …
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Supervision, consultancy costs jump $7.8 million due to slow construction of Hanoi metro line
The prolonged implementation of Hanoi’s first metro line has caused the cost of its supervision and consultancy contract to shoot up by US$7.8 million. The Ministry of Transport mentioned the figure in a document recently sent to the Ministry of Finance to report on the current progress of the Cat Linh - Ha Dong urban railway project in the capital city. As the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract of the metro section was not completed as scheduled, the costs of supervision and consultancy soared by a hefty $7.835 million, the transport ministry stated. Vietnam’s corresponding capital left for the project is currently not sufficient to pay for the cost overrun, while the agreement on additional loans, signed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and the Export-Import Bank of China, still has about $26.4 million. In late April, Vietnam’s transport ministry asked the bank to amend an article of the additional loan agreement so the supervising and consulting …
Cát Linh-Hà Đông railway needs extra $7.8m for supervision and consulting
Cát Linh - Hà Đông urban railway project started in October 2011 and experienced several delays and cost overruns with total investment adjusted from nearly VNĐ8.8 trillion ($381.3 million) to more than VNĐ20 trillion ($886 million). Photo vietnamplus.vn HÀ NỘI — The long-delayed Cát Linh - Hà Đông urban railway project needs an additional US$7.8 million for supervision and consulting costs, according to the Ministry of Transport. In a recent document sent to the Ministry of Finance, the transport ministry said that the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract of the project could not be completed on schedule, causing delays and increasing the supervision and consulting cost by US$7.83 million. The ministry also noted that the counterpart funds from Việt Nam are “very small” while the additional loan agreement of China totalled more than $26.4 million. In April, the transport ministry requested the Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) to consider …
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Deputy PM urges acceleration of projects in localities least-impacted by COVID-19
At the event, participants said that one of the reasons why capital disbursement in the first eight months lagged behind the pace in the same period last year is that 2021 is the first year of the mid-term public investment plan for the 2021-25. This means new construction projects need time for completing necessary procedures. However, the main cause of the slow capital disbursement is the prolonged social distancing due to the complex developments of COVID-19, which affected both public investment projects and those funded by official development assistance (ODA). Deputy PM Minh underscored that the Government is determined to fulfill tasks in public investment capital disbursement set in the Government’s resolution and the dispatch dated August 16 of the PM. He assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to continue identifying current difficulties facing ministries, sectors and localities in carrying out public investment projects, so as to promptly seek solutions to …
President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to hold phone talks with Japanese PM
Then PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) shakes hands with Japanese PM Suga Yoshihide during the latter's visit to Vietnam in October 2020. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - President Nguyen Xuan Phuc is scheduled to hold phone talks with Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide on September 15. At the talks, the two leaders will discuss the bilateral relations, as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern. After Vietnam and Japan established diplomatic ties on September 21, 1973, the bilateral relationship has experienced rapid development over the past years. The Vietnam-Japan relations hip is now at its best since the establishment of the diplomatic ties, with high mutual trust. Japan is Vietnam’s leading important economic partner, the largest official development assistance (ODA) provider, second biggest investor, third largest tourism partner and fourth largest trade partner./. VNA …
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Cát Linh-Hà Đông railway needs extra $7.8m for supervision and consulting
The long-delayed Cát Linh - Hà Đông urban railway project needs an additional US$7.8 million for supervision and consulting costs, according to the Ministry of Transport. Hà Đông urban railway project started in October 2011 and experienced several delays and cost overruns with total investment adjusted from nearly VNĐ8.8 trillion ($381.3 million) to more than VNĐ20 trillion ($886 million). Photo vietnamplus.vn In a recent document sent to the Ministry of Finance, the transport ministry said that the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract of the project could not be completed on schedule, causing delays and increasing the supervision and consulting cost by US$7.83 million. The ministry also noted that the counterpart funds from Việt Nam are “very small” while the additional loan agreement of China totalled more than $26.4 million. In April, the transport ministry requested the Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) to consider …
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