Much as the banks of a river play a crucial role in its ecosystem and purity, what runs along two of the Mekong Delta’s major waterways is a series of non-environmentally friendly industrial plants and factories. Much as the banks of a river play a crucial role in its ecosystem and purity, what runs along two of the Mekong Delta’s major waterways is a series of non-environmentally friendly industrial plants and factories. Dubbed the country’s rice basket, the Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea via a vast network of distributaries. Of those distributaries, the main branches of the Mekong River in Vietnam are the Hau and Tien rivers, which both play a crucial role in the region's land and climate conditions. However, along the banks of these two rivers now exist a number of factories, processing plants and industrial parks. Even without an official report on how dangerous these facilities … [Read more...] about Along the factory-dense rivers of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta
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Hanoi and the Mekong Delta strengthen investment cooperation
The Hanoitimes - A promotion conference on cooperation, investment, trade and tourism between the Mekong Delta with Hanoi city and localities in the north was organised in Hanoi on May 26. Attending the conference were Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung; Chairman of People's Committee of Hau Giang province Lu Van Hung; Secretary of Hau Giang provincial Party Committee Tran Cong Chanh; Deputy Head of the Steering Committee of the Southwest region Nguyen Quoc Viet and Deputy Head of the Steering Committee of the Northwest Hoang Thi Hanh. Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung speaks at the conference. Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee of the Southwest Nguyen Quoc Viet said, the conference is a practical and significant activity to promote investment, trade and tourism cooperation opportunities between the Mekong Delta with the capital of Hanoi and localities across the country. The Mekong Delta consists of 13 … [Read more...] about Hanoi and the Mekong Delta strengthen investment cooperation
Jobs for Mekong Delta farmers
VietNamNet Bridge – Director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s branch in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho Vo Hung Dung spoke to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper about measures to prevent mass migration from the Mekong Delta region to other localities for jobs. The problem of farmers from the Mekong Delta region relocating to other areas to seek employment has existed for many years. The key reason behind this is a lack of jobs in the region. In 1990s, the population in the region accounted for about 22 per cent of the country’s total population, but the number dropped to 19.5 per cent at present. This year, the number of farmers leaving the region increased because agricultural production in the Mekong Delta region has faced numerous difficulties caused by natural disasters and severe drought. In your opinion, will attracting investment and building more factories to create jobs for local people in the Mekong Delta region be a key solution to deal with … [Read more...] about Jobs for Mekong Delta farmers
Smuggled tobacco seized from government car in Mekong Delta
Police in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap are still investigating a case in which thousands of packs of smuggled tobacco were seized from a car belonging to the Party unit of a neighboring province, newswire Vietnamnet reported. Following tip-offs from local residents, a traffic police team stopped the car traveling on National Highway 30 through My Tan Commune, Cao Lanh District, for inspection on Tuesday. The driver of the state car carrying more than 6,000 foreign packs of tobacco, Tran Truc Lam, 30, failed to produce papers to prove the origins of the tobacco . Lam told police he was hired to transport the batch from Dong Thap to Ben Tre Province. Police seized the products and detained Lam for further investigations. An official from Ben Tre Province's Party Committee confirmed with newswire Vietnamnet that the car belonged to his office. … [Read more...] about Smuggled tobacco seized from government car in Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta’s one-armed, durian growing virtuoso
After losing his arm in the Vietnam War, a master guitarist continued to pursue his passion one-handed. Like most residents of Tien Giang Province's Ngu Hiep communie, Thai Van Hai -- better known as Hai Cut (Hai the cripple) -- earns his living growing durian. In his leisure time, the 65 year-old plays don ca tai tu – southern Vietnam’s traditional music – on his guitar, a common pastime throughout the Mekong Delta. What sets Hai apart is that he performs flawlessly, using just one hand. Hai’s neighbor Nguyen Van Thuong, 42, said a number of people in Ngu Hiep Commune can play the ghi ta phim lom – a Vietnamese electric guitar distinguished by its scooped out fingerboards -- but no one can match Hai for his skills. Hai's neighbors frequently invite him to play parties and he can often be found entertaining crowds: strumming with his left hand and locking the guitar in place with the remains of his right. Nguyen Ngoc Minh, a don ca tai tu composer, … [Read more...] about The Mekong Delta’s one-armed, durian growing virtuoso