Besides its metro lines, Ho Chi Minh City has also stepped up the pace of work at many other major infrastructure projects, including Beltway No 3, which is expected to reduce traffic congestion in the city by allowing vehicles to bypass it. In early January, the Ministry of Transport had told the city to begin sub-project No.1 of the Beltway No.3 Project ahead of schedule. Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line linking Ben Thanh Market in District 1 with Suoi Tien Park in District 9 The beltway will also shorten the distance between the city and the new urban area of Nhon Trach in Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces. In the first stage, the 97.7km beltway will have four lanes for heavy vehicles and two for others, according to the Cuu Long Corporation for Investment, Development and Project Management of Infrastructure, the project management unit. It will allow traffic to travel at the speed of up to 100km per hour. A 16.7km section from Binh Chuan to Tan Van in Binh Duong province built under the PPP (Public – Private Partnership) mode has already opened to traffic. Work on the 34.3km second section through Dong Nai province and Ho Chi Minh City will be done in two stages and begin in late 2018 and early 2019. Thailand’s Siam Cement Group plans to begin construction of Long Son Petrochemical complex in Vung Tau city on February 23. The USD 3.4 billion petrochemical plant is expected to produce 1.6 million… [Read full story]
Major infrastructure projects ready this year Le Anh By Le Anh - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – The Ministry of Transport expects to complete construction of 58 major infrastructure projects this year, with many of them in HCMC and Hanoi. In HCMC, the remaining section of the Tan Son Nhat Airport – Binh Loi - outer ring road project will be in place by end-2014, after the first stretch of five kilometers was opened to traffic last September. The axis road, with a width of between 30 and 60 meters, will serve as a key route between HCMC and…... [read more]
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has issued three decisions to allocate an advance of 250 billion VND from the state budget in 2006 for the construction of major infrastructure works. Under these decisions, the Ministry of Finance will give an advance of 197 billion VND to the Viet Nam Railway Corporation to improve the North-South railway's infrastructure. 23 billion VND will be given to the Viet Nam Marine Corporation to build an access road to the Dinh Vu Port in the northern port city of Hai Phong. 30 billion VND will be given to the Ministry of Transport and Communications…... [read more]
The European Central Bank, which has cut interest rates the past two months, looks set to hold its fire until it can better assess how effective its previous actions have been. Last month on the same day that EU leaders met in Brussels in what was seen as a make-or-break crisis summit the ECB brought eurozone borrowing costs back down to their previous historical low of 1.0 per cent, effectively reversing this year's two earlier rate hikes. On top of that, it offered banks in the region an unlimited pool of liquidity by loosening collateral rules, cutting the minimum reserve…... [read more]
(VOV) - We’ve scoured Hanoi and HCM city to compile this bucket list of the best places to ring in the New Year. The New Year holidays come but once a year, so it’s worth it to make them memorable. Countdown festivals Yamaha Clear Men Countdown kicks off at 8pm on December 31 at the August Revolution Square in front of the Hanoi Opera House. This year’s programme features performing artist Do Kim Phuc, the Microwave rock band and rocker Pham Anh Khoa. The annual Heineken Countdown gets underway at 9pm on December 31 at Thien Quang Lake with the…... [read more]
Indonesian authorities have seized 1.3 tonnes of marijuana and arrested six people in a major drug bust on New Year's Eve, police said Thursday.Police have not provided a street value for the seized drugsAuthorities confiscated the drugs at a port near Lampung, on the southern tip of Sumatra island.The bricks of tightly-wrapped cannabis -- which were displayed at a press conference Thursday -- were found hidden inside several vehicles waiting to cross to West Java, local media reported.Six people were arrested in connection with the haul, but police have not provided a street value for the seized drugs.West Jakarta police…... [read more]