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| Over 1,500 runners participate in the Son Tra Run Challenge 2023 in Da Nang city (Photo: VNA) |
The event, organised by the Vietnam Television Centre in the Central Region – Central Highlands (VTV8) in collaboration with the People’s Committee of Son Tra district and Thanh An Communications - Construction JSC, aims to raise public awareness on sea and island environmental protection.
The runners competed at three distances: 6 km, 16 km and 26 km. The event provided them with an opportunity to race through the most beautiful roads with extraordinary natural landscapes of Son Tra peninsula.
Truong Duy Hoa, Deputy Director of VTV8, said that the tournament, the first of its kind held in Son Tra, is expected to promote the physical training movement while calling on the locals and tourists to join hands to protect the country’s sea and island environment, and introducing local unique culture and majestic and poetic scenery of the peninsula to domestic and international tourists.
Located just 10km from the centre of Da Nang city, Son Tra is the only peninsula in Vietnam that boasts a natural forest ecosystem linked with the sea, and it has become an ideal destination for holidaymakers.
Son Tra now has its name on most of the world tourist maps thanks to its beautiful forests, wild clear beaches, ancient architectural structures, and luxury resorts.
Vietnam promotes green industrial park development
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| The transformation of traditional industrial parks into sustainable green industrial parks is achieved by promoting green production and efficient use of resources. (Photo baoxaydung.com.vn) |
Many localities in Vietnam have promoted converting traditional industrial parks to eco-industrial parks and also developed new green industrial parks, reported Vietnam News Agency.
This is a crucial task of the National Green Growth Strategy 2021-2030, vision to 2050, and the National Action Plan for implementing the 2030 sustainable development agenda.
According to experts, developing a circular economy has become a trend among countries, especially as the world's resources are increasingly depleted.
For the long term, besides converting existing industrial parks, Vietnam will build new ecological industrial parks meeting the requirements of design and planning and attracting investment projects that have environmentally friendly production processes and technologies, efficient use of resources, waste reduction, and re-use of raw materials and energy.
Vuong Thi Minh Hieu, deputy director of the Department of Economic Zones Management, Ministry of Planning and Investment, said the ministry has coordinated with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to further replicate the eco-industrial park model in Hai Phong, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City via the project on deployment of eco-industrial parks in Vietnam according to the approach from the Global Eco-Industrial Park Programme. That effort has achieved very encouraging results.
However, there are some limitations in developing industrial parks because industrial park development planning has not clearly shown a strategic and overall vision.
In some locations, industrial park development planning does not reflect the actual development needs and ability to attract investment. That has led to the quality and efficiency of investment attraction falling short of expectations in terms of effectively using land for national socio-economic development and ensuring sustainable and balanced development of economic, environmental and social pillars.
Besides, the traditional industrial parks in the same locality still lacked cooperation to increase competitiveness and connection with industrial parks in neighbouring localities.
Vietnam is attracting more high-quality foreign direct investment (FDI) to promote economic growth and international economic integration. Therefore, preparing industrial infrastructure is an urgent requirement to meet the increasingly strict requirements of foreign investors.
Of this, the development of eco-industrial parks is considered vital to solve environmental limitations and inadequacies, reduce resource waste, and increase value chain engagement.
Therefore, Vietnam must continue innovating and improving existing institutions, policies and regulations and adjusting goals and orientations for developing industrial parks and economic zones. These steps will adapt to the new context and contribute to implementing the national socio-economic development strategy.
Law helps promote transparency in bidding activities: Insiders
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| Medical staff of Cho Ray Hospital operate the testing machine system. (Photo: VNA) |
The 2023 Law on Bidding, which will take effect from January 1, 2024, is expected to contribute to ensuring transparency and openness in bidding activities – an area that can pose risks of losses and economic waste if not tightly managed, reported Vietnam News Agency.
Director of the Public Procurement Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment Tran Hao Hung said with significant amendments, the law will remove bottlenecks in the bidding process across sectors, especially challenges and obstacles in the procurement and bidding for drugs, chemicals, testing materials, and medical equipment.
It will enhance the self-reliance and responsibility of public healthcare facilities in deciding the procurement of medicines and medical equipment, Hung said.
The law will allow public healthcare facilities to decide on selecting bidders for procurement packages funded by loans, excluding State-invested credit capital, ODA-re-lending loans, and concessional loans from foreign sponsors, thus contributing to ensuring transparency, openness, economic efficiency, and accountability in procurement activities using capital from State-owned enterprises, Hung noted.
To prevent corruption in bidding activities, the law’s regulations regarding information disclosure and establishment of national database of contractors were amended, aiming to minimise cases of fraud, substandard goods, or products not meeting the demands, he went on.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the Research Department for Social Issues of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) Ho Cong Hoa said the addition of preferential mechanisms in selecting contractors and investors for environmentally friendly goods and services to the law will be an important motivation to promote sustainable bidding, which is one of the measures to increase the value of Vietnamese goods in the global supply chain.
Export results in 2023 provide stepping stone for rice sector next year
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| This year's rice export volume may surpass 8 million tonnes. (Photo: VNA) |
Vietnam may record a year-on-year increase of 11% in the rice export volume in 2023 to over 8 million tonnes, Vietnam News Agency quoted prediction of Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.
The year 2023 is full of difficulties for rice export as geo-political conflicts in the world have disrupted food and input material supply. The El Nino phenomenon, which poses a risk of contraction in food production, has triggered some countries’ concern over supply for domestic demand. The suspension of grain export by such countries as India, the UAE, and Russia has also caused big supply pressure, thus mounting concern in the global food market.
However, as a leading exporter of farm produce, particularly rice, Vietnam has still managed to guarantee national food security and export growth.
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| Photo for illustration. (Source: diendandoanhnghiep.vn) |
Facing complex developments in the rice market, the Prime Minister on August 5 issued a directive ordering national food security to be firmly ensured and sustainable rice production and export promoted in the current period.
He has also assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to coordinate with relevant agencies to carry out rice trade promotion programmes appropriate to the new situation to improve Vietnamese rice’s value. They were also asked to capitalise on preferential treatments under the free trade agreements to which Vietnam is a party to diversify markets and better the competitiveness of the Vietnamese grain.
Under the strategy on developing rice export markets of Vietnam until 2030, agricultural authorities are ordering localities and key rice farming zones to conduct restructuring to produce more quality grain for export and raise the added value.
Though domestic rice supply is low at present, there are still grounds to anticipate that this year’s export volume will surpass 8 million tonnes.
About 7.75 million tonnes of rice worth 4.41 billion USD were exported during the first 11 months of 2023, rising 36.3% year on year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported, attributing the surge to a 17.3% increase in the average export price to 568 USD per tonne.
Export prices now average 663 USD per tonne as a result of high demand, it said.
In addition, the quality of Vietnamese rice in the global market has also been further affirmed after the ST25 variety once again obtained the “World’s Best Rice” title recently.
Vu Van Dong, General Director of the Dai Duong Investment and Trade JSC, perceived that high prices form an advantage but also pose a risk to Vietnamese rice.
Businesses can export much and earn big as India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, is suspending overseas shipments of the grain. However, to those keeping large stockpile, if they do not make right assessments and proper preparations, they will face difficulties once India or China changes its policy, he pointed out.
Businesses hope that rice prices in the winter - spring crop will stay high to benefit farmers. Meanwhile, export prices in the further future may decline but are unlikely to fall sharply, possibly to about 600 USD per tonne, Dong added./.