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Vietnamese airlines add an additional 472 flights with more than 92,000 seats to meet
the increasing travel demand during the Lunar New Year (Photo: VNA) |
Flights from Ho Chi Minh City to various regions are showing high seat occupancies from February 1 to February 11, covering the 22nd day of the final lunar month to the second day of the first lunar month.
Air tickets for flights from other regions to Ho Chi Minh City have also nearly sold out from February 13 to February 19, immediately after the nation’s biggest and longest holiday.
For flights from Hanoi to various destinations such as Dien Bien and Pleiku before Tet, seat occupancies exceed 88% and 90.7%, reaching 100% on the route from Hanoi to Vinh.
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At the Noi Bai International Airport (Photo: VGP)
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On major routes like Ho Chi Minh City-Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi, and Hanoi-Danang, seat occupancies have been steadily increasing from February 3 to February 18. However, ticket availability remains abundant, with an average seat occupancy of 45%, a 5% to 7% increase compared to the previous week.
CAAV said that it will continue to monitor and request airlines to add more flights during the upcoming lunar New Year in a bid to meet the high demand of passengers.
Vietnamese shooters bag silver at Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship 2024
The Vietnamese team on January 13 won a silver medal in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol event of the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship 2024 which is being held in Indonesia, said the Vietnam News Agency.
The team, comprising Ha Minh Thanh, Phan Xuan Chuyen and Vu Tien Nam, scored 1,722 points after two days of competition and secured the silver medal.
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| Vietnamese shooters at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship 2024. (Photo: VNA) |
Pak Chung-gun, head coach of the Vietnamese shooting team, expressed his joy with the team’s achievement, saying that the championship will help the athletes to have more experiences and reach higher achievements in upcoming tournaments.
The tournament, organised from January 5-17, is considered a qualifying round of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with only individual events taken into account to get tickets to the Games.
The Vietnamese team has so far fulfilled the target after Pham Quang Huy and Trinh Thu Vinh won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on January 9, and Le Thi Mong Tuyen won the fourth place in the women's 10m air rifle event one day later, grabbing a ticket to the Paris Games.
Vietnam to have 108 social housing projects completed in 2024
Vietnam expects to have 108 social housing projects with over 47,500 apartments completed in 2024, Radio the Voice of Vietnam quoted the information of the Ministry of Construction.
Localities nationwide were asked to register their numbers of social housing projects that are scheduled to be completed in 2024, providing housing for low-income earners and workers at industrial parks.
Accordingly, the southern province of Binh Duong registered the biggest number of projects with 20 projects and 4,500 apartments. The northern province of Bac Ninh registered the biggest number of apartments to be completed with 6,000 in five projects.
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| Social housing project Thang Long Green City in Hanoi's Dong Anh district. (Photo: VNA) |
Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City registered to complete six projects with more than 3,700 apartments; Hai Phong city, eight projects with 3,925 apartments; Can Tho city, two projects with more than 1,500 apartments; An Giang, four projects with more than 1,900 apartments; Quang Ninh, three projects with 1,600 apartments; Hanoi, three projects with 1,181 apartments; Bac Giang, two projects with nearly 2,430 apartments; Ha Nam, four projects, with 1,666 apartments; and Da Nang, three projects with 1,880 apartments.
Meanwhile, the provinces of Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang, Nam Dinh, Yen Bai, and Son La did not have any social housing projects to be completed in 2024.
According to the ministry, 419 social housing projects with about 432,500 apartments and a total floor area of about 22.6 million sq.m are under construction across the country.
Vietnam targets to build at least 1 million social housing apartments by 2030. According to the ministry, the construction of about 428,000 social housing apartments is expected to be completed by 2025.
In 2023, a total of 28 housing projects with 13,864 apartments for low-income earners and workers at industrial parks were completed, while 16 other projects were kicked off.
Vietnam confident before match against Japan in Asian Cup
Despite facing Asian powerhouse Japan in their opening match of the 2023 Asian Cup on January 14, head coach Philippe Troussier believed his side can cause an upset, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
Troussier has opted for a mix of experience and youth with his 26-player squad selection for the tournament in Qatar.
He has put his trust in veteran defenders Do Duy Mạnh and Ho Tan Tai, midfielders Do Hung Dung and Nguyen Quang Hai, and forward Nguyen Van Toan.
But he has also opted for young talents too, selecting defender Vo Minh Trong, midfielder Khuat Van Khang and striker Pham Tuan Hai.
There are also fresh faces in the squad with goalkeeper Nguyen Filip and defender Giap Tuan Duong called up for the first time.
Troussier's selection has made Vietnam one of the four youngest squads in the competition which began on January 12 with hosts Qatar taking on Lebanon in Lusail City.
During training ahead of the opening match, Troussier instructed his players to work hard and play with focus and determination.
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| Vietnamese players in a training session on January 11. Vietnam will play against Japan on January 14 in the Asian Cup's Group D opener.( Photo courtesy of VFF) |
He also met with his coaching team to analyse all rivals in Group D, especially Japan. They also closely reviewed Vietnam's 2-1 loss to Kyrgyzstan in a friendly on January 9.
Troussier expressed his confidence in the progress of the team and said that all his players in Qatar are ready to implement Vietnam's playing style.
"At the 2023 Asian Cup, the opponents are considered stronger, but winning against Vietnam is not easy. Vietnam never gives up. Let's keep that spirit when we enter the tournament," Troussier said.
He said the Asian Cup was totally different from other events in the Southeast Asian region. Players needed to try harder, give more effort and especially believe in each other and the preparation of the team, making Vietnam a unified squad.
"I want players to be proactive in all situations, be confident when they have and control the ball, and don't wait for a moment of brilliance or for mistakes from rivals," he said.
"Against Japan, we may lose to them nine times out of 10 matches, but we might beat them once. Who knows if it will be this one."
Troussier is the only coach at this tournament to have previously won the Asian Cup.
He led Japan to victory in 2000, beating Saudi Arabia in the final. He was also voted coach of the year by the Asian Football Confederation.
Japan completed their preparations in style after beating Jordan 6-1 in a behind-closed-doors friendly match on January 9.
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu used the opportunity to give his squad playing time with two completely different sets of teams fielded either side of the break.
"It was positive that we could check our concept as a team both in attack and defence,” said Moriyasu, who believes a record-extending fifth title is within reach.
Missing from Japan's squad are some big names, but Moriyasu said he has "assembled the best members to win", with the Samurai Blue last lifting the AFC Asian Cup in 2011.
"I've been saying we'll look to win the Asian Cup after setting our short and mid-term targets, as well as the long-term target that is the 2026 World Cup," Moriyasu talked to Kyodo News.
"There are no easy opponents nor is it an easy tournament, so no changes there from the last to this one. The difference I have is a lingering frustration from missing out on the title last time, and also the desire to grind out results in Asia as we've set a high target of winning on the world stage."
Japan are unbeaten in their last 10 matches in all competitions and have scored a minimum of five goals in each of their last four games./.