Nature experience in Ninh Thuan

12:35' 03/08/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Ninh Thuan Festival 2007, organized by the central province of Ninh Thuan, will take place from August 15-21. Vinh Hy Bay view from the boat. Many festivities and new tours have been planned, and to mark the occasion HCMC-based Vietravel tour operator has launched a three-day and two-night tour to the province. The first tour will start tomorrow, the second on August 10, and the last tour is scheduled for August 17. Travelers on the final tour will have more chances to join many activities of the festival such as the food culture and red wine festival, the traditional dragon boat racing, and the beauty contest for sheep. Other activities include all-terrain vehicle racing, the national volley ball contest, walking for disabled children, Cau Ngu festival (a traditional festival of fishermen), arrow shooting contest and folk music show. By arrangement with HCMC-based Vietravel tour operator, tourists can visit Ca Na Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the Central region, Bau Truc traditional pottery village, Po Klong Garai Temple of Cham people, and Vinh Hy Bay, a virginal bay of the province. Around 42 kilometers from Phan Rang Town in the northeastern part of Ninh Thuan Province, the bay is surrounded by white sand banks and a chain of stones. There are no hotels or guest houses, just some canvas for tourists, but the bay is a good place for swimming, fishing and browsing the coral reef. Seeing the landscape of multi-shaped mountains, exploring the colorful coral by glass bottom boat and enjoying the sea winds will make the trip worthwhile. Fisherman in the fishing villages will display their fishing skills for tourists and guests can learn how fishermen make salted and dried fish. They may also try their own hand at fishing and any caught fish can be grilled on the boat for visitors. The more adventurous could climb the mountain wall, or take part in a number of activities there. Po Klong Garai Temple, around 9km northwest of Phan Rang Town, and Bau Truc traditional pottery village, about 10km south of the town, are the last attractions of the tour. At Po Klong Garai Temple, visitors will hear about the religious beliefs of Cham ethnic people, and Bau Truc, one of the oldest pottery villages in Southeast Asia is a place for visitors to learn about the talent of Cham people in pottery making. The tour costs VND1.68mil per tourist. For further information, contact the company at 190 Pasteur Street, District 3, HCMC, tel: (08) 822 8898. (Source: SGT, Viet Nam Net)

How many storeys will the $500mil Keangnam hotel have?

17:10' 03/08/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The $500mil hotel, a work to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long’s establishment, has not been kicked off yet because it remains unclear how many storeys the hotel can have. Hanoi to have one more five-star hotel Cau Giay District in Hanoi South Korea’s Keangnam group should have started the construction of the five-star hotel in the Cau Giay new urban area in Hanoi on July 29 (on the same day, the ground breaking ceremony for the $65mil five-star hotel Crown Plaza on Le Duc Tho Road in Tu Liem district took place). Keangnam group was one of the two best candidates for the project to build the $500mil five-star hotel on X2 position on Pham Hung Road (near the National Convention Centre). The licence was finally granted to Japan’s Riviera. Hanoi authorities, wanting to keep both potential investors, decided to allocate another land plot to Keangnam to develop the five-star hotel on the E6 land plot in Cau Giay new urban area. Several months ago, when granting the licence to develop the five-star hotel, Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Quoc Trieu asked the investor to implement the project soon. However, the project could not be kicked off as soon as previously planned as state management authorities still have not said how many storeys the hotel could have. According to Ha Jong Seuk, Chief Representative of Keangnam in Vietnam, as the management authorities did not show the land site map for the project, Keangnam had to build different construction designs to be submitted to the Ministry of Construction and Hanoi authorities for approval. Initially, Keangnam suggested an 80-storey hotel, but the Hanoi People’s Committee said that the buildings in the complex must be less than 60 storeys. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Construction said that the construction of high-rise buildings should be encouraged in the new urban areas. Deputy Minister of Construction Tran Ngoc Chinh said that the urbanisation pace in Hanoi had been quickening, construction demand, increasing, while the land fund was limited. The five-star hotel complex is expected to be located in the Cau Giay new urban area, and at the intersections of many key transport routes; therefore, a complex with modern architecture and with the height of 47-70 storeys would be fine. Currently, the Hanoi People’s Committee is still consulting relevant ministries and branches and has not made a final decision on the number of storeys of the complex. And for the time being, the project still cannot be kicked off. (Source: DTCK, Viet Nam Net)

Brief biography of 22 ministers

17:19' 03/08/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – On August 2, the National Assembly approved the appointment of five Deputy Prime Ministers and 22 Ministers and heads of ministerial level agencies. Of the 22 ministers and cabinet members, ten are appointed for the first time and 12 have assumed key posts at ministries and ministerial level agencies. New Government has five Deputy Prime Ministers Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and members of the new government. Here are the brief biographies of the 22 cabinet members: 1/ Minister of Defence Phung Quang Thanh Born in 1949 Native land: Vinh Phuc Province Education: Bachelor of Military Sciences Mr. Thanh is a member of the Party Central Committee, a Politburo member, deputy of the 11th and 12th National Assembly. He is currently Minister of Defence. 2/ Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh Born in 1949 Native land: Kien Giang Province Education: Bachelor of Law, Bachelor of Politics Mr. Hong Anh is a member of Party Central Committee and the Politburo, deputy of the 11th and 12th National Assembly. He is currently Minister of Public Security. 3/ Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem Born in 1944 Native land: Hanoi Education: Doctor of Metallurgy Mr. Khiem is a member of the Party Central Committee and the Politburo and Deputy Prime Minister. In June 2006, the National Assembly approved the appointment of Mr. Khiem as Foreign Minister. He is deputy of the 10th, 11th and 12th National Assembly. Minister of Defence Phung Quang Thanh Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh Minister of Home Affairs Tran Van Tuan 4/ Minister of Home Affairs Tran Van Tuan Born in 1950 Native land: Hai Duong Province Education: Doctor of Economics Mr. Tuan is a member of the Central Party Committee, deputy of the 10th and 12th National Assembly. He is currently Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. 5/ Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong Born in 1953 Native land: Vinh Phuc Province Education: Associate Professor, Doctor of Law Mr. Cuong is a member of Party Central Committee and deputy of the 12th National Assembly. He is currently Deputy Minister of Justice. 6/ Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc Born in 1945 Native land: Ha Tinh Province Education: Bachelor Mr. Phuc is a member of Party Central Committee, deputy of the 11th and 12th National Assembly. He is currently Minister of Planning and Investment. Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc Minister of Finance Vu Van Ninh 7/ Minister of Finance Vu Van Ninh Born in 1955 Native land: Nam Dinh Province Education: Master of Finance – Budgetary, Business Administration Mr. Ninh is a member of Party Central Committee, deputy of the 12th National Assembly. He is currently Minister of Finance. 8/ Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang Born in 1953 Native land: Hai Phong City Education: Doctor of Economics Mr. Hoang is a member of Party Central Committee. He is now Secretary of the Party Committee of the northern province of Lang Son. 9/ Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat Born in 1956 Native land: Nam Dinh Province Education: Doctor of Economics Mr. Phat is a member of Party Central Committee, deputy of the 12th National Assembly. He is now Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung 10/ Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung Born in 1950 Native land: Da Nang City Education: Metallurgy Engineer Mr. Dung is a member of Party Central Committee, deputy of the 12th National Assembly. He is now the Minister of Transport. 11/ Minister of Construction Nguyen Hong Quan Born in 1949 Native land: Hai Duong Mr. Quan is a member of Party Central Committee and is now the Minister of Construction. 12/ Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen Born in 1950 Native land: Ha Tay Province Education: Doctor of Economics, Master of Geology Mr. Nguyen is a member of Party Central Committee. He is now Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment. Minister of Construction Nguyen Hong Quan Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen Minister of Information and Communication Le Doan Hop 13/ Minister of Information and Communication Le Doan Hop Born in 1951 Native Land: Nghe An Province Education: Doctor of Economics Mr. Hop is a member of the Party Central Committee, deputy of the 11th and 12th National Assembly. He is currently Minister of Culture and Information. 14/ Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan Born in 1954 Native land: Ben Tre Province Education: Master of Finance – Credit Ms. Ngan is a member of the Party Central Committee, deputy of the 12th National Assembly. She is currently Deputy Minister of Trade. 15/ Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh Born in 1952 Native land: Da Nang City Education: Engineer of Aviation Measurement, Bachelor of Law Mr. Tuan Anh is a member of the Party Central Committee. He is currently Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Van Phong 16/ Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Van Phong Born in 1948 Native land: Hanoi Mr. Phong is a member of the Party Central Committee. He is currently Minister of Science and Technology. 17/ Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan Born in 1952 Native land: Tra Vinh Province Education: Professor, Doctor of Cybernetics. Mr. Nhan is a member of the Party Central Committee, deputy of the 10th and 12th National Assembly. He is currently Minister of Education and Training. Mr. Nhan is also appointed to be the new Deputy Prime Minister. 18/ Minister of Health Nguyen Quoc Trieu Born in 1951 Native land: Bac Ninh Province Education: Bachelor of Health, Doctor of Sociology Mr. Trieu is a member of the Party Central Committee. He is currently Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee. Minister of Health Nguyen Quoc Trieu Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities Giang Seo Phu Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Giau 19/ Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities Giang Seo Phu Born in 1951 Native land: Lao Cai Province Education: Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Politics Mr. Phu is a member of the Party Central Committee, deputy of the 11th and 12th National Assembly. He is currently Vice Chairman of the Central Organisation Committee. 20/ Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Giau Born in 1957 Native land: An Giang province Education: Doctor of Economics Mr. Giau is a member of the Party Central Committee. He is now Secretary of the Party Committee of Ninh Thuan Province. 21/ Inspector General of the Government Inspectorate Tran Van Truyen Born in 1950 Native land: Ben Tre Province Education: Bachelor of Law Mr. Truyen is a member of the Party Central Committee, deputy of the 10th and 12th National Assembly. He is now Inspector General of the Government Inspectorate. Inspector General of the Government Inspectorate Tran Van Truyen Director of the Government Office Nguyen Xuan Phuc 22/ Director of the Government Office Nguyen Xuan Phuc Born in 1954 Native land: Quang Nam Province Education: Bachelor of Economics Mr. Phuc is a member of the Party Central Committee, deputy of the 11th National Assembly. He is now Deputy Director of the Government Office. (Source: National Assembly’s website)