Building resilient cities

The 210kV station was built at the total cost of more than VND348 billion (US$15 million) on an area of 40,100 square metres spanning Dong Son and Kenh Giang communes.

According to EVNNPT Deputy General Director Luu Viet Tien, the station helped cut around 80% of the amount of copper cable, slash copper cable transport and installation costs, while reducing the risks of incidents caused by cable damage.

Tien said that the digital transformer station is a new technology in both Vietnam and many developed countries in the world, adding before carrying out construction of the station, EVNNPT held several conferences with large equipment suppliers such as Siemens, ABB and GE.

He said the 220KV digital station will ensure stable power supply for socio-economic development in Thuy Nguyen and regions in the vicinity, reduce power loss as well as enhance connectivity, safety, stability and flexibility in operation of power system.

EVNNPT will make evaluation on the efficiency of the station so as to select suitable technologies for transformer stations in the future.

The Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) plans to have all equipment on transmission lines and 80% of 110 kV circuit facilities digitalised from now to 2022.

By 2025, EVN will have digitalised 100% of facilities on medium- and higher-voltage power lines, according to EVN Chairman Duong Quang Thanh.

To that end, the group will press on with applying digital technologies like Internet of Things, big data, and cloud computing, he said, noting that it will use artificial intelligence (AI) in monitoring and examination and make use of cameras and smart drones to repair lines.

It will continue research on building information models and digital worker platforms to serve its staff while developing AI applications for image analysis and data governance.

EVN said it has completed 61 of the 63 centres for remote control of transformer stations and converted 670 of the 844 transformer stations into unmanned ones.

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vũ Tiến Lộc. — Photo qdnd.vn

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vũ Tiến Lộc talks to Quân đội Nhân dân (People’s Army) newspaper about solutions to help businesses overcome difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the World Bank have recently announced a report on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Vietnamese businesses. What are key points of this report?

This report was built based on a survey of more than 10,000 businesses in 63 cities and provinces in 2020, providing specific perspectives on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey showed that the year 2020 was a year full of difficulties when nearly 90 per cent of surveyed firms were adversely affected by the pandemic with many consequences such as influencing firms’ access to customers, imbalance of cash flow and interruption of supply chains. Many businesses had to reduce their workforce, stop operations or go bankrupt.

Small- and super small-size businesses and young businesses of less than three years old suffered the most. The pandemic seriously affected turnover of businesses in 2020. 65 per cent of private enterprises and 62 per cent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) businesses said their revenue dropped in comparison with 2019. Due to COVID-19, the year 2020 witnessed a record number of businesses withdrawing from the market, exceeding 100,000 firms.

However, the year 2020 also recorded the efforts of the business community in overcoming difficulties. Many businesses have changed their strategies, carried out restructuring, retrained human resources, paid more attention to the domestic market and diversifying the consumption market and supply sources. The digital transformation process has gradually been implemented.

These are valuable lessons and experience that the COVID-19 pandemic has offered Vietnamese businesses.

How do you valuate the resilience of Vietnamese businesses in the current context?

In the serious medical crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have suffered great losses and the resilience of the business community is facing limits.

How have Government support packages helped businesses?

Businesses highly valued Government support packages, particularly fiscal policies such as relaxation or deferment of value added taxes, corporate income tax and land hiring fees.

Seventy five per cent of businesses said Government support policies are helpful.

In the current context, what support do businesses need?

If solutions about tax, fees and support relating to access to finance and credits are limited due to limited State budget, measures relating to administrative procedures are easier to implement and have been promoted in recent years but still need to be accelerated. And that is the basic foundation for the recovery and development of businesses.

But it needs to be noted that implementation is often the weakest step. I still say that the earlier policies are put into practice, the better it would support businesses. So it is necessary to give priority to improve the implementation capacity.

Relevant ministries, agencies and authorities of localities need to increase information dissemination about support policies to create conditions for businesses to get access to support packages. It requires specific, detailed and full guidance about implementation procedures and processes to make it simple and easy for businesses to implement.

It also needs policies to create favourable conditions for private enterprises to help them stand firm and able to recover after the pandemic, particularly policies relating to innovation and qualified human resources training to be ready for a new competition.

Businesses must change, so what do State management agencies need to do?

Relevant ministries and agencies need to study and give recommendations to the Government to issue support packages to help businesses recover and expand investment and operation for the new period of 2021-2025.

The COVID-19 pandemic is forecast to continue having adverse impacts across the globe and it could only be completely eliminated in the next four to five years. So in the future, it is essential to have long-term policies.

Finally, it needs to spread or multiple models that effectively cope with COVID-19. For ministries, agencies and localities, that is experience in effectively implementing support packages for businesses. For enterprise associations, that is the sharing of ways to cope with COVID-19 effectively from those firms that have existed and developed in the context of COVID-19, particularly lessons about choosing markets, partners, business relationship and about investing in building core internal driving force of businesses to increase their resilience to deal with shocks. — VNS

GONE: Jose Mourinho has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur after 17 months in the job. AFP/VNA Photo

Paul Kennedy

LONDON  Tottenham Hotspur Football Club yesterday sacked manager Jose Mourinho.

The bombshell dismissal comes less than a week before Tottenham are set to take on Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

Spurs have struggled in 2021, slipping down the Premier League and also crashing out of the Europa League.

The Portuguese boss, who also managed Porto, Chelsea twice, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, had been manager at White Hart Lane for 17 months.

A statement released via the Tottenham website read: “The Club can announce that Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff Joao Sacramento, Nuno Santos, Carlos Lalin and Giovanni Cerra have been relieved of their duties.

“Ryan Mason will take First Team training today and a further update will follow in due course.”

Chairman Daniel Levy added: “Jose and his coaching staff have been with us through some of our most challenging times as a Club.

“Jose is a true professional who showed enormous resilience during the pandemic. On a personal level I have enjoyed working with him and regret that things have not worked out as we both had envisaged.

“He will always be welcome here and we should like to thank him and his coaching staff for their contribution.”

The sacking comes just a day after Tottenham announced they would be joining the breakaway European Super League along with Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, as well as six other teams from Spain and Italy.

There is no confirmation Mourinho’s departure is connected to the controversial move to join the elite European competition,

Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019 and had a contract until the end of the 2022-23 season.

A permanent replacement for ex-Chelsea and Manchester United boss Mourinho is expected to be named in the summer.

RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann is favourite to take over in north London, according to bookmakers Betfair.

Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers is second favourite and links have also been made to former Spurs defender Ledley King, Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and former Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri. VNS

Danang launches a project to make the city an environmental city at a press conference on April 19

The project was launched at a press conference held on April 19 by the Danang Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

With total investment estimated at over VND15 trillion (USD653 million) which comes from the state budget, ODA capital, and private sources, the project aims at building Danang into an ecological city that ensures a safe and healthy environment for residents, investors and visitors.

The project will focus on four key sectors including prevention and control of environmental pollution, improving the environment and solving key environmental problems, conservation of nature and biodiversity and environmental protection awareness.

For the prevention and control of environmental pollution, the project targets 100% of enterprises and production establishments would be certified to achieve the ISO 14000 environmental management system. All emission sources (waste gas, wastewater, solid waste) will be controlled automatically and continuously.

By 2025, the city will complete the ecological industrial zones model and by 2030, there will be at least three eco-industrial zones.

Regarding environmental improvement and solving key environmental issues, the project aims to provide 100% of the urban population with access to clean water through a centralized water supply system and 100% of the rural population with clean water.

To conserve nature and biodiversity, the project seeks to strictly protect natural forests, maintain and encourage an increase in the forest cover and maintain protected land and biodiversity.

Regarding awareness over environmental protection, the project will ensure that over 3% of budget expenditure will be allocated to environmental protection activities. The rate of households practicing waste separation at point is targeted to reach 90% by 2025.

Speaking at the event, director of Danang Department of Natural Resources and Environment, To Hung, said that the project has been approved by the prime minister and they are determined to reach the goal.

Located at the noisy Thai Ha – Tay Son Crossroads, a luxury hotel is deserted with only several security guards at the entrance door. The project has been facing bad luck since its opening. It initially was an office building but offices were in oversupply and the investor had to shift to another business model.

The building was then redesigned to turn it into a hotel. However, it once again met ill fortune when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. Lockdowns and restricted travel policy have kept it deserted.

Even a gold-plated hotel is facing difficulties. With 360 rooms and many gold-plated items, the construction required investment capital of $100 million. The work was executed within 18 months and completed in March 2020, ready to serve the F1 tournament that was later postponed because of Covid-19. The hotel opening day was also delayed.

Other luxury hotels bearing international brands in Hanoi are in the same situation. Matthew Powell from Savills Hanoi said hotels in Hanoi had a difficult quarter because of the impact of another Covid-19 wave which decreased market capacity.

One 5-star hotel in Dong Da district was officially rated earlier this year, while two 4-star hotels in Ba Dinh and Tay Ho districts saw their star rating expire.

Meanwhile, Capella Hotel in Hoan Kiem was put into operation in Q1, but it has not been rated yet. Two 3-star hotels with 130 rooms had closed by the end of the last quarter.

Regarding supply, the entire market has 10,120 rooms in 17 5-star hotels, 17 4-star and 32 3-star hotels, up by one percent QoQ and 2 percent YoY.

The market capacity was 24 percent, down by 9 percent quarter on quarter and 20 percent year on year Meanwhile, the hotel room rate was $76 per night per room, down by 23 percent year on year.

The Covid-19 resurgence in January in Hanoi led to a reduction in hotel room occupancy rate in February and March to below 20 percent. Five-star hotels led the market in terms of revenue per available room in Q1 with $25/room/night.

Local hotels are now expecting more Vietnamese guests.

According to the Hanoi Tourism Department, after the Covid-19 outbreak was controlled, tourism points in Hanoi reopened in March. About 685,000 travelers came to Hanoi, a 180 percent month-on-month and 360 percent year on year increase.

An OAG (Official Aviation Guide) report showed that the Hanoi-HCM City air route continued to be the second busiest route in the world in March with 980,000 passengers.

Duy Khanh