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The city wants the Metro 4b line, which is in the process of project documentation, to eventually connect all three terminals of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC and runs to Long Thanh being built in its neighboring province of Dong Nai.

The proposal for the metro link between the airports is contained in a proposal the city made for the national railway development plan for the next decade with vision until 2050.

The proposed route will also boost connectivity between the two localities and Thu Duc City, the new city within HCMC, the proposal says.

Under the current plan, Metro 4b will run underground with three stations for a total length of 3.2 kilometers, connecting the Gia Dinh Park in Phu Nhuan District with Lang Cha Ca intersection south of Tan Son Nhat in Tan Binh District.

Construction of the VND109 trillion ($4.6 billion) first phase of Long Thanh International Airport began earlier this year. The first phase is set to be completed by 2025, giving the new airport a capacity of 25 million passengers a year.

Huyen Kim, who works for a company that cleans office buildings in HCMC, is in dire need for a job.

She was furloughed by the company in late May as the fourth Covid-19 wave began to spread, and told she would be taken back in July if the outbreak is better controlled. But she is worried sick since this is the worst Covid situation Vietnam has faced so far.

“I asked my nephew to help me find a housemaid or babysitter job online, but have had no luck so far,” the 43-year-old woman said.

“I am waiting for the day I can start working again. All I can do now is wait for the outbreak to die down.”

She used to earn around VND8 million ($345) a month cleaning five offices every day in the city’s downtown.

Kim is by no means the only domestic helper to be severely hit by the new wave, which has stripped many of their livelihoods.

A study published Tuesday by the International Labor Organization (ILO) said cleaners and helpers have suffered job losses at nearly three times the rate as other workers. It said in the second quarter of 2020 they suffered a 17 percent jobless rate compared to 6.1 percent for other workers like drivers, cooks, security guards, and others.

For people from rural areas, getting stuck in metropolises amid the pandemic is a luxury they cannot afford, especially when many neighborhoods in Hanoi and HCMC have been placed under lockdown.

Pham Thu Hang, 40, who works in Hanoi’s Long Bien District, moved back to her hometown in the northern Phu Tho Province in late May to work as a farmer when the capital saw Covid resurge.

“I need to save money to support my children in Phu Tho, so the idea of getting stuck in Hanoi for months scared me,” she said.

She is reconciled to alternating between the two places after having faced such upheavals before. In January too she had to move back to Phu Tho soon after the third wave began, and only returned to Hanoi to work in March after it died down.

“I’m now used to the fact that my job is unstable. The only thing that saddens me is that I can put less food on the table for my children.”

She used to earn a monthly income of around VND7 million ($302) in Hanoi. She admitted she is afraid of getting infected and so “fleeing to her hometown is the best bet.”

With the outbreak continuing to rage, HCMC authorities extended social distancing by two more weeks after imposing the first one on May 31.

Since the fourth wave began on April 28 the southern city has become the third hardest hit locality with 1,346 cases as of Friday evening. Hanoi was in fourth place with 464.

Some families have taken extra precautions and decided to stop hiring cleaners after the number of daily cases continues to rise.

Following the Ministry of Health’s preventive guidelines, Phi Thi Thu Thao has stopped hiring helpers from a service company after HCMC mandated social distancing.

“Since the company my husband and I work for allows us to work from home, we have been taking turns caring for our two-year-old son and doing household chores,” the 33-year-old accountant said.

In the same report the ILO said the working hours of cleaners and helpers fell by 24.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019. As a result, wages plummeted by 26.2 percent.

Some commercial cleaning services are struggling to survive.

Nguyen Truong Son, a marketing staff for Giupviec.vn, a home and office cleaning services company with offices in Hanoi and HCMC, said revenues had fallen by 50-60 percent since the Lunar New Year [in mid-February].

Besides, the demand for office cleaning services had also declined since people have started working from home.

“The company offers disinfection services along with cleaning at a cheap price to attract and retain customers. But the promotion is not effective since not many people want a combination of those services,” he said.

Cleaners like Kim are desperate to go back to work and make a living.

“I just hope the outbreak will be under control soon so that things can go back to the pre-pandemic era,” she said wistfully.

The companies today also signed an agreement extending the CFM International 50/50 partnership to the year 2050, declaring their intent to lead the way for more sustainable aviation in line with the industry’s commitment to halve CO2 emissions by 2050.

“The relationship between GE and Safran today is the strongest it has ever been,” said John Slattery, President and CEO of GE Aviation. “Together, through the RISE technology demonstration program, we are reinventing the future of flight, bringing an advanced suite of revolutionary technologies to market that will take the next generation of single-aisle aircraft to a new level of fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. We fully embrace the sustainability imperative. As we have always done in the past, we will deliver for the future.”

“Our industry is in the midst of the most challenging times we have ever faced,” said Olivier Andriès, CEO of Safran. “We have to act now to accelerate our efforts to reduce our impact on the environment. Since the early 1970s, breakthrough engine efficiency and reliability have been the hallmark of our historic partnership and our LEAP engine already reduces emissions by 15 percent compared to previous generation engines. Through the extension of our CFM partnership to 2050, we are today reaffirming our commitment to work together as technology leaders to help our industry meet the urgent climate challenges.”2

Technologies matured as part of the RISE Program will serve as the foundation for the next generation CFM engine that could be available by the mid-2030s. The program goals include reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by more than 20 percent compared to today’s most efficient engines, as well as ensuring 100 percent compatibility with alternative energy sources such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels and hydrogen.

Central to the program is state-of-the-art propulsive efficiency for the engine, including developing an open fan architecture. This is a key enabler to achieving significantly improved fuel efficiency while delivering the same speed and cabin experience as current single-aisle aircraft.

The program will also use hybrid electric capability to optimize engine efficiency while enabling electrification of many aircraft systems.

The program is being led by a joint GE/Safran engineering team that has laid out a comprehensive technology roadmap including composite fan blades, heat resistant metal alloys, ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), hybrid electric capability and additive manufacturing. The RISE program includes more than 300 separate component, module and full engine builds. A demonstrator engine is scheduled to begin testing at GE and Safran facilities around the middle of this decade and flight test soon thereafter.

The original 1974 framework agreement creating CFM International as a 50/50 joint venture between the two aircraft engine manufacturers redefined international cooperation and helped change the course of commercial aviation. The partnership was renewed in 2008 for the launch of the LEAP engine program. Today, CFM is the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines with a product line that serves as the industry benchmark for efficiency, reliability and low overall cost of ownership. More than 35,000 CFM engines have been delivered to more than 600 operators around the globe, accumulating more than one billion flight hours.

Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment and interiors), defense and space markets. Its core purpose is to contribute to a safer, more sustainable world, where air transport is more environmentally friendly, comfortable and accessible. Safran has a global presence, with 79,000 employees and sales of 16.5 billion euros in 2020, and holds, alone or in partnership, world or regional leadership positions in its core markets. Safran undertakes research and development programs to maintain the environmental priorities of its R&T and Innovation roadmap. GE Aviation , an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet engines, components and systems for commercial and military aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings.

PV