Khanh Hoa province, on the south-central coast, has recently been leading the way in attaining attraction from both domestic and foreign financiers when it comes to the gas and electricity sector. Among the suitors is one from the United States, proposing the Millennium gas power project with a forecast capacity of 14,400MW and 17 million tonnes of storage for liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. Joining in are Embark United Co., Ltd. and US Quantum Corporation to establish a 6,000MW gas power venture and a port warehouse to receive and process six million tonnes of LNG per year. Japanese investors did also not ignore the opportunity to develop gas power projects in Khanh Hoa, as Sumitomo Corporation proposed to invest in a 3,000MW gas power scheme and a storage system for three million tonnes of LNG per year, while J-Power Co., Ltd. wants to invest in a gas turbine power project with a capacity of 3,000MW. Despite a slightly slower approach, the province is also seeing the … [Read more...] about Full steam ahead for LNG capacities to omit fossil fuels
10 000 a week for life
Tour guides form team to save coral off coast of Binh Thuan
Coral is seriously damaged by crown-of-thorns starfish (Photo courtesy of Nguyen Van Gioi) Binh Thuan (VNS/VNA) - During a dive on a small island off the coast of Binh Thuan province, Nguyen Van Gioi and other tour guides were able to see hundreds of poisonous crown-of-thorns starfish , which are coral predators. “When diving to look at coral reefs on Hon Tranh isle, we saw crown-of-thorns starfish seriously devastate the coral reefs,” said Gioi, a tour guide on Phu Quy Island in the south-central coastal province. He and other tour guides on the larger island of Phu Quy decided to set up a team "to catch these poisonous crown-of-thorns starfish to save coral." According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, crown-of-thorns starfish are marine invertebrates that feed on coral and occur naturally on reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region, and when conditions are right, they can reach plague proportions and devastate hard coral communities. The institute’s … [Read more...] about Tour guides form team to save coral off coast of Binh Thuan
Vietnam in fifth place in happy planet index rankings
According to the Happy Planet Index (HPI) as announced by UK-headquartered New Economics Foundation (NEF), the country, which is home to an array of mountains and tropical forests, has a strikingly low Ecological Footprint and economic output per head, almost 24 times smaller than that of Hong Kong (China). Indeed, it is one of just three countries to mark the top 10 of the Happy Planet Index rankings with an Ecological Footprint that is small enough to be considered environmentally sustainable. The report also notes that, “While wellbeing in Vietnam is more modest than in other countries in the top 10 HPI rankings, its average wellbeing score is still higher than Hong Kong’s – despite the Vietnamese economy being significantly smaller and Vietnam’s Ecological Footprint being less than a fifth of the size of Hong Kong’s.” “Vietnam has an impressive average life expectancy. Both Vietnam and the Gambia have similar sized economies with similar levels of GDP per capita, yet on … [Read more...] about Vietnam in fifth place in happy planet index rankings
HCMC focusing on training AI human resources
According to the comprehensive plan to develop the IT human resources, Vietnam needed 1 million workers in the IT field in 2020. Yet the reality shows that there are only 600,000 IT students being trained in 400 higher educational institutes and 8 key IT training centers nationwide. Statistics from the Institute of Information Technology Strategy (under the Ministry of Information & Communications) show that 72 percent of IT students lack practical experience, while 42 percent are weak at team work. Only 15 percent of IT graduates satisfy the demands of employers. Vietnam now has over 700 IT companies working in key fields of the IT industry, including 220 foreign ones. They mostly locate in major cities or software parks. Notably, despite a high job potential, the AI field still attracts little attention from both learners and trainers. There is no formal university department or school to specifically provide tertiary education in this field. Most curriculum focus on … [Read more...] about HCMC focusing on training AI human resources
Vietnam to prepare for solar power boom
The proportion of solar and wind power projects in the entire national electricity system is expected to increase, requiring thorough preparation because of the instability of these power sources, experts have said. The draft of the eighth national power development plan shows majir changes in power source development from now to 2030 compared with the seventh plan. Under the draft, Vietnam will develop wind and solar power on a large scale, with the capacity of wind power increasing by three times and solar power by two times compared with the adjusted seventh plan. Vietnam will only continue the projects under construction or under investment promotion, to be operational in the 2021-2025 period. The coal-fired thermopower proportion will decrease gradually from 34 percent in 2020 to 27 percent by 2030. The Ministry of Investment and Trade wants to strongly develop gas-fired power with capacity increasing from 7GW in 2020 to 13.5GW by 2025 and 28-33GW by 2030 and the … [Read more...] about Vietnam to prepare for solar power boom