Rescuers combed through the rubble of collapsed buildings on Wednesday, in a search for 67 people missing after a strong earthquake which killed at leastseven near Taiwan's popular tourist city of Hualien. The magnitude 6.4 quake, which hit near the coastal city just before midnight (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, injured 260 people and caused four buildings to collapse, officials said. Hualien Mayor Fu Kun-chi said the number of people missing was now close to 60, although an exact figure was not provided. As many as 150 were initially feared missing. Many of the missing were believed to be still trapped inside buildings, some of which tilted precariously, after the quake struck about 22 km (14 miles) northeast of Hualien on Taiwan's east coast. At the city's Marshal Hotel, rescuers trying to free two trapped Taiwanese pulled one out alive, but the other person was declared dead, the government said. Mainland Chinese, Czech, Japanese, Singaporean and South Korean nationals were among the … [Read more...] about At least seven killed, 67 missing after quake rocks Taiwan tourist area
Building seven
Drug trader’s seven-floor building in Son La destroyed
Authorities of the northern province of Son La’s Moc Chau District have decided to remove a seven-floor building built by a local drug dealer. The house was owned by Trang A Tang who was famous in the district for his wealth. He had many big houses and cars such as a Lexus and BMW. He really admired Keangnam Landmark Tower in Hanoi and wanted to copy it. The seven-floor building of Trang A Tang However, in July 2013, Tang and his accomplices were arrested while transporting a large amount of heroin. Since then, the building which was not yet been completed was left abandoned. Many people raised their concerns about the reason for destroying the building, saying that it should have been used for public purposes to avoid waste. Others said that it should have been auctioned and the collected money could be used for supporting the poor. Meanwhile, Pham Duc Chinh, chairman of Moc Chau District People’s Committee, said that the house located at Moc Chau Farm was … [Read more...] about Drug trader’s seven-floor building in Son La destroyed
Building value based on customer trust
Modern showroom, ideal locationKia Pham Van Dong showroom is located on Pham Van Dong Road, part of Hanoi’s Belt Road 3 - a lifeline connecting provinces in the north and northeastern region, industrial zones and the Noi Bai International Airport with the capital’s center. This ideal location makes it convenient for customers to discover Kia-branded products and services.Located near to economic, cultural and political centers of Cau Giay District, the 6,000sq.m showroom with Kia Motors Corporation’s brand identity was designed according to the standards of a 3S showroom consisting of major areas: sales, service, spare parts, and functional areas. An area of nearly 1,000sq.m is used to introduce the latest models of Kia-branded cars, such as Kia Morning, Kia Sorento, Kia Sedona, Kia Optima, and especially the luxury model Kia Quoris. Adjacent to the showroom and office is the 5,200sq.m service workshop with modern technical equipment capable to serve 200 cars per … [Read more...] about Building value based on customer trust
Seven killed in HCM City house fire
A family of seven, including three children, burned to death in a house fire on September 16 in HCM City. The fire started around 2am, on the ground floor of Lan Anh Hair Salon on Nguyen Trai Street. The owners were sleeping and only people on the street noticed the fire. They tried to put it out, but could not get access to the residence. The firefighters arrived quickly, but there were also many flammable materials inside. Police blocked off the road as the firefighters continued to control the blaze. The fire was put out by 6am, and four bodies were found. Police reported that they believe there are least three more buried in the rubble. According to a friend of the family, there were a total of seven in the building, including two brothers, their wives and three children. The police are continuing their search. The scene Curious people gather outside … [Read more...] about Seven killed in HCM City house fire
Hanoi’s 48 high-rise apartment buildings fail to observe fire safety regulations
Notably, at the end of May, the department published a report saying that 79 high-rise apartment buildings failed to meet fire safety regulations in Hanoi, 64 of which had not passed fire safety tests but were already operational, while one building was under construction without its design passing a fire safety assessment.Also according to the report in May, Hadong district continues to have the highest number of fire safety violations, with 20 buildings falling short, followed by South Tu Liem district with seven buildings and North Tu Liem district with six.The results mean that in the past five months, only 31 building owners have addressed the issue.In the context of unpredictably fires, the Hanoi People’s Committee issued a long-term plan to improve the city's capacity to fight fires at high-rise buildings.Notably, the city will purchase two planes to serve fire prevention and fighting in the city.The Hanoi People's Committee said the planes are part of the fire prevention … [Read more...] about Hanoi’s 48 high-rise apartment buildings fail to observe fire safety regulations
Fire breaks out on top floor of Golden Westlake high-rise building
According to a local witness, the blaze erupted suddenly on the 25th floor of the building and spread quickly, with flames and smoke swirling into the sky.A VOV reporter said columns of thick black smoke continued to rise from the building while people were evacuated, causing heavy traffic congestion. Local authorities said seven fire engines were mobilized to the scene to tackle the blaze. However, fire fighters have said the height of the building is creating difficulties for access as they attempt to extinguish the fire.The cause of the fire is under investigation. … [Read more...] about Fire breaks out on top floor of Golden Westlake high-rise building
HCM City to build more bridges, tunnels
Ho Chi Minh City plans to construct 25 tunnels and bridges across large rivers like Saigon, Dong Nai, Nha Be and Long Tau by 2020. Ho Chi Minh will build more bridges by 2020 This was revealed at a ceremony hosted by the city Department of Transport to celebrate its 35th anniversary and receive the second class Labor Medal.The city will also build three belt roads, seven highways, four flyovers and dozens of radial roads from now till 2020.The public transport system will also focus on building six metro routes, three tramways and monorails.For the waterway traffic, the city will build large seaports at Hiep Phuoc Commune of Nha Be District and Cat Lai port complex in District 2 in an effort to move ports out of the city centre.River ports like Phu Dinh, Nhon Duc, Tan Phu Trung and Binh Dien are expected to be complete by 2020.The goods transport capacity of the city port system is planned to rise by 200 million tons per … [Read more...] about HCM City to build more bridges, tunnels
HCMC needs $40 billion for seven breakthrough programs
Ho Chi Minh City needs up to US$40 billion to implement seven breakthrough programs from now until 2020, said the city People’s Committee. Buildings along Nguyen Huu Tho street in District 7 and Nha Be, HCMC However the city is unaffordable for the entire amount so it has implemented lot of ways to mobilize other resources in the society.In the upcoming time, the city will rearrange redundant land and housing fund, about 1,000 land plots and houses, to create funds for BT (Build-Transfer) projects.In addition, it have not reclaimed ten golden land pierces with the total area of 49,000 square meters and huge market value.In 1997, the city established Urban Development Investment Fund which is HCMC Financial Investment Company (HFIC) now to raise funds for economic, social and technical infrastructure projects.Besides traditional investment forms, HFIC is now stepping up cooperation with qualified investors to implement infrastructure projects under public private partnership … [Read more...] about HCMC needs $40 billion for seven breakthrough programs
Coordination can deter building violations in Hanoi
Illegal construction encroaching on public and agricultural land still occursin some suburban districts.(Photo: baodatviet.vn)Hanoi (VNA) - Hanoishould finalise regulations on construction management to eliminate overlappingresponsibilities between agencies, and also to clarify inspection duties tobetter deter construction violations, experts have said.Tran Viet Trung, deputy directorof the city’s Department of Construction, said that a shortage of sanctions andthe loose management of local authorities have contributed to an increase inconstruction violations.In some suburban districts suchas Dong Anh, Hoai Duc, Hoang Mai, Me Linh, My Duc, Nam Tu Liem, Soc Son, ThanhTri and Gia Lam, illegal construction encroaching on public and agriculturalland still occurs. However, the handling of violations of local authoritiesremains ineffective and slow.Some localities delay reportingviolations to higher level authorities. Thus, many illegal constructionprojects are nearly completed before … [Read more...] about Coordination can deter building violations in Hanoi
U.S. investor to build hi-tech hospital
U.S. investor to build hi-tech hospitalQuoc Hung HCMC – U.S.-based Quantus Corporation on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) to develop a state-of-the-art hospital here using advanced medical technologies. Alex C. Park, vice chairman and general counsel of Quantus, said the project at the park in District 9, HCMC is estimated to cost US$500 million and will be carried out in two phases. Half of the investment would be spent on construction of the hi-tech hospital and a life science institute, expected to be complete in July 2018. Then in the second phase, scheduled to be finished a year later, the company would provide the facilities with modern medical equipment. Park said the hospital will have many departments and feature advanced technologies and devices such as proton therapy and gamma-ray treatment for cancer, new neurosurgical approaches, helicopter services, an advanced stem cell cardiology unit, and a cutting-edge orthopedic … [Read more...] about U.S. investor to build hi-tech hospital