Saigon times daily

The central square of the Thu Thiem New Urban Area currently under construction in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, will allow for 500,000 attendees during major cultural events. The future financial, commercial, and entertainment center in Ho Chi Minh City will spare nearly 27 hectares of land for the construction of a central square and riverside park for use during political, cultural, and daily events. A detailed plan for the square and park and connections to the current center of Ho Chi Minh City in District 1 via two separate footbridges was submitted by the municipal Department of Planning and Architecture to the city’s administration during a meeting on Tuesday. The massive central square will run the entire length of three building blocks and leave space for nearly 268,000 people to attend commemorative parades and up to 500,000 guests for cultural events. The construction plan also includes underground and above-ground parking lots with space for 2,700 cars. … [Read more...] about Saigon’s future Thu Thiem center to feature massive square

Tourism Removing “cheap tour” bottlenecks By Nhan Tam Friday,  Dec 13, 2019,19:16 (GMT+7) Removing “cheap tour” bottlenecksBy Nhan Tam Truong Thi Hong Hanh, director of the Danang Tourism Department - PHOTO: NHAN TAM DANANG - At the ongoing 12th session of the Danang City People's Council, Truong Thi Hong Hanh, director of the Danang Tourism Department, talked about how a budget or zero-dong tour is designed in the central coastal city and reports her solutions. The Saigon Times: How is a low-cost tour designed? - Truong Thi Hong Hanh: A cheap or zero-dong tour is a competitive pricing tactic used by tour operators to attract more clients. Tourists can buy the tour at no charge, or it may only include a return air ticket. These tours often include shopping excursions, low-cost meals and sightseeing that is free of charge or low-priced. Travel companies can find many ways to offset their losses … [Read more...] about Removing “cheap tour” bottlenecks

After considering several solutions to expand its headquarters, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has decided to take up a proposal by U.S. architecture firm Gensler, which will not demolish a 130-year-building in downtown Saigon, but build on it. The city's Department of Planning and Architecture will work with the American firm to come up with the most feasible plan, the administration recently announced. This 130-year-old French colonial structure adjacent to the iconic Ben Thanh Market is the second oldest building in Saigon. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran. The department had proposed earlier that the city’s People's Committee invites international experts to make detailed plans on preserving the old building, which faced the threat of demolition as part of a proposed expansion plan for the city’s People’s Committee headquarters. In their petition, experts and other signatories had dismissed the argument that the building not being part of an official … [Read more...] about 130-year-old building to serve as ‘tradition house’ for HCMC administration

Delegates at the dialogue. Delegates shared their challenges of market access for goods and investment into Viet Nam, discussing issues including product registration, import-export procedures, and customs processes. — Photo courtesy of Eurocham Government officials and business leaders from Viet Nam and the EU discussed the challenges of doing business in Viet Nam and solutions which can help streamline procedures for international companies in a high-level dialogue on Thursday in Ha Noi. The 4th discussion, held by the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform (ACAPR) and the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham), follows Eurocham’s recent mission to Brussels to advocate for ratification of the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). It gathered hundreds of representatives from European enterprises and the Office of the Government (OOG) to discuss improvements to Viet Nam’s trade and investment environment “Today’s … [Read more...] about Viet Nam-EU dialogue discusses challenges to doing business in Viet Nam

AirAsia brings the first 180 tourists to Da Nang city from Thailand's Chiang Mai province on April 12. (Photo: AirAsia) Da Nang (VNA) – Budget carrier AirAsia’s first flight connecting Thailand’s Chiang Mai province and Vietnam’s central coastal city of Da Nang landed at Da Nang International Airport on April 12, with 180 passengers on board. The daily flight takes a total of one hour and 45 minutes, departing at 8 am from Chiang Mai and 10:15 am from Da Nang city. AirAsia already has a Bangkok-Da Nang route with three flights per week, and a Da Nang-Kuala Lumpur route with two flights per week. According to Vice Director of the Da Nang Centre for Tourism Promotion Huynh Thi Huong Lan, Thailand has become one of the city’s biggest sources of tourists in recent years. During the January-March period, the city welcomed nearly 60,000 Thai visitors, up 35.7 percent from the same time last year. The direct flight will facilitate the travel of people from … [Read more...] about First Chiang Mai-Da Nang flight brings 180 tourists to central region