Germany helps fund four restoration projects

The German Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City has announced four cultural conservation and training projects in Vietnam, an indication of the support and cooperation in culture between the two countries.

The projects are part of a programme by the German Foreign Ministry to preserve Vietnam’s cultures, including the conservation and restoration of the An Dinh Palace, King Tu Duc’s Tomb in the imperial ancient city of Hue, the Tran Dang communal house in Hanoi and the tower at Canh Tien in the central province of Binh Dinh.

The An Dinh Palace was the first site that the German restorers (the Germany Conservation Restoration and Education Project - GCREP) developed an on the job training/certification scheme for restorers. The 290,000 EUR project was carried out in several phases from 2003–2008 by two German not-for-profit organisations, said Andrea Teufel, the project’s director and head of the restoration team.

The conservation and restoration at the An Dinh Palace was conducted strictly to UNESCO standards and mainly focused on wall and ceiling paintings.

The project also ran a training course for 15 Vietnamese trainees.

Another project in Hue City was the restoration of the gate and panels of King Tu Duc’s tomb at a cost of EUR 110,000. This project also included training for Vietnamese workers.

The 700-year-old communal house in the ancient village of Tran Dang in suburban Hanoi was restored and preserved by the GCREP and Vietnamese architect Ly Truc Dung. The restoration process received 90,000 EUR in funding from Germany.

The fourth project is the restoration of the tower at Canh Tien in Binh Dinh which dates back to the XII century.

Dang Huu Tho, the Director of the provincial Conservation Centre, said Canh Tien, which is located in Do Ban citadel, is an outstanding example of Binh Dinh Cham architecture and attracts many tourists.

The project, which costs a total of 8 billion VND, is scheduled to be competed by December this year. Germany provided financial assistance to the tune of VND 2 billion (EUR 100,000), added Tho.

(Source: VNA)

Vinaconex-ITC introduces Cat Ba Amatina project

Vinaconex Investment & Tourism Development Joint Stock Co., or Vinaconex-ITC, has launched the Cat Ba Amatina tourism urban area project in Haiphong City with a total investment of US$1 billion.

The project will cover more than 170ha in Cat Hai District with seven resorts, 800 villas, two cruise wharfs, a convention center and international commercial center, sports and entertainment areas and five-star hotels. The tourism urban area is designed under world-class environment protection standards.

The project is designed by U.S.-based group 70/Pacmar, Inc., Vinaconex R&D Joint Stock Co. and French Land Design Group. The area is expected to accommodate about 7,000 people.

In addition, Vinaconex-ITC has also announced that it will trade 30 million shares on the Hanoi Stock Exchange on May 10 under the code VCR.

The enterprise earned VND50 billion in revenue and VND19 billion in after-tax profits in 2009. The company has obtained over VND20 billion in pre-tax profits in this year’s first quarter, 30% of 2010’s target.

The enterprise has plans to issue six million shares to existing shareholders to increase its chartered capital to VND360 billion this year to develop the Cat Ba Amatina project and other real estate projects in Hanoi and Haiphong cities.

(Source: SGT)

Five-star resort gets off ground in Danang

The five-star residential-commercial-hotel complex Le Meridien Danang Resort & Spa got off the ground on May 4 in the central coast city of Danang for completion in 2013, said the investor Saigon-Danang Investment Corporation.

The 12ha resort project in Son Tra-Dien Ngoc Beach in Ngu Hanh Son District comprises of deluxe villas, residences and five-star hotels with a total investment of approximately US$110 million. Key components include some 350 five-star hotel rooms, 149 apartments and 48 villas for sales and rent.

Other auxiliary facilities in the complex include a gymnasium, swimming pool, groceries, beverage restaurants, indoor recreational center, and spas among others. The total floor space of the complex is over 125,000m².

The project is the ideal destination for tourists since it serves as the connection between Ngu Hanh Son and the three world cultural heritage sites namely Hoi An Ancient City, My Son Sanctuary and Hue Ancient Capital.

Kinh Bac City Development Share-holding Corporation (KBC), under Saigon Invest Group, is the biggest shareholder of Saigon-Danang Investment Corporation, investor of the Le Meridien Danang Resort & Spa.

KBC is also the biggest shareholder of Saigon-Dalat Tourism JSC, investor of the would-be Sheraton Dalat Resort complex consisting of deluxe villas, residences and the Sheraton Hotel in Dalat City.

KBC last year signed a letter of intent with the leading international hotel management company Starwood Group under which the latter would manage the two five-star hotels including Le Meridien Danang Resort & Spa.

According to the agreement, KBC would have Starwood manage its Le Meridien Danang Resort & Spa in the central city of Danang and Sheraton Dalat Resort in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

Meanwhile, Sheraton Dalat Resort with total investment of some US$40 million is located on an 18ha area near the center of the resort city of Dalat.

The development of deluxe resorts is a further bold step of KBC into the tourism industry following the company’s initial investment in several other hospitality projects, including Robin Hill Resort in Dalat, Lagi Resort & Spa – Ham Tan in Binh Thuan, and Danang Luxury Resort in Danang.

(Source: SGT)

PVC, PVEP to build hotel complex

PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corp (PVC) and PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Corp (PVEP) recently broke ground for the PetroVietnam Hotel Complex project in the northern city of Thai Binh.

The project, with total investment capital of VND503.2 billion (USD26.5 million), will be constructed on an area of 10,045m² in De Tham Ward in Thai Binh City with PVEP as the main investor.

The complex will be built under the international standards for a four-star hotel and will include a 15-storey hotel tower and a 17-storey tower of top-end apartments and offices for lease. Construction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of next year.

(Source: VNA)

Country’s first jade pagoda to be built

The management board of Quan The Am Pagoda held a ceremony to break ground for the country’s first jade pagoda in the 32ha Ngu Hanh Son sanctuary park in the central city of Danang. The ceremony was part of the Quan The Am Festival taking place in the sanctuary from April 2-4.

The jade pagoda will cover about 2ha at an expected cost of VND60 billion collected from Buddhist followers. The pagoda will comprise two floors designed totally in jade and a spacious area to serve worshipping practices of pilgrims and visits of tourists.

The pagoda will be completed within four years to be the highlight of the Ngu Hanh Son sanctuary.

The Quan The Am Festival is not only a religious festival of Buddhism but also a national folk festival associated with the legends of Ngu Hanh Son sanctuary’s establishment, the history of Bodhisattva and the founder of Non Nuoc Fine Art Stone Village.

The highlights of the festival include the exhibition of a jade painting named “One-Pillar Pagoda”, dance shows and a stone sculpturing contest.

(Source: SGT)

French-style village being built on Ba Na Mount

The Ba Na Cable Car Service Joint Stock Company is building a French-style village on Ba Na Mount to serve domestic and foreign tourists.

The construction project with a combined investment capital of USD15 million includes 80 two-storey houses scattered throughout the forest.

Dang Minh Truong, Chairman of the company’s Management Board, said that the village is designed to revive an old resort whose facilities date back to the early 20th century. The resort was considered the largest resort paradise in Indochina at that time.

Apart from the village, the company is building an entertainment park boasting a 3D cinema, a snow city, game centres and artificial mountains for climbers, Truong said, expecting the USD25-million park will be completed at the end of next March.

Located 46km southwest of the central coast city of Danang, Ba Na is endowed with a mild climate and beautiful natural scenery. The French colonials discovered the area in 1901 and built a dozen villas exclusively for their officials.

Ba Na in 1986 was recognised by the state as a natural reserve with rare fauna and flora in need of protection such as bassia, perfumed wood and pheinardia ocellata.

At present, Ba Na is one of the most famous tourism and resort sites in Vietnam.

(Source: VNA)

USD 2.6 million for sustainable tourism in Quang Binh

Some USD2.6 million from the “Greater Mekong Subregion Sustainable Tourism Development” project will be injected into the central province of Quang Binh to preserve and upgrade ecological tourism in the locality.

This is part of a five-year ADB-funded project, starting from 2009, to boost socio-economic development with focus on poverty reduction, infrastructure, heritage preservation in five provinces of Vietnam.

Of the funding, over USD2.1 million will be provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the remaining, about 400,000 USD will be reciprocal capital.

The project will concentrate on the preservation of the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, which is home to two villages living in the core zone and six others in buffer zones, the project’s director, Le The Luc, said, adding that their livelihoods mainly depend on forestry that leads to the degradation of the whole park.

The investment will be spent to upgrade Phong Nha and Tien Son caves, use environmentally friendly materials like composite for making boats to reduce pollution while developing some services serving ecological tourism in other tourist sites.

Apart from setting up a database on local geography, ethnic minority groups and their traditional culture, the project will develop pastoral and community-based tourism to help improve earnings of people in buffer zones. Thus, more than 56,500 people are expected to directly or indirectly benefit from the project.

(Source: VNA)

Central region to have new beach resort

The central province of Quang Ngai broke ground on March 20 for the construction of a multi-purpose marine tourist site at a cost of VND400 billion (USD21.2 million).

The project will offer services in convalescence, swimming, surfing, boating, entertainments, shopping, gymnasiums and accommodations for between 500 and 700 clients a day and night.

The 24.4ha resort will mark off 2.4ha for green space and gymnasiums while beaches alone cover 6ha. Hotels and convalescent homes will occupy 8.6ha and traffic roads and car parking, 4.1ha.

Once completed in late 2012, the project is expected to provide stable jobs for over 800 local work-hands.

(Source: VNA)

Nearly VND 12 billion to upgrade Hanoi’s ancient citadel

The Hanoi Housing Development and Investment Corporation on March 19 kicked off a VND12 billion (USD613,000) project to refurbish the moat surrounding the Son Tay Ancient Citadel.

This is one of the five projects under the Municipal People’s Committee’s plan to improve the environment of lakes in the inner city to mark Hanoi’s 1,000th founding anniversary. The project is expected to be completed within four months.

Located in Son Tay Town, 42km from central Hanoi, the Son Tay Ancient Citadel was built in 1822 under the reign of King Minh Mang to defend the western gateway of the city of Thang Long, which is now Hanoi. Its walls were made of laterite, an extremely strong type of stone.

Covering an area of 20ha, the square-shaped citadel is surrounded by a 20m-wide, 2,000m-long moat. It has four gates, namely the Front (Tien), the Back (Hau), the Right (Huu) and the Left (Ta).



Inside the citadel, there are an 18m-high flagpole, a ceremonial place called Kinh Thien Hall, a lotus pond, a water well and soldiers’ camps.

During the 1870-1980s, the citadel was the Nguyen Royal Court’s defence centre during the resistance war against French colonialism.

Time and war have destroyed many areas inside the unique military fortification, which was recognised by the State as a national historical and architectural relic in 1994. In February 2009, the Hanoi People’s Committee decided to preserve and restore the Son Tay Ancient Citadel to serve the millennium celebration of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Together with the moat, several other sections in the citadel such as the flagpole, water well and Vong Cung - a place for the King and mandarins to relax and offer scarifies – have also been restored and upgraded.

(Source: VNA)

Ha Tinh to have a large-scale beach resort

The People’s Committee of Ha Tinh Province has approved a beachside eco-resort project on an area of 1,557ha at Thien Cam national tourism site in the north-central coast province.

With a coastline of over 14km, this ideal resort features clear-blue sea water, a gently sloping beach, a casuarina forest, many historical sites and over 200 available hotels and restaurants along with entertainment and fitness facilities, over an area including Thien Cam Town and Cam Duong, Cam Linh and Cam Nhuong districts.

Under the development plan of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the project includes five areas, among which a high-quality beach resort will be strongly developed from 2010-2015 in the north of Thien Cam at a cost of VND5 trillion (USD273,2 million).

(Source: VNA)

Work starts on largest hotel in Lao Cai

Works began on a four-star hotel on February 23 in the misty mountainous town of Sapa in Lao Cai Province.

Sapa lndochina, the largest of its kind in Sapa, will be built at a cost of VND145 billion (roughly USD8.1 million) by Dong Duong international commercial investment joint stock company.

Covering an area of 7,252m², the French-style hotel will accommodate 88 rooms looking the Hoang Lien-Sapa mountain range.

The hotel is expected to be put into operation in June, 2011.

Apart from Sapa lndochina, the company plans to build a luxurious resort, Indochina International, with 80 villas on an area of 28.2ha in Lao Chai-Ta Van in Lao Cai Province.

(Source: VNA)

Japanese trust fund helps preserve Thang Long Citadel

The Japanese Fund-in-Trust will provide Vietnam with more than USD1.1 million in non-refundable aid to help preserve a cultural heritage site in Hanoi.

The agreement, which is valued at more than USD1.2 million, was signed in Hanoi on January 20 in the presence of Mitsuo Sakaba, Japanese Ambassador in Vietnam, Katherine Muller-Marin, UNESCO’s representative in Vietnam, and members of Hanoi’s authorities.


With the remaining USD93,000 being contributed by Vietnam, the project will be completed in 36 months and starts in January this year.

It is designed to support scientific research that assesses the archeological, architectural, and socio-economic values of Hanoi’s former Thang Long Citadel and will come up with proposals to conserve and make full use of those values.

The project will also help to develop a management plan for the site and will focus on providing Vietnamese specialists and managers with methodologies used in urban and historical archeology, as well as preservation methods and managerial skills.

Muller-Marin said that the preservation of these valuable heritages is necessary, to help enrich the younger generations’ knowledge of Hanoi and understand what helped to create the oldest capital city in Southeast Asia.

The Thang Long-Hanoi Citadel Area has been rated as a special national relic site and has been submitted to UNESCO for recognition as a world heritage site.

(Source: VNA)

Kien Giang Province leases forest for tourism

The Mekong delta province of Kien Giang has approved a forest lease plan for tourism development in the 2010-2015 period, which is considered to be a bold move to preserve forest and tap its eco-tourism potential.

Under the plan, all economic sectors will be mobilised to engage in forest management and protection. The plan is expected to help mitigate forest destruction and encroachment, gradually improve forest quality, and maintain forest preservation and sustainable development, said Lam Hoang Sa, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee.

It will also take advantage of the forest environment for eco-tourism development, he added.

The plan has biding regulations for tenants to ensure the diversity of the flora and fauna in the leased forests, the Vice Chairman said, adding that if the forest environment and panorama are destructed, the renters themselves will also suffer losses.

The total area of forest for lease is more than 6,800ha in U Minh Thuong, An Minh, Kien Luong, Kien Hai and Hon Dat districts, and Ha Tien Town.

(Source: VNA)

Luxembourg trains personnel for tourist services

The Luxembourg government will provide EUR2.95 million to carry out a EUR3.3 million project to help train personnel for the tourism and hotel sector in Vietnam.

A protocol was signed in Hanoi on January 20 by the Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang and the Luxembourg Ambassador in Vietnam Marc Ungeheuer.

The project will take place in Hanoi and Hai Phong City in the North, Danang and Nha Trang cities in the Central region, Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau and Can Tho cities in the South as well as Dalat City in the Central Highlands over three years.

Ambassador Ungeheuer said at the signing ceremony he believed in the development of Vietnam’s tourist industry, which can generate many more jobs to enable local people to escape from the poverty trap.

He stated that by improving the capacity of the human resources in the tourist industry will help it to become more competitive and attract increased numbers of visitors from overseas.

The project is the fourth of its kind in Vietnam sponsored by the Luxembourg government. The three previous projects, which had a combined value of over EUR10.3 million, have been in operation in Vietnam since 1997.

(Source: VNA)

Cultural heritage site safeguarded in Truong Sa archipelago

A project is underway to preserve a cultural heritage site in Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.

The project includes building a monument in honour of Ho Chi Minh and fallen combatants. It is to show the Vietnamese people’s gratitude for them and to educate the younger generations living in the south-eastern part of the country.

The project is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of this year. According to the Chairman of the Truong Sa People’s Committee Vi Duc Thanh, the funding of VND13.8 billion for the project comes from the People’s Committee of Nghe An Province and Rang Dong Company in the southern province of Binh Phuoc.

This year, the island district of Truong Sa will also complete the construction of the Capital Guest House at a total cost of VND16.5, funded by the Hanoi municipal authorities.

(Source: VOV)