Keppel Group and Sovico Group cooperate on sustainable energy and urbanisation

Both groups signed an MoU for the development and rollout of energy and environmental solutions for large-scale decarbonization, as well as for smart and sustainable urban development and township management services.

On February 25, Keppel Group and Sovico Group signed two MoU to explore the development and rollout of energy and environmental solutions, as well as identify, develop, operate, and manage smart and sustainable projects in Vietnam’s key gateway cities, starting with Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

The MoU were signed in the presence of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is currently on a state visit to Singapore.
The collaboration marks a milestone in the strategic partnership between the two corporations – leveraging the strengths of Keppel, a powerhouse of solutions for sustainable urbanization, as well as Sovico Group’s proven track record and presence across a wide range of businesses including banking and finance, real estate, aviation, and energy.

Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Keppel said, “Keppel is pleased to extend its collaboration with Sovico to provide sustainable energy and urbanization solutions for Vietnam. Keppel has been investing in the country for over three decades, and we are glad to contribute further to its development. The signing of the MoU is very much in line with Keppel’s vision, in which we seek to provide solutions for sustainable urbanization, among others.”

Pham Khac Dung, vice president of Sovico said, “We support the efforts of the UN towards sustainable development and are committed to extending our cooperation with like-minded partners across the globe. The partnership with Keppel further strengthens Sovico’s development strategy. We are pleased and honored to join Keppel in growing the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership to new heights; and expanding cooperation into new growth areas based on promoting solutions for people and people-centred developments, as well as creating eco-friendly developments that contribute to the prosperity and sustainable development of the two economies.”

Sustainable energy and decarbonization solutions

Keppel Infrastructure Holdings Pte Ltd, through its wholly owned subsidiary Keppel Energy Ventures Pte Ltd, signed the MoU with Sovico to harness sustainability-related technologies and develop end-to-end sustainable energy solutions, which include renewables, electrification, energy efficiency, as well as the treatment of domestic solid waste in support of Vietnam’s transition to a green and carbon-neutral economy.

The collaboration will focus on scalable decarbonization solutions such as the electrification of vehicles and charging infrastructure, smart microgrids, sustainable energy-from-waste, and energy-as-a-service (EaaS), aimed at achieving large-scale greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

The parties will also collaborate on harnessing the vast renewable energy potential in Vietnam for the development of sustainable fuel for sectors like power, industrial, maritime transportation, and aviation, where carbon emissions may be harder to abate.

For aviation, sustainable fuel can for example be supplied to VietJet Air, which is majority-owned by Sovico. The synergistic development comes on the back of Keppel Infrastructure’s work to explore the feasibility of producing green ammonia in Australia for export to meet the rapidly growing demand for carbon-free energy. Green ammonia can be used as a direct feedstock in green energy generation, or as a hydrogen carrier to provide green hydrogen solutions.

Keppel Infrastructure’s EaaS, the first of its kind in the region, is a long-term subscription service with zero or minimal upfront capital investment, which includes power, energy storage, and the installation and operation of photovoltaic solar panels, super-efficient chiller systems, as well as smart electric vehicle charging stations. The initial roll-out in Vietnam will leverage Sovico’s large-scale commercial centres, office buildings, resorts, retail, and urban residential areas across the country as well as extend to their ecosystem of customers and partners.

Urban development

Keppel Land Ltd., Keppel Urban Solutions, Sovico Group, and Phu Long Real Estate JSC – a member of Sovico Group – have signed an MoU to cooperate in urban development which covers collaboration on smart and sustainable projects across Vietnam, including infrastructure planning, placemaking, and township management services to create highly liveable, vibrant spaces and digitally-connected communities, starting with Mailand Hanoi City.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, Singapore has become the largest foreign investor in Vietnam with 402 newly licensed projects and newly registered capital of $11.4 billion since early 2020. The Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership is expanding with increased partnerships and cooperation in many fields yielding positive results.

The abovementioned transactions are not expected to have any material impact on the earnings per share and net tangible asset per share of Keppel Corporation Ltd. for the financial year 2021 and the current one.

Source: vir.com.vn

Singapore Airlines to resume regular flights to Danang on 27th March

Singapore Airlines has become the first international carrier to announce resumption of commercial flights to Danang City from March 27 after nearly two years of suspension.

Singapore’s flag carrier is now selling air tickets for the service, the city’s news portal reported.

There would be one daily return flight on the route and the carrier would increase the frequency based on market demand.

Before the pandemic, Singapore was one of the key tourism markets of Danang with a frequency of four direct flights per day.

Around 12,000 Vietnamese live in Singapore.

Singapore resumed commercial flights to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi from Jan. 13.

Danang, home to long, sandy beaches, is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam. The city plans to fully reopen tourism and aviation from next month.

Source: e.vnexpress.net

Thai Vietjet to resume Bangkok – Danang air service on 27th March

Starting March 27, Thai Vietjet, the operator with most flight services between Viet Nam and Thailand, a member of low-cost carrier Vietjet Air, will resume its international air service linking the Thai capital city of Bangkok (via the Suvarnabhumi International Airport) and the central beach city of Danang in Viet Nam.

In the early stage, the Bangkok-Danang air service will be operated with three round-trip flights a week on every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, with the flight time of around 1 hour and 40 minutes per leg. Further frequency can be increased later based on market demand.

Vietjet provides the largest number of flights between Viet Nam and Thailand with the current Bangkok-HCM City route operating up to 6 flights a week.

In the next phase, Vietjet is expected to resume its remaining international routes and open more new routes to markets such as India and Australia to promptly meet the travel demand among passengers in the Asia-Pacific region.

From March 1, visitors arriving in Thailand only need to conduct RT-PCR tests on the first day and purchase COVID-19 insurance valued at US$20,000.

Meanwhile, international passengers arriving in Viet Nam from March 15 shall have ATK/RT-PCR tests on the first day and buy COVID-19 insurance worth US$10,000.

Source: vietjetair.com

Viet Nam’s oldest museum – home of Cham cultural treasures

Boasting over 100 years of preserving and bringing into play cultural values, the Museum of Cham Sculpture is considered a unique place showcasing the quintessence of Cham people’s art of sculpture, which is a precious heritage of Danang city as well as Viet Nam as a whole.

In the late 19th century, a French envoy named Charles Lemire discovered a relatively large number of antiquities of Cham people during his archaeological surveys and then brought them to the area which is now the central city of Danang to display.

After that, the French School of the Far East conducted more excavations on a larger scale and found many more items, leading to a need for a museum to exhibit these antiquities.

In 1902, Henri Parmentier, a famous archaeologist from the French School of the Far East, proposed a design plan for a Cham Museum in Danang. Basing on this, the construction of the Museum of Cham Sculpture started in 1915 and completed in 1919.

Located on a mound on the Han River’s western bank, near the western end of today’s Rong (Dragon) Bridge, the museum’s design is the combination of the European classical architectural style and that of Cham people.

The museum initially exhibited 160 Cham sculptures uncovered by Henri Parmentier in the 19th century. Since then, the collection has been added with more objects from different sources.

Given this, the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Danang is one of the oldest of its kind in Viet Nam, even older than the Hanoi-based Viet Nam National Museum of History, which was previously named the Louis Finot Museum built by France in 1926.

The first building of the Museum of Cham Sculpture was designed by two French architects, Delaval and Auclair, basing on Parmentier’s suggestion about using some architectural features of Cham people.

Undergoing many times of expansion, the museum still has its old but charming architecture kept intact and boasts highly unique exhibition spaces.

With over 100 years of conserving and bringing into play cultural values, the Museum of Cham Sculpture is considered a unique place showcasing the quintessence of Cham people’s art of sculpture, which is a precious heritage of Danang city as well as Viet Nam as a whole.

It is currently home to about 2,000 objects, nearly 300 of which are being displayed in several sections with different topics.
The exhibits clearly reflect the cultural and spiritual life, as well as the architectural and sculptural mindset, of Cham people in the past. They also include some items relevant to the Hinduism and several others with daily life-related themes.
Coming to the museum, visitors will have a chance to admire original Cham sculptures dating back centuries ago and learn about the culture of the ancient Champa Kingdom in Viet Nam’s history.

The Tra Kieu collection is among outstanding ones preserved there. Most of its items date back to the 10th – 11th century, some even in the 5th – 6th century.

Notably, they include three national treasures, namely the Tra Kieu altar, the My Son E1 altar, and the statue of Tara.
The Tra Kieu altar, created in the 10th century, is hailed as a sculptural masterpiece featuring images of 11 Apsara dancers in graceful and charming postures. It is also typical for the confluence of Indian and Southeast Asian culture.

Meanwhile, the My Son E1 altar, originated in the 7th – 8th century, vividly and artistically depicts spiritual dances of Hinduism.
The Statue of Tara, dating back to the 9th – 10th century, represents the avatar of Avalokitesvara, a Buddhist bodhisattva, in the name of Tara. It is noteworthy that this is the only bronze object kept at the Museum of Cham Sculpture.

Source: danangtoday.com.vn

Vietjet named in the world’s Top 10 safest low-cost airlines again

In making its evaluation, Airline Ratings considers the airlines’ incident records in recent years, fleet age, results of audits conducted by the governing body of aviation, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other aviation authorities.
Airline Ratings Editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas said: “The airline’s priority in operational excellence confirms their brand names in aviation industry while expressing their customer-centric strategy. Vietjet is especially recognized for massive investment into new fleet, system upgrade and technology adoption to ensure safety in operation and meet passengers’ evolving and convenient flight demand.”

This year’s top 10 list also includes notable low-cost peers such as Ryanair, EasyJet, Frontier, etc. for their excellence performances in flight safety despite the pandemic. Airline Ratings also rates Vietjet at seven-star level, the highest ranking for aviation safety in the world for four consecutive years since 2018.

Vietjet Managing Director Dinh Viet Phuong said: “We are proud to keep up with the top safety ranking in the global aviation industry. We have committed to carrying out reliable flight operation while expanding our flight network and diversifying services to provide the best flying experiences to our passengers in the coming time.”

Vietjet operates a new, modern, and fuel-efficient Airbus fleet with technical reliability rate among top operators in the region and the world. The airline is constantly investing into aircraft engine and MRO services, aviation technology’s transfer and adoption with leading providers in the industry such as Safran, Rolls-Royce, SR Technics, Swiss-AS, etc. to ensure the highest standard in terms of safety and quality.

Source: https://www.vietjetair.com/

Danang photographer free dives to capture ocean’s beauty

Photographer Dao Dang Cong Trung has spent years capturing rare images of coral reefs and sea creatures while also collecting trash from the seafloor.

The 42-year-old Hoi An native, who works at a resort on Son Tra Peninsula in Danang, is capable of diving to depths of 10-12m and holding his breath for two minutes. He has taken many underwater photos in the sea off Danang, mostly around Son Tra. Trung began taking underwater photos around five years ago. Every time he dives, he also collects trash from the seafloor and frees corals from nets, he says. Trung says there are a lot of corals around Son Tra, but the reefs near the Bai Nam area, close to shore, is vulnerable to people accidentally damaging them while sightseeing. Damaged reefs could take years to return to their original state.

Source: e.vxpress.net

APEC Sculpture Garden becomes new attraction for locals and tourists

During the Tet Festival, APEC Sculpture Garden which officially opened to the public in mid-January 2022, daily welcomed hundreds of local people and tourists, especially young people, who came to admire sculptures and take photos. The venue has become one of the most-visited places in Danang during Tet.

Between the 1st and the 3rd days of Lunar New Year 2022 (Tet) was the most crowded days in the APEC Sculpture Garden. Family members including grandparents and grandkids visited APEC Sculpture Garden to have fun and take photos of beautiful moments with their beloved ones.

Many young people who were school pupils along with college and university students were eager to stay in this venue for a few hours to take selfies.

Many social media users praised APEC Sculpture Garden for its beauty and expressed the wish to visit Danang to see it after watching the posts featuring this beautiful place.

The 8,668m2 expanded APEC Park is bounded by extended Bach Dang Street to the east, 2 September Street to the west, Binh Minh 4 Street to the south, and the existing APEC Park to the north. The total cost of construction of this project is VND 759 billion. The inauguration of the expanded APEC Park aimed to mark the 25th anniversary of Danang’s recognition as centrally governed city (January 1).

Located in Binh Hien Ward, Hai Chau District, the new development comprises a public park, a stroll garden associated with an existing sculpture garden, a main stage, a water fountain, a stage for organizing cultural events, a playground for children, green areas, a parking space, and underground public toilets.

The highlight of the expanded APEC Park is the kite-shaped dome inspired from the idea of ‘High Flying Kite’, and nearly 200 tons of steel were used to create this item by the Ha Giang- Phuoc Tuong Mechanical Joint Stock Company.

The idea of ‘High Flying Kite’ reflects the changing face of Danang and affirms Danang’s role as dynamic city in Central Viet Nam, as well as presents key role of Danang in driving the growth of the region.

‘High Flying Kite’ idea presents the role Danang plays as a driver of the regional economy. The kite is not only a reminder of childhood but also shows Danang’s dreams and ambitions of its high-flying future.

Hai Chau District authorities have made great efforts to ensure the security and social order in this new attraction to help locals and tourists enjoy this place during Tet while ensuring effective control of the spread of COVID-19.

Source: danangtoday.com.vn

Performance of Dragon Bridge resumes after a hiatus due to COVID-19

The performance of Danang’s Rong (Dragon) Bridge will resume from this weekend after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19, Deputy Director in charge of the municipal Department of Transport Bui Hong Trung announced on Saturday.
Specifically, the dragon’s head at the eastern end of the Rong Bridge will continue breathing fire and squirting water at 9:00pm on the weekends.

The municipal Department of Transport has directed functional forces to coordinate with the Danang Bridge and Road JSC to ensure traffic order and safety during the performance of the Rong (Dragon) Bridge.
Over recent years, the weekend shows of fire breathing and water squirting at the eastern end of the Rong (Dragon) Bridge have been so appealing to both domestic and international arrivals to Danang

Source: danangtoday.com.vn

Danang releases plans to organize exciting events in 2022

The Danang People’s Committee has just issued an official dispatch to organize cultural activities and festivals along both sides of the Han River in 2022. Accordingly, from January to December 2022, periodic outstanding activities will mainly be held on weekends such as shows of street dance, music, magic tricks and Tuong (classical drama), and traditional music and arts performance clusters. Annual activities will be organized with various forms of arts performances, experience activities, tours, and exhibitions to celebrate the Lunar New Year 2022 and national and municipal holidays. Funding for organizing cultural activities and festivals along both sides of the Han River will be from the municipal budget and private financial sources.

In addition, based on the pandemic situation at the planned organization times, relevant local agencies must ensure the strict practice of safety measures against COVID-19 in accordance with the regulations of the national and municipal governments. In particularly, competent agencies shall renovate the method of organizing activities in terms of content and form, ensuring their breakthroughs, novelty, and attractiveness. Besides, heed must be paid to increasing interaction with the audience through activities based on digital platform technologies. The aim is to increase communication efficiency, safe and flexible adaptation to COVID-19 developments, thereby ensuring organizational effectiveness towards the formation of unique cultural products along both sides of the Han River.

Source: danangtoday.com.vn