UPDATE,P4,WED,18Jun97,STD,P4of4

[Son Tran <stran@shrike.depaul.edu>]

>
>Spurring site clearance, road building for Dung Quat refinery
>
>(SGT-DANANG) The relocation of local residents and site clearance works
>at the proposed Dung Quat Oil Refinery 1 and Deep-water Port in Central
>Vietnam are being stepped up, said a local official.
>
>Mr. Nguyen Kim Hieu, director of the Service of Planning and Investment
>in Quang Ngai Province, said infrastructure for Go Duong and Dong Hoa
>residential areas in Binh Son and Son Tinh districts was basically
>completed in mid-June.
>
>Go Duong residential area is expected to accommodate around 400
>families, with 300 coming from the zoned site of the country's first oil
>refinery, while Dong Hoa will receive 350 families from Dung Quat Bay,
>where the port will be built.
>
>Mr. Hieu said the province will begin to relocate people in the zoned
>areas of the refinery and seaport by the end of this month and stabilize
>their living conditions in new residences within three months.
>
>If things go as scheduled, the site of Dung Quat Oil Refinery 1 will be
>transferred to the project owner, PetroVietnam, in September 1997 so
>that construction work can start by the end of the year.
>
>Difficulties in raising capital for relocation have emerged as the
>province has to cover infrastructure construction costs with the State
>budget partly financing, said Ms. Nguyen Thi Lang, vice director of the
>Service of Planning and Investment.
>
>She added that PetroVietnam will settle payments for relocation works.
>
>The Government, nonetheless, has agreed that the province can take out
>VND15 billion (some US$1.3 million) of loans from the State Treasury on
>the provincial basis while the above residential areas will require up
>to VND26.7 billion in 1997.
>
>The Government, Ms. Lang hopes, will soon seek a solution for investment
>in the new residential areas so that Quang Ngai Province can transfer
>the construction site on schedule.
>
>The province is currently collaborating with the Ministry of
>Communications and Transport to conduct the feasibility study for the
>12.5km Doc Soi-Dung Quat Expressway linking the future Dung Quat Port
>with National Highway 1A.
>
>Early this month, Bang-pakong Industrial Park 2 Public Co. Ltd. of
>Thailand signed a joint venture contract with three domestic firms to
>develop infrastructure for Dung Quat Industrial Park (IP).
>
>
>
>Incentives for overseas Vietnamese businesspeople 
>
>(SGT-HCMC) The HCMC government and relevant agencies will jointly draft
>a preferential treatment policy for overseas Vietnamese who are
>currently doing business in the city.
>
>Mr. Nguyen Van Chi, Vice Chairman of the city People's Committee, was
>speaking of this during a meeting with overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs
>on June 14.
>
>Overseas Vietnamese businesspeople, according to proposals, will enjoy
>softer prices for electricity and water supply, post and travel services
>and others.
>
>The city will propose that the Government seek measures for removing
>difficulties in paperwork for entry-exit visas house and land leasing,
>and registration for drivers' licenses which overseas Vietnamese have
>faced.
>
>In particular, Mr. Chi said, the city government will instruct relevant
>agencies to establish a consulting center to assist overseas Vietnamese
>who intend to invest in the country.
>
>Statistics from the city Service of Planning and Investment show that
>overseas Vietnamese have so far set up 95 companies and rep offices in
>the city.
>
>They have committed to 25 projects worth US$128.5 million in compliance
>with the Law on Foreign Investment and 40 others valued at US$4.2
>million under the Law on Promotion of Domestic Investment, according to
>statistics.
>
>
>
>Foreign health care serves 5,000 patients
>
>(SGT-HCMC) The clinic of Oscat/AEA Vietnam Co., Ltd. examined and
>treated 5,001 patients, 333 of them Vietnamese, by the end of May, said
>a source from HCMC Health Service.
>
>In 1996, AEA examined and treated 17,000 patients; fees for health
>examination here vary between US$45-US$60/patient.
>
>In addition, Oscat/AEA provides the service of transporting foreign
>patients to their home countries, or transferring them to neighboring
>countries such as Singapore and Thailand in emergency cases, or at the
>request of patients. Last year, Oscat/AEA transferred about 167
>patients, 145 of them foreigners, and in the first quarter of this year,
>42 patients were taken abroad from Oscat/AEA.
>
>Meanwhile, the SOS International Medical Center examines and treats
>around 2,000 patients per year, each paying US$35-US$45 per examination.
>In 1996, SOS transferred nearly 100 patients to Singapore for treatment,
>and by the end of May this year, the center examined and treated 400
>patients.
>