Thursday, November 21, 2013

Tramway to Fansipan

Vietnam starts work on tramway to Fansipan



Tourists climb up Fansipan

Work on an aerial tramway to the top of Fansipan, the tallest peak in Indochina, began Saturday as part of a drive to boost tourism in northern Vietnam.

The tram, scheduled to be completed late next year and go on-stream in 2015, will cut the 3,143-meter climb up Fansipan from two days and nights to a 15 minute "flight."

The tramway will be the first of its kind in Asia, and the world's longest and highest at 6,200 meters long and 3,000 meters high, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said at the launch of the project, according to a report on the government website.

Fansipan attracts foreign and Vietnamese tourists alike, but Lao Cai authorities recently tightened rules on the mountain after a missing person incident that involved an independent group of climbers that had not informed authorities of their trip.

Pham Ngoc Anh, a 20-year-old college student from Hanoi, has been missing on the mountain since last July. Other students in his group said he went along a different path when they stopped for a rest and never came back.

The cable car will be followed by the construction of hotels and recreational facilities in the northern highlands.

The Fansipan - Sa Pa Cable Car Company, which is building the tramway, is a member of Sun Group Corporation which invested in the 5,802-meter cable car at Ba Na Hills in Da Nang where it is based.

Lao Cai Province authorities will supervise and support the VND4.4 trillion (US$209 million) project in procedural steps.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Vietnam low-cost airline adds two more domestic routes

Vietnam low-cost airline adds two more domestic routes



Passengers get off a Jestar Pacific aircraft in central Vietnam.

Vietnam budget airliner Jetstar Pacific has announced it will open two more domestic routes next month after receiving a new Airbus aircraft.

Set to open on December 15, the two new flights will connect Ho Chi Minh City with Nha Trang City in central Vietnam and with Phu Quoc island in the south, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported Thursday.

Two roundtrip flights will depart in HCMC at 12:10 p.m. to Nha Trang and at 1:10 p.m. to Phu Quoc and return to HCMC at 1:40 p.m. from Nha Trang and at 2:35 p.m. from Phu Quoc everyday.

Le Hong Ha, general director of Jetstar Pacific, said his company will get one more Airbus A320 early next month and yet another early next year. The acquisitions would increase the carrier's Airbus A320 aircraft fleet to seven, he added.

From noon November 8 to the end of November 11, Jestar Pacific will sell cheap tickets, priced from VND279,000 (US$13.23) for a one-way flight from HCMC to Phu Quoc and Nha Trang from December 15 to January 16, 2014.

The airliner also has promotions on flights from HCMC and Hanoi to Da Nang with tickets priced at VND399,000 ($18.92) for a one-way flight and from HCMC to Vinh for VND749,000 ($35.5). These rates apply for flights departing between November 19 and December 18.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Wednesday, November 20, 2013