Strengthening orders of scientific and technological projects and investment in key projects in Ho Chi Minh has helped bring science and technology into production and generate economic income worth million of US dollars.
Dr. Phan Minh Tan, the director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology said in the recent period, the percentage of scientific and technological orders has been increasing at an average growth rate of 30-40 percent per year. Scientific and technological orders come from the city People's Committee, Party Committee, departments, offices, sectors, districts and business associations. The City Department of Science and Technology receives and promotes scientific and technological institutions and organizes bidding to select the best institutions to carry out scientific and technological orders. A contingent of scientific and technological officials has been mobilized to carry out these orders. Most orders focus on applying the scientific and technological results into practical situation resulting in improved efficiency.
In addition, the department has given financial support for businesses to purchase equipment and technology for their scientific and technological projects. Several projects in key fields such as mechanical engineering, biotechnology and energy and chip design received from VND 2-4 billion. The budget for supporting businesses totaled VND40.18 billion.
Thanks to the mobilization of human resources, many key issues have been solved such as traffic, environmental pollution in the Dong Nai River Basin, the master plan on hazardous and solid industrial waste management system, provision of wind and solar power for the Truong Sa (Spratly Islands).
Production and business activities have received support from the city. As the result, some 265 products have been transferred to businesses at prices 20-60 percent cheaper than comparable imported products, totaling US$15 million. The position of the mechanical engineering sector has been raised accordingly.
Several effective scientific and technological projects include the fluidized bed drier which was sent to VEMEDIM Can Tho for VND400 million, VND700 million less than the price of a Taiwanese import; a complex of concrete ramming equipment for sloped-roofs worth VND1.9 billion, VND5.9 million cheaper than imported alternatives. Products for completing production technology in specialized fan and air conditioning materials for wind ventilation and water proof in industry can compete with equipment from China and Taiwan. Regarding the project of applying composite materials in passenger car frame production, the profitability of each unit has increased nearly three percent compared to a car frame using traditional materials and the process has been popularized in passenger car frame production activities.
According to Tan, the department will continue strengthening the application of scientific and technological orders. It will accelerate the assessment of practical needs with a view to combine research and production in departments, sectors, businesses, industrial zones, processing zones, business association and districts. At the same time, it will expand the scope of subjects participating in scientific and technological orders including national and foreign scientists and organizations, especially overseas Vietnamese living in Ho Chi Minh City. The department will also cooperate with businesses, units which want to develop pilot production projects in order to perfect industrial and semi-industrial scale production technology./.
By Quynh Nga
