Associate Professor, Doctor. Pham Anh Tuan, the Director of Vietnam National Satellite Center when speaking about the importance of the Vietnam Universe Center project which has been kicked off at the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park in Hanoi said Vietnam needed to act on its own initiative concerning satellite technology. Vietnam Economic News' Tien Dung summarized some of his opinions and those of Nagase Toshio about the event.
Assoc Prof, Dr Pham Anh Tuan, the Director of Vietnam National Satellite Center:
Regarding this project, we have had investment capital and technology support provided from Japan, however, we now have difficulties in terms of human resources although hundreds of our staff have been trained in various sectors relating to aerospace technology. In the long term, we have to draft a project to train highly-qualified staff to target the goal of launching our first satellite by 2017. We have sent dozens of students abroad to France and Japan to learn and work in overseas aerospace technology companies so that they can participate in satellite design and manufacturing.
Our advantage is that we have comprehensive cooperation and support from Japan in terms of satellite development and operation and the training of human resources. When we can manufacture our own satellites then the cost will become cheaper than buying them from foreign suppliers. So whatever we do, acting on our own initiative concerning satellite technology remains our top priority.
Nagase Toshio, Deputy Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Vietnam Office:
Vietnam is one of the world's most natural-disaster prone countries, especially in terms of typhoons and floods. Every year, the damages cost Vietnam 1.5 percent of GDP and over 70 percent of the population live in areas most affected by typhoons and floods. Therefore, in the national strategy to mitigate natural disasters and climate change, the Vietnamese Government attaches special importance to scientifically based applications and satellite imaging as one of the most efficient options.
I hope that this project will open up a new era for Vietnam in minimizing the damage caused by natural disasters as well as finding feasible solutions to climate change.
We will not only provide investment capital and other financial assistance for infrastructure construction, but also offer support related to human resources. During the implementation of the project, the two sides will closely cooperate in human resource training and technology transfers to help Vietnam process satellite data to issue early warnings and build up a fully developed satellite system.
It is expected that about 350 highly-qualified Vietnamese scientists, experts and managers in the field of aerospace technology will be trained by Japanese specialists. I also hope your team will not develop aerospace technology for this single project but also for others in the coming years.
The Vietnam Space Center project was kicked off at the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park in Hanoi. In the short-term roadmap, Japan will complete the full design of the project by the end of this year, then open up a tender for equipment by the end of 2013 and carry out necessary procedures for related tender packages. However, in the long term Vietnam will have to build up strong human resources to master the infrastructure, laying the foundation for launching the first satellite by 2017./.
