Can Tho city

- Geography

Being the city directly under the central government, Can Tho is situated in the center of Cuu Long river delta. It is bounded on the north by An Giang Province, on the south by Bac Lieu Province, on the east by the provinces of Vinh Long, and Dong Thap, Can Tho covers an natural area of 3,000 sq.km.

Stretching 65 km on the bank of Me Kong River, and being 169 km southwest of Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho has been considered as the capital of the western region of Viet nam. It is also important traffic glue among provinces in Cuu Long River Delta.

- Topography

Can Tho city’s topography is relatively flat, and rising from the north to the south. The north region included the districts of Thot Not, O Mon, and Chau Thanh is sunken. Therefore, it is often flooded in rainy season in September.

- Climate

Can Tho lies in tropical, monsoon climate. It is relatively moderate, and rarely affected from storms. There are two distinct seasons. The rainy season lasts from May to November, while the dry season lasts from December to next April.

The mean temperature is 26-27⁰C with no large variations among months in the year. The highest temperature is 36-37⁰C, and the lowest one is 17-18⁰C. The average humidity is 82%, and fluctuating according to seasons. In the rainy season, the humidity can be up to 86%, while in the dry season, the humidity can be down to 76%. The total amount of sunny hours in the year is about 2,500 hours. The total amount of sunny hours in a day is 7.1 hours. The annual rainfall ranges from 1,600 – 1,800 mm with concentration of 90% out of the total one in the rainy season

Ninh Kieu river wharf – the old name is Hang Duong or Le Loi – was in the front part of Can Tho market where a big number of boats, and ships were traveling. Since 1858, the river wharf, and the park that were next to Le Loi street, was renamed according to the battle’s name of Lam Son army of Ninh Kieu.

Situated on Hai Ba Trung street, on right side of Hau river, and in the center of Can Tho city, Ninh Kieu water wharf covers an area of 7,665 sq.km. It attracts tourists’ attentions not only for the evergreen islands ranges, soft Hau river, but also for riverside restaurants, and floating markets. Ninh Kieu also a place where the biggest, and oldest spring flower market is taken place.

Being 5 km of Can Tho city, covering an area of 4,000 sq.km, Binh Thuy temple has the largest area among other temples in Can Tho city. It was built in 1844.

Binh Thuy temple not only contains traditionally architectural elements of the South Vietnam ancient village, but also maintains quintessences of the culture, and civilization of Can Tho waterways, and hicks.

Being closed to Ninh Kieu river wharf, Can Tho ancient market that is over 100 years old, was built earlier than the markets of Ben Thanh, and Binh Tay (Ho Chi Minh city). The market’s architecture is considered as the nicest one in the region. Long time ago, it was the center for goods exchange of the whole southwest Vietnam. Nowadays, it is still a crowded market, and a attractive tourism destination for tourists. Nowadays, there are tourist wharf, food shops, and souvenir shops in the area of the market.

Situated in Ninh Kieu river wharf, the padoda has typical architecture with the shape of “Quoc” in Vietnamese that has the meaning of a country in English. Its roofs were covered with double tiles. The roofs’ edges were made from deep blue enamel. The pagoda is the combination of carving art, and special tone values through embossment paints, and patterns that are everywhere, and Chinese ancient writing art. On Tet holiday – the biggest festival of the year, a lots of cultural activities are organized for drawing thousands of people attention.

With an area of 2,700 sq.km, Can Tho museum is the biggest general museum in the Cuu Long river delta. This is a place where display objects for introduction of Can Tho people, and land over historical periods, socio-cultural, and economic achievements of ethnicities of Kinh, Hoa, Khmer in the process of founding, protecting, and developing the country. Nowadays, over 5,000 precious, and rare items are displayed in the museum.

Located between Cai Rang floating market, and Phong Dien, My Khanh tourism garden is My Khanh tourism village nowadays, covering an area of over 4 ha.

With more than 20 typical fruits of the southwest Vietnam, My Khanh garden also raise over 10 precious, and rare wild animals such as bird, tortoise, crocodile, snake, and so on of which some ones are presented in the Red book of Viet Nam.

Visiting My Khanh, tourist can have a walk in the garden, breathing in fresh atmosphere, tasting fresh, nice fruits, and typical foods. They can stay in nice houses that are built under trees shadows, and enjoying traditional shows every night.

Covering an area of over 2 ha, the garden has more than 20 bird species, and 10 races of stork with a quantity of tens of storks. Everyday, at 6.-7 a.m, storks are flying for their preys. In the afternoon, they are coming back to the garden, making an nice, and picturesque scene by tens of thousands of back, and forth storks wings.

-  Trade villages

Traditional products of Can Tho city are mainly made from wood, rattan, bamboo, ceramic, coconut fiber, coconut ladle, and water hyacinth. Being similar to other trade villages, the typical character of Can Tho’s trade villages is the continuously perfect concentration of all traditional products such as baskets, conical hats, rattan, and bamboo products, wooden furniture, and so on.

In Thoi Long ward (O Mon – Can Tho), there is a trade village to knit bamboo little shrimp trap – a waterways means for earning living of hundreds of thousands of people in Cuu Long river delta in flooding season.  The village has over 300 households, working animated from May to September in lunar calendar. Annually, 400,000 – 500,000 products are made.

In Thanh Hung ward, Thot Not district, there are 70 households to do fishnet-knitting profession. When rainy season comes, thousands of households are working hardly. Products are diversified such as small meshes fishnet for catching linh fish, anabas, big meshes fishnet or three curtains fishnet for catching hypophthalmichthys, and kinds of big fish.

Thoi Nhut flower village was established 100 years ago in An Binh wards. It is very animated, and crowded on Tet holiday. Firstly, there were about 10 households to grow longevity chrysanthemums, berries chrysanthemums, dahlia, apricot, etc. Nowadays, there are hundreds of households to develop new export flower varieties such as Indonesia chrysanthemums, France longevity chrysanthemums, Thailand catus, sunflower, orchids, grafted apricot, and so on.

Going along the national highway No 91 towards Long Xuyen, passing Binh Thuy bridge, turning left, visitors come to an ancient village in Long Tuyen ward, Binh Thuy district.

Coming here, visitor can admire over 130 years old houses, characterized by the most typical characters of an ancint village of the Cuu Long river delta. Nowadays, interior, and exterior architectural works are still remained. Particularly, the architecture, and wooden carved works is the combination of French, and Vietnamese interior decoration. At that time, big landlords, and rich men in the region loved that character.

- Natural resources

Being constantly raised by Hau river, and other rivers, Can Tho’s soil is relatively rich, and fat. The alluvial soil covers an area of 14.6 thousand ha, accounting for 49.6% out of the total area. It forms a vast region, stretching from Thot Not, O Mon, to Can Tho city.

Besides, Can Tho also has other kinds of soil namely salt marsh, and aluminiferous soil. Generally, Can Tho’s climate, and soil is very convenient for developing an interdisciplinary agriculture with many plants, and animals.

In Can Tho city, some existing minerals can be exploited at industrial exploitation scale. Peat can be found in the districts of O Mon, Thot Not. Peat in O Mon district has the reserves of 150,000 tons. Brick, and tile clay has discovered in 3 mines with high quality at the soil dept of 1-2 meter, and total reverses of bout 16.8 million cubic meters. Construction sand is concentrated in the islands of Khe, and Kinh. Mineral water can be found in some points with degree of heat of 42⁰C, and output of 16 litters/s.

Can Tho has a dense system of rivers, streams, and ditches with total length of 4,300 km, included the rives of Hau, Can Tho, Big Cai, and Small Cai. Its dense system of rivers, streams, and ditches is good condition for creation of abundant fresh water source of the city.

Besides, Can Tho also possesses a great system of canals with total length of 4 km.

- Human resources

Can Tho has the population of 1,121,141 of which males are 550,334, and females are 570,807. The city areas are home of 559,040 people, while the rural areas are home of 562,101 people.

Annually, over 20,000 technical, and scientific cadres are trained. So far, Can Tho city has a quite abundant team of qualified technical, and scientific workers of all levels, and professions. It has contributed in promoting the development of technology, science, and the city’s economy.

- Infrastructure

Being 170 km of Ho Chi Minh city by roadway, Can Tho is the converging point of key transport glues of roadway, waterways, seaway among provinces. From Can Tho city, we can get to come to other regional provinces by inter-provinces highways such as national highway No91 from Can Tho to An Giang, national highway No80 from Can Tho to Kien Giang, national highway No61 from Cai Tac (Chau Thanh district) to Cai Tu ferry (Vi Thanh district), which is closed to Go Quao (Kien Giang district). Particularly, being located on national highway No1A, Can Tho city has convenient transport conditions with Cuu Long river delta provinces, and other cities throughout the country.

The inter-provinces bus stations system of Can Tho, and the other six local bus stations have well satisfied the traveling demand, and transport of goods by roadway.

Nowadays, Can Tho has 3 seaports, which are good conditions for easy transport of goods.

·        Can Tho seaport covers an area of 60,000 m². It can accommodate ships with tonnage of 10,000 tons. This is the biggest seaport of the Cuu Long river delta.

·         Cai Cui seaport: It is in the construction process. In the future, it can accommodate ships with tonnage of 10,000-20,000 tons. The goods quantity transported through the port is 4.2 million tons/year. It is designed for the main purposes of importing materials, machines, equipments, consumption goods, and exporting commodities, and agricultural products of the Cuu Long river delta.

·        Tra Noc seaport covers an area of 16 ha with 3 big storehouses with capacity of 40,000 tons. The goods quantity circulated through the port can reach 200,000 tons/year. The port possesses a special containers port included a containers ground with area of 28,000 m², a storehouse with area of 3,600 m², and other goods place with area of 8,000 m².

With total length of waterways of 3,187.419 km, Can Tho has advantage for transport by waterways of which the most important routes are Hau river one, and a part of Mekong river running through 6 provinces, especially the medium, and low section of Mekong river emptying into Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. Ships with big tonnage of over 1,000 tons can travel from the East China sea, across Dinh An gate, to Can Tho city, and Cambodia, and vice versa.

Other river routes are Can Tho – Xa No – Cai Tu one that is a significant bridge between Ho Chi Minh city, the provinces of Hau Giang, and Ca Mau, Rach Soi – Vam Cong (Cai San canal) one belonging to the transportation route from Ho Chi Minh city to Kien Luong with the section of 28.5 km running through Can Tho, Can Con – Phung Hiep one belonging to the transportation route from Ho Chi Minh city to Ca Mau province with the section of 46.4 km running through Ho Chi Minh city. Being across Hau river, Can Tho ferry is 1,840 meters wide, connecting Can Tho city, and Vinh Long province. Besides, Can Tho also possesses 26 river routes under the management of local authority with total length of 614.3 km.

Can Tho city has Tra Noc airport – the biggest airport in the Cuu Long river delta – which was built before 1975. Nowadays, the airport has been upgraded, and extended with a view to become an international airport with domestic flights, and gradually open new flights to Southeast Asia in 2007

The system of post, and telecommunication of Can Tho city is quite modern with 1 central post office, 4 district post offices, and over 90 ones in wards, and precincts. It has satisfied the post, and telecommunications demand between Can Tho and other countries worldwide. The Internet network using ADLS line, has been deployed in all districts.

Can Tho city possesses Tra Noc thermo-electricity station with capacity of 200 MW. It has been connected to the national electricity network. Nowadays, O Mon thermo-electricity plant has been constructed with capacity of 600 MW in period I, and 2,600 MW in next periods.

 Water

There are 2 water supply factories with total capacity of 90,000 cubic meter/day & night. It is expected in 2010, the city will construct some new fresh water supply factories with capacity of 200,000 cubic meter/day & night.

The system of banks, insurance offices, state and foreign audit of Can Tho city have been operated quite effectively, synchronously, and continuously extended. It is able to cater the demands of international co-operation, and investment. Some banks are operating in the area of Can Tho included Vietcombank, Incombank, Agribank, Seabank, BIDVbank, ANZ, etc. There area lso branches of international insurance companies such as Prudential, Bao Viet, and so on.

Can Tho city has a relatively synchronous network of universities, colleges, vocational secondary schools, and technical training schools. The center of software technology, and the institute of rice researches of Cuu Long river delta has been changed into the Center of Science and Technology of Cuu Long river delta

Can Tho city plays an central role, acting as a motive force for the development of the Cuu Long river delta. The city has relatively developed infrastructure, and technical facilities. It possesses great potentialities of agriculture, fisheries, labor, and other advantages. In order to exploit available potentialities, and advantages, Can Tho government has issued policies on application of investment incentives, creation of good conditions for domestic, and abroad investors to invest in Can Tho city on basis of bilateral benefits.

·         Investment priorities:

·        Pharmaceutical plants, fruits, and high yield rice cultivation project

·        Aquaculture, cattle, and fowls industrial breeding project

·        Application of new, biological progresses, and high technology.

·        Environmental protection, and waste treatment project

·        BOT, BTO, or BT projects

·        Investment in construction, and trading in infrastructure of industrial, and processing zones, highly technological zone, industry, and small crafts industry centers, trade villages, and eco-tours.

·        Manufacture, and installation of motor for machine tools, engineering spare parts, light lorries for agriculture, installation of automobiles, and water-carriers.

·        Production of machines, and equipments for garment, and textile industry for export

·        Manufacture, and installation of electrical parts, application of new technology for production of information, and telecommunications equipments.

·        Setting up glue markets of rice, fruit, and supermarket.

·        Construction of highly stories apartments (at least 03 stories)

·        Construction of hospitals, high grade schools, vocational secondary schools.

·        Construction of light construction materials.

·        Construction of high-grade materials, and accessories for production of footwear, and clothes for export.

·        Production of high-grade packaging for export products

·        Projects need at least at least 500 employments.