Jointly implemented by the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) and the RoK’s Meteorological Administration (KMA), the project aims to improve meteorological monitoring and the forecasting capacity of NCHMF in general, and the northeastern station in particular, by upgrading infrastructure to mitigate damage caused by natural disasters, progressing toward modernising the hydro-meteorological sector under the approved strategy by the government.
At the launch, NCHMF Deputy Director Tran Hong Thai said that currently the meteorological network at the northeast station is mostly operated manually, with limited equipment and technology. The commencement of the project is important to modernise forecasting and warning systems, reflecting the results of bilateral co-operation between Vietnam and the RoK, he affirmed.
KMA official Jea Mok Jeon affirmed the Korean administrations support for Vietnam to complete and operate the devices in the most efficient way.
The project, which received the Prime Minister’s approval in April, is expected to take 36 months with an investment of US$3.97 million from the RoK’s ODA through the KMA and more than VND9.66 billion (US$434,000) from the Vietnamese government.
The project will automate water level and weather monitoring systems by replacing 50 automatic weather and water level monitoring devices, develop a real-time data collection system and display systems to analyse forecasts, while providing intensive training for personnel.
Vietnam is located in the western Pacific typhoon centre, one of the world’s five regions suffering most from natural disasters. In order to strengthen capacity in disaster prevention, Vietnam and the RoK have signed a memorandum of understanding on meteorological co-operation, resulting in the launch of the project.
Earlier on Wednesday, NCHMF and KMA jointly held a conference in Quang Ninh province discussing in detail the technology and equipment that KMA will provide to the northeast station under the project.
At the workshop Korean experts also shared experiences and provided training and technology transfers on forecasting and operating weather networks, and automatic water level measuring systems for local staff.
