It is known that this afternoon, Nutifood and the Department of Transport of Ho Chi Minh City continued to work to prepare for the official signing ceremony scheduled to take place in early December. Thanh Nien talked with Mr. Tran Bao Minh, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nutifood about the project that is making people "excited" about one of the new symbols of Ho Chi Minh City in the future.
Many people are curious about the billion-dollar pedestrian bridge connecting the two banks of the Saigon River that Nutifood sponsored. Can you tell us more about this project?
The pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River is planned to start from Bach Dang wharf park and the foot of the bridge is the riverside park (outside the boundary of area A) south of the central square of Thu Thiem urban area. Designed in the shape of a water coconut leaf, a very typical leaf of the Southern region, when completed, the bridge will be like a soft leaf gently flying on the Saigon River, helping to recall the familiar, rustic image of the past of the Southern region and will also be a new symbol, helping to connect with the modern, future-oriented look of the city named after Uncle Ho.
This is the design that was selected by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee from 12 design options, by 5 contractors from many countries around the world such as: England, France, Japan, Spain, Finland and Vietnam participating in the competition organized more than 4 years ago. We are only the unit that sponsored the funding to build this bridge.
Perspective of the pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River
As a business operating in the field of nutrition, why does Nutifood sponsor an infrastructure project such as building a bridge, sir?
In fact, Nutifood has always paid special attention to community contribution activities since its inception. Every year, the company still spends more than 100 billion VND to accompany children and the poor across the country through scholarship programs; building schools, supporting nutrition, etc.
Ho Chi Minh City is where Nutifood was formed and developed, so we have long wanted to do something to express our gratitude to the millions of consumers and customers who have loved, trusted and used the company's products over the past 20 years, and at the same time contribute a small part of our efforts to the development of the city. Therefore, when we learned about the city government's policy on building a pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River, a project that not only has economic and cultural value but is also a location associated with many historical events, Nutifood proposed to support funding for this project.
In Singapore, Melbourne (Australia)... squares are connected by bridges and people can walk from one side to the other. The bridge has become a symbol of these places, a destination for international tourists. With the pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River, the two banks from District 1 to the new city of Thu Duc are connected, the people of the city will have another beautiful place for entertainment and relaxation; tourists coming here will have another attractive tourist destination, that is our wish when sponsoring the project.
This year is a particularly difficult year, even businesses operating in essential industries such as milk and rice have seen their profits decline, even suffering losses. So when I read the news that Nutifood sponsored more than 1,000 billion VND to build a bridge, my first feeling was "wow, Nutifood is still doing business effectively, still has a lot of money...".
I understand what you think, I also understand that many people will think like that. However, there is one thing that people do not know, in our BOD meetings recently, the most important topic is cutting costs on all fronts, even the cost of building a brand. But as I just said, the pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River is a "gift" of gratitude to the land and people of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City of Nutifood, so we are determined to do it. But in the general context, if everyone is having 10 difficulties, Nutifood is also having 6-7 difficulties, honestly.
Ho Chi Minh City residents, domestic and foreign tourists will have another place for entertainment and relaxation.
On one hand, tightening the belt, on the other hand, spending a huge amount of money to sponsor bridge construction, is there something contradictory... here?
There is no contradiction because we cut down on spending to save money for this project. You know, the ultimate goal of marketing is to reach the hearts of consumers. So instead of spending hundreds or thousands of billions of dong on PR and advertising, Nutifood chose to build the bridge as a "gift" of gratitude to millions of consumers and customers who love, trust and use the company's products.
More than 20 years ago, Nutifood started from the founding doctors' wish to improve nutrition for Vietnamese people during a difficult economic time. From nothing, we have now become a leading company in the dairy industry in Vietnam. This achievement is thanks to the support and trust of millions of consumers, so we still cherish the intention of contributing something truly meaningful, valuable over time, so that people can enjoy it for 10, 20 years and more. The pedestrian bridge project across the Saigon River meets our wishes, so we proactively proposed to sponsor the construction costs.
With a sponsorship worth over 1,000 billion VND, will Nutifood receive or expect to receive anything back from the City?
(Laughing loudly), her question surprised me because this is something we have never thought of. Nutifood is a pure nutrition company, we only focus on consumer goods serving health such as milk, food... and have no intention of investing in real estate, infrastructure to receive special favors or conditions. So if you ask us what we want to get in return for our sponsorship, honestly we also... don't know what we want to get in return.
On the contrary, with 1,000 billion, we can build another factory, 2-3 brands, bringing in thousands of billions in sales each year. Nutifood's new brands recently built only cost a few hundred billion and are very successful.
So what we hope to receive in return, if we think about it at all, is that consumers will acknowledge Nutifood's gratitude to them and they will continue to support Nutifood. It's that simple.
Construction will be handed over to Ho Chi Minh City for management after completion.
On July 12, 2023, Nutifood Nutrition Food Joint Stock Company (Nutifood) sent an official dispatch to the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and People's Committee requesting full funding to build a pedestrian bridge across the Saigon River according to the adjusted master plan and design plan approved by the City. A Nutifood representative said that if approved, Nutifood will quickly conduct a site survey, discuss and work with the design company and contractors to agree on a construction plan, hand over and put the bridge into use as soon as possible.
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