1.
SV Villagers bring bamboo poles to site of new village.(2 shots)
0.08

2.
SV AND CU Huts being erected. (3 shots)
0.26

3.
SV Woman washing by hand outside newly-erected hut.
0.30

4.
SV AND CU Line of new huts with women selling fruit from baskets.(3 shots)
0.43

5.
LV Tractors ploughing.
0.58

6.
SV AND CU Ex-South Vietnamese soldiers plotting route for canal.
1.10

7.
TOP VIEW AND CU Workers digging out canal. (3 shots)
1.38

8.
SV Lumps of mud being passed from one worker to another.
1.44

9.
GV Digging continues.
1.50

10.
SV PAN AND CU Line of temporary huts with women cooking on open fires. (3 shots)
2.16



Initials VS 23.50 VS 00.30



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: A previously infertile area west of the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon (Ho Chi minh City) is being redeveloped under the new Revolutionary Government's policy of resettling.

The government hopes eventually to re-settle up to 30,000 people in the Vuou Thom or pineapple garden area.

It was a former "secret zone" under the United States during the Vietnam War, and was later used as a staging post for the final Communist thrust on Saigon when it fell last April.

Soil in the area, about seven miles (11 kms) west of Saigon, is salty. The first task of the new settlers was to dig a large drain to clear the salted water and to bring in fresh water.

Young people, Buddhist monks and some former South Vietnamese soldiers are working on the project to transform the sterile area into a productive one.

People being re-settled at Vuon Thom are given a plot of land, tools and daily food allowances for three months. Each family receives a small thatched dwelling.

According to official figures, 360,905 people left Saigon for the new "economic areas" or their native villages by December, 1975.

The Revolutionary Government in Saigon is placing great importance on encouraging people to move back to the countryside.

SYNOPSIS: New settlers have started to redevelop previously infertile land west of Saigon under the Vietnamese Revolutionary Government's re-settling programme.

The project is still in its early stages, but the government hopes eventually to re-settle up to 30,000 people in the Vuon Thom area.

The Revolutionary government in Saigon is placing great importance on encouraging people to move from the over-crowded cities and start new lives in the countryside.

People being re-settled at Vuon Thom, which means pineapple garden, are given a plot of land, a small cottage, tools and a daily food allowance for three moths.

The soil around Vuon thom is salty. One of the first tasks of the new settlers is to dig a large ditch to drain away the salty water and bring in fresh water. These men plotting out the route the canal will take are former soldiers with the South Vietnamese army. The government has established several areas like this, known as "economic zones".

Hundreds of workers, including young volunteers and Buddhist monks from nearby villages help dig the canal, which should transform the area into a productive farmland. According to official figures, nearly 361,000 people have left the crowded capital city for their native villages or have been re-settled in areas like this.

Similar economic zones have been set up in the Long Chau He province in the fertile Mekong Delta and near the Cambodian border.

Ironically, this area -- held up as an example of the new government's progress -- was a former "secret zone" under the Vietnam War. Army during the Vietnam War. Later, it was a staging post for the Communists" final thrust on Saigon in April last year.