Promote investment in developing the road traffic system, put into use many key projects

On the afternoon of October 27, continuing the program of the 6th Session of the 15th National Assembly, the National Assembly listened to the Presentation and Report on the examination of the draft Resolution on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies on investment in the construction of road traffic works.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai chaired the meeting on the afternoon of October 27.

At the meeting, authorized by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Planning and Investment presented the Report on the draft Resolution on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies on investment in the construction of road traffic works.

Accordingly, in recent times, implementing the policies of the Party and the National Assembly, the Government has promoted investment in developing the road traffic system. Up to now, many key and modern projects have been put into operation such as the expressways: Bac Giang - Lang Son, Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh - Mong Cai, La Son - Tuy Loan, Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay, large bridges such as Tan Vu - Lach Huyen, Bach Dang, Nhat Tan, Cao Lanh, Vam Cong... contributing to promoting the overall socio-economic development of the whole country.

However, in the process of implementing the provisions of the law on investment in construction of road traffic works, a number of regulations have emerged that need to be adjusted to suit the situation, in order to free up resources, speed up construction progress and disburse public investment capital in the road traffic sector, one of the important national infrastructure sectors.

Resolution No. 31/2021/QH15 dated November 12, 2021 of the National Assembly on economic restructuring for the 2021-2025 period sets out the task of continuing to effectively restructure public investment; promoting decentralization and delegation of authority, ensuring unified, effective and efficient management; promoting the initiative, creativity and responsibility of each level and each sector, and enhancing the responsibility of leaders.

According to the provisions of Points b and e, Clause 2, Article 15 of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, the National Assembly is the competent authority to decide on the issuance of a Resolution on pilot implementation of a number of new policies under the decision-making authority of the National Assembly but which have no governing laws or are different from the provisions of current laws; other issues under the authority of the National Assembly.

Delegates attending the National Assembly session on the afternoon of October 27.

According to Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, the Draft Resolution consists of 10 Articles with main contents including 5 policy groups.

Specifically, in principle, the criteria for selecting pilot projects (Article 3), the Government proposes the principles for developing a pilot list: There is a written proposal from the Ministry of Transport and/or the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities. The investment capital source has been identified or estimated to be able to implement the project; in case of using local budget capital, there must be a commitment to arrange capital from the Provincial People's Council before the competent authority decides on the list of projects to which the pilot policy is applied. There is a clear and specific location and implementation time. The proposed projects must belong to one of the policy groups being proposed for piloting in this Resolution.

Emphasizing the need to issue a Resolution to pilot a number of specific mechanisms and policies on investment in the construction of road traffic works, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that the Government proposed specific pilot policies to ensure the successful implementation of the Party's policy on building a modern road infrastructure system, strongly innovating decentralization, delegation, authorization and improving the effectiveness of coordination in leadership, direction and operation, maximizing investment resources, diversifying forms of resource mobilization, especially non-state resources. Therefore, many opinions agreed with the need to issue the Resolution.

However, the Economic Committee recommends that it is necessary to supplement a more thorough, complete, and specific assessment of the impact of policies, clarifying the impact on state budget revenue and expenditure and resources to ensure policy implementation.

Regarding the ratio of state capital participating in investment projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) method (Article 4), the Economic Committee basically agrees with the proposal to increase the ratio of state capital participating in investment projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) method to no more than 70% of the total investment of the proposed pilot project.

In addition, credit institutions and investors have recently expressed concerns about participating in PPP transport projects. Therefore, the Government’s proposal on the proportion of state capital participating in investment projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) method will not completely resolve the difficulties and problems of current PPP transport projects.

Therefore, the Economic Committee recommends that the Government needs to have synchronous solutions to ensure the effectiveness of the proposed policy.

In addition, it is recommended to clearly define the proportion and portion of state capital for land acquisition, compensation, support, and resettlement for projects in Appendix 1 of the List of pilot projects, to further clarify the necessity of this policy.

According to the program, after the National Assembly listened to the reports of Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, authorized by the Prime Minister to present the Report on the draft Resolution on piloting a number of special mechanisms and policies on investment in construction of road traffic works; Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh presented the Report on the examination of the draft Resolution on piloting a number of special mechanisms and policies on investment in construction of road traffic works, the remaining time of the session on the afternoon of October 27, the National Assembly discussed in groups to give opinions on 2 contents.

Firstly, adjusting some contents of Resolution 53/2017/QH14 dated November 24, 2017 of the National Assembly on the Feasibility Study Report of the Land Acquisition, Compensation, Support and Resettlement Project of Long Thanh International Airport.

Second, resolution on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies on investment in construction of road traffic works.

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