Promote decentralization and delegation of authority in planning and investment

Kinhtedothi- On the morning of October 30, at the 8th Session, the 15th National Assembly heard the Presentation and Verification Report on the Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Planning, the Law on Investment, the Law on Investment under the Public-Private Partnership method and the Law on Bidding.

Presenting the Report on the Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Planning, the Law on Investment, the Law on Investment under the form of public-private partnership and the Law on Bidding, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that the Law was developed to promptly remove urgent difficulties and obstacles in institutions, simplify administrative procedures and promote decentralization and delegation of authority in the fields of planning, business investment, investment under the form of public-private partnership and bidding.

The law-making process adheres to the viewpoint of focusing on amending contradictory regulations that are causing difficulties and urgent requirements to be amended to facilitate investment, production and business activities. Ensuring the consistency and uniformity of the legal system, in accordance with Vietnam's international treaties and commitments.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung presents the Report. Photo: Quochoi.vn

Regarding the Law on Planning, this Draft Law clearly stipulates the relationship between technical and specialized planning and planning in the national planning system to resolve problems regarding the basis for planning when higher-level planning has not been approved. The regulation of "urban and rural planning" as "technical and specialized planning" is consistent with the nature of this type of planning and consistent with the provisions in the draft Law on Urban and Rural Planning...

Regarding the Investment Law, the Draft Law stipulates the decentralization of the Prime Minister's approval of investment policies to the provincial People's Committees for: investment projects on construction and business of infrastructure of industrial parks and export processing zones; investment projects on construction of new ports and port areas with an investment capital scale of less than VND 2,300 billion in special seaports and investment projects regardless of scale within the protection scope of Zone I and Zone II of relics recognized by competent authorities as national relics and special national relics, except for investment projects within the protection zone I of special national relics on the World Heritage List to create initiative for localities.

This Bill amends a number of provisions of the Law on Investment under the Public-Private Partnership model in order to encourage the implementation of the PPP model for all projects in the public investment sector to provide public products and services, except for projects in the State monopoly sector or projects in the fields of national defense, security, and social order and safety. It abolishes the limit on the minimum investment capital scale to implement PPP projects; assigns ministries, branches and localities to consider and be responsible for deciding on the selection of projects suitable to the needs and implementation conditions of investors.

Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh presents the Verification Report. Photo: Quochoi.vn

Regarding the Law on Bidding, amend some contents of the Law on Bidding to allow the approval of contractor selection results before the project is approved or the signing of contracts with contractors before international treaties and foreign loan agreements are signed to help save time and speed up the implementation of projects and bidding packages. Allow the application of restricted bidding, international bidding, and domestic bidding in cases where development partners and foreign donors request the application of these forms as a binding condition in the process of negotiating and signing international treaties and foreign loan agreements to speed up the process of negotiating and signing international treaties and foreign loan agreements.

Examining this content, Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that the Economic Committee basically agrees with the necessity of amending and supplementing the laws in the Draft Law.

Regarding the specific contents related to the consistency of the Draft Law with the legal system, the Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee said that the Draft Law proposes to amend and supplement a number of provisions related to the order of planning, planning content, and adjustment of national, regional and provincial planning, which are plans prepared, appraised, approved and adjusted according to the provisions of the Law on Planning. However, at the 7th and 8th Sessions, the Government also proposed to promulgate the Law on Geology and Minerals, amend the Law on Electricity and the Law on Cultural Heritage to amend the contents on the order, procedures for preparing, appraising, approving and adjusting national, regional and provincial planning without immediately proposing to amend and supplement the provisions related to the above contents in the Law on Planning, which is inappropriate.

National Assembly delegates attending the session. Photo: Quochoi.vn

The Economic Committee recommends that the Government direct relevant agencies to review and revise the Draft Laws to ensure the consistency of the legal system; avoid the same content being regulated in many laws, leading to overlaps, contradictions, and difficulties in the process of law application; simplify procedures to speed up the process of planning, appraisal, approval and adjustment.

Regarding the content of project lists in the content of national, regional and provincial planning in the amendment of the Law on Planning, the Economic Committee proposes to continue reviewing and studying the amendment of regulations related to the assessment of conformity with planning in the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Investment, the Law on Investment under the public-private partnership model and a number of draft laws being submitted to the National Assembly such as the Draft Law on Electricity to ensure feasibility, consistency, avoid obstacles in the implementation process, contributing to solving urgent difficulties and obstacles in the practical implementation of investment and business activities.

Regarding special investment procedures in the Investment Law, the Chairman of the Economic Committee proposed that the Government carefully review and clearly and strictly regulate the subjects to which these special investment procedures are applied; thoroughly research and assess the impact, ensuring that the decentralization of authority to grant special investment certificates meets the capacity, decision-making capacity, organization, and human resources of each management level, ensuring consistency in the legal system; at the same time, it is necessary to supplement sanctions with specific responsibilities, and handle violations to ensure feasibility and effectiveness in implementation, especially for large, important projects of complex specialized nature, with widespread impacts on the socio-economic development of localities, regions, and the whole country.

Regarding the field, scale of investment under the PPP method and the minimum investment capital to implement a PPP project, the Chairman of the Economic Committee said that the expansion of the scope of application in some localities in the pilot phase has not been summarized and evaluated. Therefore, it is recommended to review, consider, and be cautious about this proposal and supplement it with a thorough assessment.

Regarding the content of pre-bidding in the amendment of the Law on Bidding, the Economic Committee requested the Government to explain and assess the specific impact on the application of regulations on pre-bidding; in which it is necessary to consider the rights and responsibilities of investors and contractors to have appropriate regulations to protect the legitimate rights and interests of both parties, avoiding complaints and denunciations.

On the same morning, National Assembly deputies will discuss in groups the Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Planning, the Law on Investment, the Law on Investment under the public-private partnership model and the Law on Bidding.

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