Proposal for Nghe An to apply PPP in the fields of sports and culture

View of the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the afternoon of May 14. (Photo: DUY LINH)

On the afternoon of May 14, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on piloting the addition of a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Nghe An province.

Presenting a summary report on behalf of the drafting agency, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said that the draft Resolution stipulates 4 groups of fields with a total of 16 policies, including: state financial and budget management; investment management; urban and forest resource management; organizational structure and staffing.

Of these, 10 similar policies have been allowed by the National Assembly to be applied in other localities, with adjustments and supplements to suit the reality of Nghe An province.

Specifically, the draft recommends that Nghe An province apply public-private partnership (PPP) investment for investment projects in the fields of culture and sports, and the Provincial People's Council considers and decides to increase the proportion of state capital participation to no more than 70% of the total investment for PPP projects.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong presented a report at the meeting. (Photo: DUY LINH)

This policy is applied similarly in Ho Chi Minh City, but Nghe An province proposed to add it to PPP projects with site clearance compensation costs accounting for more than 50% of the total investment of the project and the preliminary financial plan of the PPP project does not ensure the ability to recover capital; projects in the fields of culture and sports; projects implemented in the western region of Nghe An.

Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee (the examining body) Le Quang Manh said that the majority of opinions in the Standing Committee of the Committee basically agreed with the plan submitted by the Government. Because allowing the expansion of the field to be implemented under the PPP method will help Nghe An province mobilize more resources outside the state budget, taking advantage of experience, methods, and advanced, modern investment methods from the private sector. This policy has been similarly applied in Ho Chi Minh City, the representative of the examining body emphasized.

However, many opinions in the Standing Committee of the Finance and Budget Committee suggested further consideration of the regulation to expand the scope of adjustment to increase the proportion of state capital participation to no more than 70% for the fields of culture, sports, and projects implemented in the Western Nghe An region.

Proposal for Nghe An Provincial People's Committee to have no more than 5 Vice Chairmen

Among the new proposed policies suitable for Nghe An's development practice, the Government proposed that the province be allocated an additional 50% of the central budget's public investment capital with additional targets for the locality according to the principles, criteria and norms prescribed in the Resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee on principles, criteria and norms for allocating public investment capital from the state budget for the period 2026-2030 to invest in key infrastructure projects in the province and develop socio-economic infrastructure in the western region of Nghe An.

Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee Le Quang Manh. (Photo: DUY LINH)

According to Mr. Le Quang Manh, the majority of opinions in the Standing Committee of the Finance and Budget Committee agreed with this regulation because Nghe An is currently a province receiving additional balance from the central budget, accordingly, resources for development investment are still limited, and socio-economic conditions are still difficult. To create momentum for development, especially the development of socio-economic infrastructure in Western Nghe An, it is necessary to have additional support for public investment resources from the central budget.

Allowing the allocation of an additional 50% of the targeted additional central budget public investment capital for the above localities will ensure the stability, publicity, transparency and clarity of the policy; create initiative for localities in balancing and planning the allocation of resources for projects; limit and overcome the "ask and give" mechanism. This policy is similar to the policy allowing Nghe An province to be allocated an additional 45% compared to the regular expenditure norm applied from 2022.

In addition, the draft Resolution proposes that the Provincial People's Committee have no more than 5 Vice Chairmen (an increase of one Vice Chairman compared to other provinces).

The Standing Committee of the Finance and Budget Committee believes that Decree No. 08/2016/ND-CP dated January 25, 2016 of the Government regulating the number of Vice Chairmen of the People's Committee (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 69/2020/ND-CP and Decree No. 115/2021/ND-CP),... has partly resolved the difficulties and inadequacies regarding commune-level officials and civil servants and the number of deputy chairmen of localities.

This is a content related to the policy of streamlining the payroll and reducing deputy levels according to the resolutions of the Central Committee and the Politburo and is under the decision-making authority of the Politburo. Therefore, it is recommended to report and seek opinions from competent authorities before submitting this policy to the National Assembly for consideration and decision.

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