Road Law is like a 'highway', drawing space for development

Respond promptly to life's demands

- In 2020, the Ministry of Transport first announced the Draft Law on Road Traffic Amendments, but it was not until June 2024 that the Road Law was officially passed. The development and completion of this bill seems to hold a record in terms of time compared to the development of other specialized laws such as Civil Aviation, Maritime, and Railways, sir?

Along with the 80-year history of building, protecting and developing the country, the Road sector has always played a role as one of the key transport sectors serving socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security. This is a broad, complex sector, related to and affecting many aspects of life, economy and society.

Therefore, when implementing the Road Law Project, the Vietnam Road Administration identified it as an important task, focusing all resources to implement it with the spirit of removing difficulties and obstacles; at the same time, promptly resolving practical requirements, with a broader, longer-term vision.

New regulations need to mobilize potentials and resources to develop synchronous infrastructure; improve service quality, promote administrative procedure reform, and enhance the application of information technology to best serve people and businesses.

It can be seen that the "lifespan" of the 2008 Road Traffic Law is quite long, demonstrating its role and mission in building and developing the country. However, to meet the requirements in the new situation, especially to institutionalize the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, the birth of the 2024 Road Traffic Law is inevitable.

In fact, the process of drafting and perfecting this law is longer than when drafting some other specialized laws in the field of transport, because roads account for the majority of the total 5 types of transport, so the drafting process must be comprehensively assessed, and there must be time to absorb, explain, and revise, with the spirit that the law must "reflect", regulate many relationships, especially must anticipate problems that may occur in the future, then it will help the management and development of infrastructure. From the perspective of legislative techniques, that is the way to increase the "lifespan" of a law when it is promulgated.

“ Without trade, there can be no wealth. But to connect trade and commerce, we must develop road infrastructure between regions. That is why there is a saying that “the highway creates great wealth”. Hopefully, the 2024 Road Law will create the motivation to make this happen!” - Director Bui Quang Thai .

I believe that the 2024 Road Law, with a clear and favorable legal corridor, which can be likened to a "highway", will help to resolve and respond fully and quickly to the requirements of the task of developing infrastructure to serve the country's development in the new period.

- The 13th National Party Congress affirmed that perfecting "institutions", developing "human resources", and building "infrastructure" are three strategic breakthroughs in development. How does the 2024 Road Law concretize the above policy of the Communist Party of Vietnam, sir?

The 2024 Road Law has specified the Party's guidelines and the State's policies on developing the infrastructure system and road transport to meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization of the country; building a breakthrough mechanism to develop a synchronous infrastructure system; focusing on building a number of key transport projects to adapt to climate change.

In particular, the 2024 Road Law also ensures the inheritance and continuation of relevant regulations. In addition, it has been amended and supplemented to overcome the limitations and shortcomings of the 2008 law. In addition, it also restructures transport modes; improves service quality; reforms administrative procedures, ensures a transparent business environment and promotes the application of information technology in road activities.

The 2024 Road Law, which is about to take effect, will basically meet the requirements of the Party and State for the task of developing transport infrastructure in the coming time.

Transportation is one step ahead, connecting regions, zones and industrial clusters, creating economic development space for localities.

"The highway to great wealth"...

- There are many expectations that the new regulations of the 2024 Road Law on investment and development of highways or the mechanism for mobilizing resources to build and maintain infrastructure... will soon create a new space for development, as the ancients concluded that "the highway creates great wealth"?

The 2024 Road Law has established a mechanism to promote the mobilization of social resources to invest in construction, management, operation, exploitation and maintenance of infrastructure, prioritizing the development of expressways and key projects connecting regions and areas.

With the principle of classifying roads according to management level, entities such as the Ministry of Transport and provincial People's Committees will be responsible for investing, constructing, managing, operating, exploiting and maintaining road infrastructure associated with the authority to manage road types.

These regulations will attach responsibilities to government levels in investment, management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance; allow decentralization and delegation of authority through the regulation that the Ministry of Transport is responsible for management, investment, construction, operation, and maintenance of national highways; Provincial People's Committees are responsible for local road systems and some national highway routes and sections. Such regulations are associated with the implementation of investment expenditure tasks of the central and local budgets in the Budget Law, creating synchronization, unity, and resolving practical difficulties when it is necessary to determine the subject performing investment expenditure tasks for road works.

Accordingly, based on the ability to balance resources, the Prime Minister will assign the Provincial People's Committee to manage and invest in upgrading a number of national highway routes and sections in the province to promote proactiveness in infrastructure construction, enhance connectivity and create space for local development, instead of waiting for the central government to make investments - which is a new point.

The ancients said “no trade, no wealth”, without trade, one cannot become rich. But to connect trade and commerce, one must develop road infrastructure between regions and localities. That is why there is a saying “highways make great wealth”… The 2024 Road Law will create the motivation to make this happen!

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh launched a competition to complete 3,000km of expressway by 2025.

- Can you tell us about the role of the 2024 Road Law in realizing the immediate goal of completing 3,000km of expressways by 2025, and by 2030 Vietnam will have 5,000km of expressways?

The new point in the 2024 Road Law is that a separate chapter has been dedicated to expressways. The contents related to investment, construction, management, exploitation, and maintenance of expressways have been fully regulated. At the same time, a number of policies on investment in the form of public-private partnership (PPP) have been amended, thereby removing obstacles in mobilizing resources for expressway development. With the new regulations, mobilizing non-state resources to renovate and expand expressways will be more convenient.

Specifically, through the BOT form, investors can participate in these projects, and can collect fees directly to recover capital instead of the indirect form of capital recovery as previously prescribed.

In the near future, some sections of the route such as the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway will be considered for upgrading and expanding under this mechanism to solve the problem of congestion and overload on the route.

The Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway will be expanded to 8 lanes under the PPP model, increasing transportation capacity between the Southern economic "locomotive" and the Mekong Delta.

Green transportation, Net Zero commitment companion

- The trend of investment in developing road infrastructure and road transport in the world is moving towards greening, sustainability and operating with smart systems. How does the new Road Law address this issue in the context of Vietnam's commitment to Net Zero by 2050?

With the goal of green and sustainable development, the 2024 Road Law stipulates the concentration of resources to develop modern road infrastructure that is adaptive to climate change and environmentally friendly; develop smart traffic; encourage and create conditions for Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals to invest in and do business in exploiting road infrastructure and transport activities; research and apply advanced science and technology, sustainable and environmentally friendly materials, etc.

To reduce emissions in road traffic, one of the effective solutions is to encourage the development of electric vehicles. The 2024 Road Law also has specific regulations on rest stops and bus stations to have electric charging systems for these vehicles. Thus, in the future, the development of road infrastructure will not only encourage construction with environmentally friendly materials, but also encourage and facilitate the use of green energy for vehicles traveling on it.

To develop green transportation, highway rest stops will have to arrange electric charging stations for road motor vehicles.

- How will the implementation of the 2024 Road Law be implemented when in October 2024, some provisions of the law will come into effect and in early 2025, the entire law will come into effect, sir?

In order for the Road Law to take effect from January 1, 2025 and its contents to take effect from October 1, 2024, the Ministry of Transport has directed the Vietnam Road Administration to resolutely carry out the following tasks:

Urgently focus on reviewing and developing legal documents detailing the law. Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport will take the lead in developing 4 decrees and 6 circulars to ensure the implementation of this law.

In addition, it is necessary to focus on reviewing legal documents related to the 2024 Road Law to propose amendments, supplements or replacements as appropriate, ensuring consistency in the legal system.

In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the organization of propaganda and dissemination of the 2024 Road Law, with diverse forms such as: organizing seminars, conferences, compiling documents... so that this law can soon come into life.

Thank you very much!

3 years is almost 20 years

To date, the total length of expressways nationwide has reached 2,021km. In just the past 3 years, 858km have been completed and put into operation - equal to more than 2/3 of the total number of expressways deployed in nearly 20 years ago. From now until the end of 2025, the Transport sector must complete at least 1,000km of expressways to reach the target of 3,000km set by the Resolution of the 13th National Congress.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/luat-duong-bo-tua-duong-cao-toc-ve-khong-giant-cho-su-phat-trien-post522441.html