The Long Thanh airport resettlement project was allocated more than 22,855 billion VND, but by the end of 2022, the 2,500 billion VND that had not been disbursed had been canceled and there was no replacement source.
On the afternoon of November 15, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on adjusting some contents of the Resolution on the feasibility study report on the land acquisition, compensation and resettlement support project of Long Thanh airport.
Long Thanh Airport has a capacity of 100 million passengers and 5 million tons of cargo per year. The total investment capital of the project is about VND336,630 billion (US$16 billion), of which 34% is for phase one.
According to the public investment plan, this project will only disburse VND16,697 billion by the end of 2022, with more than VND2,510 billion remaining. Submitted to the National Assembly on October 26, the Government proposed extending the disbursement period of this capital until the end of 2024 to complete the project.
Reporting to the National Assembly Standing Committee at today's meeting, Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that according to the Law on Public Investment, the 2020-2021 public investment plan can only be disbursed until the end of 2021 and 2022. Thus, the remaining 2,510 billion VND that has not been fully disbursed has been canceled according to regulations.
In principle, the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee must return all undisbursed capital of 2020 and 2021 to the central budget. Therefore, the amount of more than VND 2,500 billion (including more than VND 1,540 billion of the 2021 capital plan and VND 960 billion of the 2020 capital plan) has been canceled. Mr. Thanh said "the Government's proposed plan cannot be implemented because there is no more money to transfer the source".
On the other hand, the Government has not yet submitted a proposal to transfer resources to supplement the 2021-2025 medium-term public investment plan and arrange annual budgets. Therefore, according to the Standing Committee of the Economic Committee, the National Assembly Standing Committee's consideration and decision on the basis of the opinions of National Assembly deputies "is not strict". Even if the Government has a proposal on capital sources, there needs to be an agency to review and report to the National Assembly Standing Committee to ensure full processes and procedures.
Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh. Photo: National Assembly Media
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong further explained that of the 2,510 billion that was canceled, more than 960 billion belonged to the 2016-2020 medium-term plan.
"This medium-term plan ended a long time ago. This money is still available. Now, if we want to re-grant 966 billion, we have to add it to the medium-term 2021-2025. To do that, we need to have a corresponding source and have to submit it to the National Assembly for permission to set aside a reserve," Mr. Phuong explained.
To solve the problem, he proposed to use the central budget reserve for 2023. "Currently, there is still an unspent amount that can meet this 2,510 billion," he said, but it must be submitted to the National Assembly for comments.
Another option is to use the central budget reserve for 2024, but this source "is not in accordance with the budget law in terms of criteria". But in urgent cases, he said "it can be considered".
Perspective of Long Thanh airport.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai said that the National Assembly Standing Committee had issued a Conclusion in October, mentioning the allocation of capital for the project and requested the Government to clarify whether the undisbursed funds of 2020 and 2021 had been canceled according to regulations or were being allowed to be transferred.
Mr. Hai proposed that the Government, based on the provisions of the law on the State budget and public investment, propose a capital allocation plan for the project and submit it to the National Assembly for consideration.
According to Mr. Hai, the undisbursed capital has been canceled. In principle, the Government needs to propose, but so far, it has not proposed a specific plan for the National Assembly Standing Committee and the National Assembly to comment; the balancing of resources for allocation is under the Government's authority.
National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said these problems were mentioned by the National Assembly Standing Committee at the October meeting, but until now the Government has not submitted a report on supplementing the source, so "the National Assembly Standing Committee has no basis for discussion". Mr. Hue suggested that the Government leaders work with ministries and branches to develop a plan and submit it to the National Assembly Standing Committee for comments.
Son Ha - Hoai Thu
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