The National Assembly Standing Committee gives opinions on adjusting the Long Thanh airport project.

Photo caption — National Assembly Permanent Vice Chairman Tran Thanh Man chaired the meeting. Photo: Doan Tan/VNA

Presenting the report, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan said that the Government proposed to adjust 4 contents, including: Adjusting the total investment of the project from 22,938 billion VND to 19,207.504 billion VND; adjusting the recovered land area to 5,317.35 hectares (reducing 82 hectares); adjusting the project implementation time to the end of 2024; adding the content of resettlement arrangement for households on the 2 traffic routes connecting T1, T2 to the Loc An - Binh Son Residential and Resettlement Area.

Deputy Minister Le Anh Tuan said that during the implementation process, some contents of the Project have changed compared to the main targets approved by the National Assembly in Resolution No. 53. According to Resolution No. 94/2015/QH13 and Resolution No. 38/2017/QH14 of the National Assembly, the Government reported to the National Assembly for consideration and approval of some changed contents before the Prime Minister approved according to the provisions of the Law on Public Investment.

The Government must report the above-mentioned adjustments to the National Assembly for consideration and approval before the Prime Minister approves the adjustment of the Project according to the provisions of Article 2 of Resolution No. 94/2015/QH13 and Article 2 of Resolution No. 38/2017/QH14.

The Standing Committee of the Economic Committee highly appreciated the initiative of the People's Committee of Dong Nai province in advancing the local budget to continue paying compensation, support and resettlement costs for the Project in order to complete land acquisition for the Project and hand over the entire site of phase 1. However, the Standing Committee of the Economic Committee proposed to assess the impact and influence of advancing the local budget to pay for related costs of the Project from 2021 to 2023 in the context that the Project fiscal year has ended and has not been disbursed by the State Treasury on the implementation of socio-economic development goals and targets in the locality according to local resolutions.

The Standing Committee of the Economic Committee requested the People's Committee of Dong Nai province to continue to review and clearly evaluate the investment in social infrastructure and investment in technical infrastructure in the Loc An - Binh Son Residential and Resettlement Area to see if it is consistent with the increase in the scale of resettlement lots to meet the needs and stabilize the lives of the people as required in Clause 2, Article 3 of Resolution No. 94/2015/QH13 and Clause 2, Article 1 of Resolution No. 38/2017/QH14.

The Standing Committee of the Economic Committee proposed to assess the impact and clarify the legal basis for using the local budget to reimburse the central budget for the cost of compensation for site clearance in Sub-Zone III - Binh Son Residential and Resettlement Area and hand over to the locality to manage and use the recovered land area in accordance with the recovery purpose of the Project as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 3 of Resolution No. 94/2015/QH13 or arrange for other purposes of the Project in the long term to serve production development, ensure stable life of resettled people and the funding source is still taken from the allocated central budget. In case it is not actually used, it will be considered to hand it back to the locality for management and use. The management and use of land shall comply with the provisions of the law on land and related laws, avoiding the phenomenon of re-encroachment and waste of land resources.

Commenting on the adjustment, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue requested clarification of the contents that must be adjusted according to the National Assembly's resolution, and the contents that must be implemented according to the Government's authority. The National Assembly Chairman pointed out that "the extension of the project implementation period may have to be adjusted according to the National Assembly's resolution".

In conclusion, Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man suggested that the Government accept the discussion opinions, complete the dossier and send it back to the National Assembly Standing Committee to report to the National Assembly, noting to clarify which issues must be consulted with the National Assembly and which issues are under the authority of the Government and the Prime Minister and do not need to be presented.

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