Minister of Transport stated 3 Government viewpoints on construction of North-South Expressway

On the morning of August 15, at the 36th session, the National Assembly Standing Committee held a question-and-answer session on the implementation of resolutions and conclusions of the National Assembly Standing Committee on thematic supervision and questioning from the beginning of the term to the end of 2018.

Comrade Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan - Politburo member, Chairwoman of the National Assembly chaired the discussion session. Also attending at the Hanoi bridge were Comrade Vuong Dinh Hue - Politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister and leaders of ministries and branches. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The question and answer session was held online at 63 locations nationwide. At Nghe An location, comrade Nguyen Thanh Hien - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation chaired. Also attending were comrades: Cao Thi Hien - Member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Tran Van Mao - Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation and delegates.

Special consideration of security and defense

At the question and answer session, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An Province Nguyen Thanh Hien questioned that voters are very interested in the construction of the North - South Expressway. Could the Government please inform us of the Government's direction on this issue?

Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An Province Nguyen Thanh Hien delivered a questioning speech. Photo: Thanh Duy

Responding to this issue, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said that the North-South Expressway is a national key project and the Government relies on three principles:

The first:All procedures must comply with legal regulations, ensuring quality and progress.

Monday:Bidding must be organized openly and transparently according to the provisions of law.

Tuesday:This is a key national project of great significance in terms of security - defense, economy - society, so special consideration is needed in terms of security - defense.

Minister Nguyen Van The answers questions. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Minister Nguyen Van The said that the Ministry of Transport has implemented the procedures; up to this point, the project has been approved, and construction drawing design and estimates have been implemented.

Over the past month, the Ministry of Transport has reported to the Government Standing Committee at many meetings and the Government Standing Committee is seeking opinions from leading agencies to implement this project to ensure economic significance, especially ensuring the best national defense and security for the country.

Skills training for fishermen

Also at the question and answer session, delegate Nguyen Thanh Hien requested to know the solutions for training and coaching fishermen in skills of working at sea; ensuring equipment and means for fishermen to both produce and participate in protecting sovereignty over islands, national security, and order and safety at sea.

Responding to this content, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said: Currently, Vietnam's marine economy is from the perspective of large-scale fisheries exploitation, with about 95,500 vessels of all types from 6m and about 1 million people participating.

Going into details, Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that recently the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 930/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister: Approving the Project on propaganda to protect sovereignty and sustainable development of Vietnam's seas and islands in the period of 2018 - 2020; at the same time, the industry also implemented the Fisheries Law, focusing on investing in facilities.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong answers questions. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Up to now, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has coordinated with the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security and 28 coastal provinces to regularly organize propaganda and training activities on all aspects: ensuring safety during exploitation, responding to natural disasters...

Regarding natural disaster response, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that it is not only about propaganda but also about implementation through action programs.

Over the past three years, there have been a total of 51 storms and tropical depressions in the East Sea, and 2.1 million vehicles and 9.5 million people have been evacuated to ensure basic safety, especially in areas of fisheries activities; thereby demonstrating the results of quite synchronous coordination between central and local agencies, unions and fishermen.

In addition, the industry focuses on strengthening propaganda to ensure the effectiveness of the linkage stage, and how to form unions because offshore exploitation is very risky.

(Large photo) Fishing boats of Nghe An fishermen will install voyage monitoring devices; Functional forces propagate to fishermen about installing voyage monitoring devices; Dong Van Manh fishermen in Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu district fish more effectively thanks to installing modern communication devices and fish detectors. Photo: Viet Hung

For 82 fishing ports with 58 anchorage areas nationwide, equipment on fishing vessels operating in accordance with the Fisheries Law will also be gradually upgraded.

Specifically, ships of 24m or more are currently installing voyage monitoring, ships over 15 - 24m are required by law to be fully equipped.

At the same time, the industry is focusing on implementing solutions to withdraw the European Union (EU) yellow card and return to green card status.