Minister Nguyen Van The: 'Proactively solve BOT problems'

New Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The affirmed to Tuoi Tre Online that BOT will be his top priority in his new position.

» [Infographic] - Portrait of the new Minister of Transport

New Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The. Photo: Viet Dung

Responding to newspaper interviewsYouthFor the first time as Minister of Transport, Mr. Nguyen Van The said: "I would like to sincerely thank the National Assembly for approving the Prime Minister's proposal for me to take on the task of Minister of Transport. This is a great honor and responsibility that the Party, State, National Assembly, Government and people have entrusted me with."

Responding to a question about immediate priorities in his new position, Mr. Nguyen Van The said there is a lot of work to do, but "issues related to BOT projects in the transport sector" are among the priorities that need to be resolved immediately.

Along with that, we need to soon start building some sections of the North-South Expressway and Long Thanh International Airport; soon complete the elevated railway lines in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; propose solutions to limit traffic congestion in the capital Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Tan Son Nhat International Airport...

And more comprehensively, propose a plan to effectively use medium-term capital for the 2017-2020 period.

Explaining the priority of choosing to solve problems related to BOT projects of the transport sector, Minister Nguyen Van The affirmed that BOT is the right policy, meeting the needs of society to mobilize infrastructure development.

The Ministry of Transport has also made full use of what the Government's decrees allow to implement BOT projects.

The Ministry has proactively summarized and invited the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance... to participate in auditing and inspection, and clarify BOT issues.

However, the new Minister of Transport said that BOT projects still have issues that need to be adjusted, the reason being that the National Assembly also identified the laws as incomplete and the implementation process as new.

"To solve the problems of BOT, we must focus on solving the problems mentioned above, so that in the future BOT will have to be better than it is now" - Mr. Nguyen Van The emphasized.

Regarding specific incidents happening in BOT traffic projects at this time, Mr. Nguyen Van The said that with its responsibility, the Ministry of Transport will advise the Government on handling each specific incident.

"And the Ministry of Transport will implement the handling plan agreed upon by the Government and the National Assembly," Mr. Nguyen Van The affirmed.

"We must be proactive in resolving matters related to BOT, we have seen all of these things. But the authority at this time is no longer the Ministry of Transport but must ask for the opinion of superiors. In the long term, we must try to perfect the law and provide good legal advice. Because BOT is very important for capital mobilization, the budget alone cannot guarantee it."

According to Tuoi Tre