Improving the investment environment is the 'backbone' solution

Mr. Nguyen Van Do - Director of the Department of Planning and Investment spoke at the conference hall. Photo: Duc Anh

Assessing the socio-economic situation in 2018, the Director of the Department of Planning and Investment agreed with the results achieved, many outstanding activities were clarified and worth noting. Mr. Nguyen Van Do said that, compared to the long term, the tasks set out are still very "heavy", however, "do not let that discourage you from striving".

The Director of the Department of Planning and Investment stated that 2018 was an outstanding year for investment promotion activities. This is demonstrated by the number of investment projects in Nghe An. Up to now, 395 investment policy dossiers have been received, of which 124 projects with investment capital of VND 10,000 billion are waiting to be processed. This is the result of innovation in working methods, active administrative reform, opening up and creating favorable investment corridors for businesses.

Based on the set goals, and based on the assessment of current capacity, combined with forecasts for the coming years, Mr. Nguyen Van Do proposed a number of solutions to promote socio-economic development in 2019. In which, improving the business environment is considered the "backbone" solution.

The Director of the Department of Planning and Investment said that this is both a key solution and a challenge for all levels of Party committees, authorities, departments, and branches to join in. In addition, the public investment sector also needs to have transparent and public decentralization to avoid overlapping in investment.

Regarding the outstanding debt of basic construction, the Director of the Department of Planning and Investment analyzed that it should be understood in two aspects: the outstanding debt of basic public investment is the debt in the issued investment plan. The review is implemented by all levels, sectors, and approved by the Provincial People's Committee. This outstanding debt in the year reached 1,900 billion VND. According to the proposed roadmap, the debt repayment progress basically reached 98%.

The remaining part is called “other debt” including debt from levels that have not been fully reported in the system. The province has issued many official dispatches on this issue, but so far there has been no response.

One of the "other debts" is the debt from committed contractors. According to regulations, all types of debts arising from contractors' self-funded operations, before being approved, cannot be paid. However, in reality, this situation still occurs, and currently, relevant departments and branches are focusing on directing the resolution.

To solve this debt problem, Mr. Nguyen Van Do proposed two main solutions, including: selecting items to complete and put into operation; converting the form, and mobilizing other resources.