Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung proposed tightening driver training and testing.

On the morning of January 11, the Ministry of Transport held a national online conference to review the work of 2018 and deploy the plan for 2019. Attending the conference were members of the Party Central Committee: Trinh Dinh Dung - Deputy Prime Minister; Nguyen Van The - Minister of Transport.At Nghe An bridge point, there was comrade Huynh Thanh Dien - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

The comrades presiding at the Nghe An bridge point. Photo: Thanh Le

Completed 27 projects, started 16 new projects

Reporting at the Conference, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said that in 2018, the Ministry of Transport completed the entire program and plan for 2018.

In 2018, the Ministry of Transport completed and put into operation 27 projects and started 16 new projects. Preparations for key projects such as the North-South Eastern Expressway Project, Long Thanh International Airport, Tan Son Nhat International Airport expansion, pre-feasibility study of the North-South high-speed railway project, etc. were focused on and implemented resolutely, basically following the set roadmap and plan.

Checking the construction of Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard. Photo: Thanh Le

Regarding disbursement, according to Deputy Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong, there are many drastic solutions to promote it. However, it is expected that the disbursed capital sources in 2018 will reach more than 33,700 billion VND. Of which, the non-state budget capital will disburse 100% of the plan, equivalent to the disbursed capital of 10,000 billion VND; the state budget capital and government bonds are expected to disburse 23,785 billion VND, reaching 90.3% of the plan.

At the same time, the quality of transportation services continues to improve, better meeting the needs of people for transporting goods and traveling. Vietnam's 2018 National Logistics Performance Index ranked 39/160 countries participating in the survey (up 25 places compared to 2016), all 6 evaluation criteria increased significantly compared to 2016.

The handling of existing problems and shortcomings in BOT projects has been seriously and carefully implemented in accordance with the policies and directions of the National Assembly and the Government and has achieved initial results, receiving high appreciation from the Government and consensus from society and people...

Many big goals

Identifying 2019 as the year of accelerating efforts to successfully complete the goals and targets of the 5-year socio-economic development plan 2016-2020, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong said that the Ministry of Transport has proposed many important solutions to achieve the target of striving for an average growth of 8-9% in tons of goods and passengers compared to 2018; Completing the 2019 public investment plan with an expected disbursement of nearly 29,000 billion VND.

Implementing the Traffic Safety Year 2019 with the theme "Traffic safety for passengers and motorcyclists", the Ministry of Transport is determined to reduce traffic accidents by 5-10% in all three criteria of number of cases, number of deaths and injuries compared to 2018; reducing traffic congestion in major cities, especially Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Construction of Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard. Photo: Thanh Le

Implementing the 2019 plan, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The affirmed that the Ministry of Transport will tighten the training, testing and issuance of driving licenses. The Minister said that the Ministry of Transport has recently approved a project to improve the effectiveness of State management on the quality of training, testing and management of driving licenses.

“Candidates who violate certain rules during the test such as not stopping at red lights, violating mountain passes, violating railway crossings…” will be immediately disqualified, the Minister said, adding that he will direct the permanent revocation of driving licenses for drivers who cause serious accidents.

View of Nghe An bridge. Photo: Thanh Le

Speaking at the Conference, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung highly appreciated the results of the transport sector in 2018.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Transport to focus on overcoming shortcomings and limitations. First of all, review and supplement legal regulations related to the development of industries and sectors of the industry.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, resource mobilization is currently facing many difficulties, so the industry needs to have policies and mechanisms to mobilize resources for investment in developing transport infrastructure.

Citing the fact that airports are constantly changing their planning, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, the planning work has been of interest to the transport sector but lacks synchronization and predictability, leading to patchwork investment, which clearly reveals the limitations of the planning work. Therefore, the Ministry of Transport needs to pay attention to synchronous, effective and strategic planning work.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung speaks at the conference.

Emphasizing the complicated situation of traffic accidents and the high number of deaths due to traffic accidents, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Transport to coordinate with relevant agencies to synchronously deploy solutions to ensure traffic safety and tighten driver training and testing.

To develop the transport sector and contribute to the country's socio-economic development, according to Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, the sector needs to make strategic breakthroughs and promote investment attraction in developing transport infrastructure.

At the same time, restructure the transport sector, improve the competitiveness of infrastructure and the quality of transport services, contribute to reducing production costs, and enhance the competitiveness of economic sectors.