There will be a reasonable plan to repay outstanding basic construction debts for localities.

(Baonghean.vn) - The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council requested the Department of Planning and Investment to coordinate with the Department of Finance to study and advise localities on a reasonable plan to repay outstanding debts for basic construction before and after the Law on Public Investment.

This proposal was raised at the working session of the Provincial People's Council Standing Committee with the Department of Planning and Investment under the program of supervising basic construction investment using the budget.

Comrade Hoang Viet Duong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council chaired the meeting. Photo: Mai Hoa

According to a report from the Department of Planning and Investment, the field of basic construction investment in 2015 and 2016 was governed by many new legal documents, notably the Law on Public Investment and the Government's Decision on principles, criteria, and norms for allocating state budget capital.

The allocation of investment capital is ensured according to the principle: prioritizing capital sources to repay debts of completed projects and transitional projects; limiting the implementation of new projects.

In 2015 and 2016, based on proposals from investors, sectors and districts, the Department of Planning and Investment appraised and advised the Provincial People's Council and People's Committee to issue 142 investment policies; of which 77 projects were approved for investment decisions and in 2017 there were basically no new construction projects.

However, due to outstanding debts from previous years and the large number of projects being transferred, the allocation of capital for projects is still spread out. The outstanding debts for basic construction at the district and commune levels are still large. Some projects have not clearly defined the capital portion at each budget level, making it difficult to determine the outstanding debts for basic construction.

Priority should be given to capital for upgrading irrigation systems to ensure people's livelihoods. Photo: Mai Hoa

Stating the reason for the large outstanding debt, comrade Nguyen Van Do - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment said: It is due to the past and partly due to the perception that the previous term left the debt for the next term. However, according to regulations, outstanding debt arising from December 31, 2014 onwards will not be paid using any budget source (ie after the Law on Public Investment is promulgated).

Proposing solutions to limit waste in investment and disperse capital in the context of limited budget, the Director of the Department of Planning and Investment said: It is necessary to change the mindset in investment. For example, in some projects serving the people's livelihood in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, it is impossible to "follow the people's roads and follow the people's electricity". In reality, there are residential areas with only 27 households but have to invest in dozens of kilometers of roads and dozens of kilometers of electricity lines. Instead of this small-scale investment, it is necessary to have reasonable population planning for concentrated and synchronous investment...

Comrade Nguyen Van Do - Director of the Department of Planning and Investment said that it is necessary to change the mindset in investment, limit waste of resources and spread of capital. Photo: Mai Hoa

Concluding the working session, Comrade Hoang Viet Duong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council requested the Department of Planning and Investment to continue to pay attention to advising the Provincial People's Committee to strengthen the direction of implementing the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Construction, and the Law on Bidding; thereby raising awareness and responsibility of all levels and sectors, ensuring that public investment activities are tightened and put into order.

Enhance responsibility and capacity for project and construction appraisal, ensure capital allocation according to principles; determine project and capital priorities, and comply with the Law on Public Investment. Focus on reviewing, inspecting, and advising on handling unfinished projects using government bond capital and excess revenue, especially key and essential projects for people's livelihood in localities./.

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