Make the most effective use of 734 trillion VND in capital for strategic transport infrastructure projects

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired an online conference of the State Steering Committee for important national projects and works, key to the Transport sector with 33 localities on the morning of August 10. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

This is also the first meeting of the Steering Committee after its establishment on July 23.

Also attending the conference were Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh - Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Steering Committee; Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The - Deputy Head of the Steering Committee; Minister, Head of the Government Office Tran Van Son; Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi; Chairman of the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises Nguyen Hoang Anh; leaders of ministries, branches and central agencies. Attending the conference at 33 local points were the Chairmen of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities where the project passed through, who are members of the Steering Committee.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh, the implementation of the projects has many advantages but also great challenges. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

According to the Decision to establish the Steering Committee, the important national and key projects of the Transport sector include 9 projects and 31 component projects, including: Ho Chi Minh Road; expressway projects: North-South East, Ben Luc-Long Thanh, Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot, Bien Hoa-Vung Tau, Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang, Ring Road 4-Hanoi Capital Region, Ring Road 3 of Ho Chi Minh City; High-speed railway on the North-South axis; urban railway lines of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; Long Thanh International Airport Project and other expressway projects or transport infrastructure projects that the Steering Committee deems necessary...

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The speaks at the conference. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Of which, the Ministry of Transport is the managing agency of 3 projects and 4 component projects; localities are the managing agencies of 5 projects and 24 component projects; ministries, branches and enterprises are the managing agencies of 1 project and 3 component projects.

734 trillion VND for key projects

Opinions at the conference assessed that these are large-scale transport infrastructure projects, of great significance, playing a driving role, spreading strongly, promoting economic and social development, ensuring national defense and security, and increasing national competitiveness. According to the Ministry of Finance, the total capital for these projects is about 734 trillion VND and has been basically balanced.

Representatives of ministries and branches speaking at the conference. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

With a huge number of projects being implemented in different fields (roads, railways, aviation, etc.), passing through many localities from North to South, the amount of work that needs to be done is extremely large, many procedures related to ministries, branches, and localities, and the implementation time is urgent, so there needs to be direction, management, and coordination of activities between ministries, branches, and localities. Therefore, the establishment of a State Steering Committee is extremely necessary.

In the coming time, to ensure progress in implementing projects, the agencies assigned to manage them will focus on directing the implementation of key tasks.

In particular, the Ministry of Transport directed the basic completion of 4 component projects of the North-South Eastern Expressway (Mai Son - National Highway 45, Cam Lo - La Son, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet and Phan Thiet - Dau Giay) in 2022. Complete the establishment, appraisal, approval of technical design, estimates, contractor selection and related procedures to start construction of component projects of the North-South Eastern Expressway Project for the period 2021 - 2025 by the end of 2022. Complete the pre-feasibility study report of the North-South high-speed railway project for submission to the 15th National Assembly for approval. Implement projects to basically connect Ho Chi Minh Road in 2025.

Attending the conference at 33 local points were the Chairmen of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities where the project passes through, who are members of the Steering Committee. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Ministry of Transport and localities focus on implementing investment projects, striving to start construction of the Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau, Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway projects before June 30, 2023.

Strive to start the Ring Road 4 project - Hanoi Capital Region and Ring Road 3 project - Ho Chi Minh City in June 2023. The People's Committees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and related localities focus on implementing the work of establishing, appraising and approving investment projects for component projects; updating and adjusting related planning; focusing on directing the completion of the work of establishing, appraising and approving, approving adjustments and supplementing red line boundaries to implement the work of setting up stakes for site clearance.

The People's Committees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are speeding up the implementation of urban railway projects according to the established progress milestones and instructions of the Prime Minister.

Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee directed to complete site clearance for the construction area of ​​Long Thanh International Airport Phase 1 (area of ​​1,810 ha) in August 2022. Competent authorities and investors speed up the progress of design approval and implementation of main construction works of Long Thanh Airport to ensure compliance with the set plan; urgently select investors to implement service works, ensuring synchronous completion with the airport when put into operation and use.

Opinions also pointed out that during the implementation process, the projects encountered a number of difficulties and obstacles, affecting progress.

In particular, site clearance is still the most difficult and complicated step that greatly affects the progress and quality of projects and needs to be prioritized one step ahead to ensure construction progress.

Regarding the source of roadbed materials, with the number of large-scale traffic projects being implemented simultaneously, the demand for materials is very large, while the supply is limited, the licensing procedures for exploitation take a long time, leading to some times when there is a shortage, price increase, and price pressure, greatly affecting the progress of project implementation.

In the Mekong Delta region, roadbed material is sand with very limited supply and mainly concentrated in An Giang and Dong Thap provinces. The Government has issued resolutions to remove obstacles in licensing procedures, but without the drastic participation of localities and careful preparation by investors, the material issue will be a major bottleneck for projects.

Some other issues are that recently the prices of fuel, raw materials and components have fluctuated; the weather in some areas has been unusual, with heavy rains and coming earlier than usual, causing the construction progress of some projects to be behind schedule compared to the original plan...

Subjectively, the capacity of some investors, project management boards, consulting forces (design, supervision), and construction contractors is still limited, uneven, and cannot meet the requirements of simultaneously implementing projects with large investment scope and scale, high technical requirements, and short implementation time as at present.

Some projects are implemented with different capital sources, so it requires synchronous coordination between ministries, branches and localities in allocating capital and implementing projects and component projects.

Projects using loans from international organizations (urban railway, Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway) have complicated implementation procedures that intertwine international practices and Vietnamese law regulations, so project adjustment, capital supplementation, and contract management are quite complicated and lengthy.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh, the implementation of projects has many advantages such as the capital for transport infrastructure is arranged 4 times more than the previous term, the National Assembly has provided many special mechanisms...; but the challenges are also very large, ministries, branches and localities must promote a very high spirit and responsibility in implementing procedures, quickly clearing land, selecting the right contractors to ensure quality and progress... Localities with strategic transport infrastructure projects also have great opportunities and space for development when the projects are completed.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the enthusiastic, responsible and practical opinions at this important and effective meeting. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Overcoming weaknesses in implementation organization

Concluding the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh once again emphasized the need to implement three strategic breakthroughs according to the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, including institutions, infrastructure, and human resources, including important national projects and works, key to the transport sector. The 13th National Party Congress also set a target that by 2030, the whole country must have at least 5,000 km of expressways, while from 2000 to 2021, the whole country only completed nearly 1,100 km of expressways.

Currently, in all three regions of the North, Central and South, major projects of the Transport sector on railways, roads and aviation are being implemented. Due to the huge amount of work, involving many localities, ministries and sectors, there must be a new approach, including the establishment of a State Steering Committee for important national projects and works, key to the Transport sector.

Appreciating the dedicated, responsible, and practical opinions at this important and effective meeting, the Prime Minister assigned the Government Office to coordinate with the standing agency of the Steering Committee, the Ministry of Transport, to complete and submit the meeting's conclusions for timely and effective implementation.

Emphasizing some more contents, the Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to continue raising awareness of the importance of these projects, learning from good practices as well as limitations and shortcomings over the past years, in which the weakest link is still the implementation organization. "The implementation of these projects must contribute to overcoming the weak link in implementation organization, a weak link that has been clearly pointed out in the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress", the Prime Minister emphasized.

Analyzing more specifically the importance of the task, the Prime Minister said that according to incomplete statistics, the total capital for these projects is 734 trillion VND, of which the expressway projects alone are more than 500,000 billion VND, not to mention public-private partnership projects, loan capital, etc.

The effective implementation of these projects is a practical action to implement the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, contributing to the implementation of the 3 strategic breakthroughs and the goals set by the Congress; creating new development space, new development momentum in regions, localities and the whole country, creating conditions for the formation of new industrial, service and urban areas; contributing to solving traffic bottlenecks; promoting production, business and creating jobs for people; promoting rapid recovery and sustainable socio-economic development; mobilizing and effectively using resources... Experience from localities shows that if infrastructure is well developed, growth will be high, such as in Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa.

The Prime Minister requested that members of the Steering Committee, agencies, units and localities must further improve, maximize the sense of responsibility, comply with regulations on the basis of assigned functions, tasks and powers, perform tasks proactively and positively, without waiting, relying on others, without shirking responsibility, work substantially with high determination, great efforts, act decisively, effectively, with focus, and key points, complete each task, resolve any difficulties and problems, strengthen the grasp of the situation, resolve arising issues, strengthen discipline, inspection, supervision, and coordinate closely and synchronously, meeting the expectations of the Party, State and People.

Take action urgently and decisively

In particular, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment strictly and synchronously implements solutions on raw materials for projects according to the Government's resolutions, strengthens inspections of localities, and if not done correctly, resolutely recovers material mines and considers the responsibilities of related organizations and individuals according to the regulations of the Party and the State, and reports to the Government and the Steering Committee in August.

Ministries, branches and localities must coordinate closely, implement investment procedures, select design consultants, supervision consultants and quality-assured contractors in an impartial and transparent spirit for the benefit of the nation, people and the community, ensuring project progress and quality while preventing and combating corruption, negativity and group interests.

At the same time, establish resettlement and site clearance projects in parallel with design, consulting and construction projects to speed up progress; establish project implementation plans in the spirit of using the inauguration date to count down progress milestones; urgently appraise component projects of approved projects.

The People's Committees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City urgently deploy tasks, speed up procedures, and complete the plan according to the conclusions and directions of the Prime Minister on railway projects. If there are any problems, they will continue to be resolved.

The investment management agencies of Long Thanh Airport projects have met the requirements set by the contractor and the instructions of the Government leaders. The Prime Minister said that he had recently received reports from the press about the difficulties of some people related to the site clearance and resettlement of this airport. The Prime Minister assigned the Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee and relevant agencies to inspect and proactively resolve related issues as quickly as possible, within this August, to stabilize the material and spiritual lives of the people.

The Prime Minister said that the Government will immediately issue resolutions on Hanoi Ring Road 4 and Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3. Ministries, sectors and localities will urgently approve projects to relocate technical infrastructure works and material mines with ongoing projects.

The Head of Government emphasized the need for ministries, sectors and localities to coordinate closely and directly, avoiding paperwork and complicated procedures. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment will proactively resolve issues related to ODA loan procedures from donors.

The Prime Minister noted that projects related to Long Thanh Airport must be implemented synchronously, such as site clearance, resettlement, construction of connecting roads, airport terminals, runways, works of the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Finance serving immigration, import and export of goods, etc.

Quickly and seriously implement procedures for bid designation and bidding according to the Bidding Law and the National Assembly Resolution; promptly request the State Audit to intervene to promote and supervise bid designation.

Construction of resettlement area to serve the clearance of the North-South Expressway. Photo: Tran Chau

Regarding construction costs, the Prime Minister stated that, up to now, domestic gasoline and oil prices have fallen below the level before the Ukraine conflict, and ministries, branches and localities must urgently take measures to stabilize and reduce prices of goods and services according to regulations. The Prime Minister said that he was very concerned, thoughtful and shared the difficulties of contractors and enterprises participating in the project when costs increased, but on the other hand, contractors and enterprises must also share with the Party, the State and the People while the whole world and the country are facing difficulties.

From his direct experience in directing the construction of local expressways, the Prime Minister said that in any work, there are times when things are difficult and times when things are favorable. All parties must cooperate in the spirit of "harmonious interests and sharing difficulties". If we cannot share difficulties in times of difficulty, we cannot do things in favorable times. On the other hand, State agencies must also be flexible, adapt quickly, and make efforts to respond within their capabilities so that businesses can do better.

The Prime Minister requested localities to establish Steering Committees to implement key projects and works in the transport sector in the area, develop working regulations, and assign tasks clearly and specifically; strengthen and improve the capacity of investors and project management boards to ensure sufficient capacity to implement projects, ensure progress and improve quality. Dong Thap and An Giang provinces will review all material mines to have plans to increase capacity to meet the needs of projects in the Mekong Delta region.

Management boards regularly inspect, urge, and accept according to the provisions of law. Consulting units promote the spirit of initiative, provide advice in accordance with regulations, and enhance responsibility for the people, for the country, and for the common good. Contractors need to respect the contract, and work together to resolve difficulties and obstacles in the spirit of harmonious interests and shared risks.

The Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Information and Communications to direct press agencies to promote information and communication to create a common consensus in society. Press agencies should have a plan to systematically propagate projects, honestly reflect the situation, and praise good examples and exemplary models.

The State Steering Committee is expected to meet monthly. The Prime Minister requested that ministries, branches and localities submit reports before the 5th of each month to serve the meeting.