Strictly implement project adjustment and contract extension
(Baonghean) - Recently, at a meeting of the Provincial People's Committee, opinions from a number of departments and branches said that compliance with legal regulations in basic construction investment is not strict. In particular, the situation of contract extension is still common, many projects have expired but still request for extension, causing difficulties in management and investment efficiency.
In 2014 and the first 6 months of 2015, many projects had to be adjusted. In 2014, there were 68 projects (of which 10 projects adjusted their scale and total investment, 58 projects adjusted their total investment); In the first 9 months of 2015, there were 32 adjusted projects (of which 9 projects adjusted the scale, 21 projects adjusted the total investment), with some projects adding scale, leading to the total investment increasing more than 2 times compared to the approved project... The process of approving project adjustments has not yet clearly indicated the ability to balance capital sources, therefore it is not in accordance with Clause 2, Article 11 of Decree 12/2009/ND-CP dated February 12, 2009 of the Prime Minister on management of construction investment projects and Section b, Clause 1, Section I of Directive 14/CT-TTg dated June 28, 2013 of the Prime Minister on strengthening investment management and handling of outstanding debts in basic construction from the state budget and government bonds.
To rectify the situation where some investors and contractors propose to extend the contract implementation progress (construction progress), adjust the total budget according to State policy to gain unfair benefits, minimize the loss of State budget capital, ensure objectivity, honesty and fairness in contract implementation, it is necessary to strictly implement project adjustment, extend the contract period in accordance with regulations. Projects can only be adjusted in the cases specified in Clause 2, Article 46 of the Law on Public Investment and Clause 1, Article 61 of the Law on Construction in accordance with the ability to balance capital sources of budgets at all levels. Competent authorities can only adjust projects after conducting inspections and assessments according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 46, Articles 79, 80, 81 of the Law on Public Investment. In case of adjusting the total investment level compared to the initial investment decision, sectors and localities, while implementing regulations on making and appraising project adjustment decisions, must appraise capital sources and capital balancing capacity according to regulations in Article 38 of the Law on Public Investment.
Some experts believe that in case of project adjustment that changes the scale and investment content, it is necessary to follow the policy process to allow project adjustment and supplementation, clarify the reasons and responsibilities of relevant individuals and organizations when consulting on the initial policy and follow the investment policy issuance process prescribed in Section 1 - Chapter II of the Law on Public Investment. When adjusting the contract implementation time, it is necessary to clearly appraise the source of capital to pay for the increased value caused by the adjustment of the contract implementation time before submitting to the competent authority for an extension of the contract implementation time; Do not extend the contract implementation time for projects that have expired, especially projects that have lasted more than 10 years.
In the process of organizing, appraising and approving project adjustments and extending contract implementation time, strictly comply with current regulations of the State and Official Dispatch No. 2525/UBND-XD dated April 20, 2013, No. 6942/UBND-TM dated October 2, 2013, No. 2770/UBND-TM dated May 7, 2015 of the Provincial People's Committee. When adjusting the project implementation time and contract implementation time due to site clearance of bid packages with contractor selection plans approved after July 1, 2014, the additional cost due to adjustment must be self-mobilized by the Investor to pay the contractor.
Viet Phuong
