Vietnam has 'planning inflation', 358 plans are born every month

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) said that currently, there are many plans of ministries, branches and localities. In the 3 years 2011 - 2014, each month the whole country had over 358 plans established and approved, most recently in 2015, each month there were over 75 plans established and approved. It is worth mentioning that most of the plans are not connected, still overlap and full of contradictions.

More than 358 plans are made every month

Specifically, by the end of 2014, the number of plans established by ministries, branches and localities was 12,860, 87% of which were approved. In 2015, ministries, branches and localities will continue to implement 907 plans, bringing the total number of plans expected to be established for the 2011-2020 period implemented in recent years to 13,767 plans.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam's recent planning has been very chaotic and contradictory. This activity needs to be rectified at the central, sectoral and local levels.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam's recent planning has been very chaotic and contradictory. This activity needs to be rectified at the central, sectoral and local levels.

Regarding the structure of the number of plans, the overall socio-economic development plans are 800, the construction plans are the most with 7,180 (52% of the total number of plans for the 2011-2020 period), land use plans are more than 2,250, and plans for the development of industries, fields and products are 3,500.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the planning plan for the period 2011 - 2020, the number of plans of ministries, central and local levels nationwide is nearly 19,300 plans, but by the end of 2014, all levels and sectors have only implemented 12,860 plans (accounting for 67% of the plan). Thus, after 3 years, the number of plans established nationwide is nearly 4,300 plans/year and nearly 358 plans/month.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, planning in the world must normally be organized in a consistent system from top to bottom to be effective. However, in Vietnam, planning is not unified and lacks coherence.

This Ministry cited that, according to the Master Plan for the development of the Northern midland and mountainous region to 2020 in 2013 with 14 provinces: Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang... there are no localities of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An. However, according to the approved Master Plan for the construction of the Northern midland and mountainous region to 2030, the planning scope includes the western districts of the two provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An.

Overlapping planning and conflicts hinder development

The Ministry of Planning and Investment especially noted that the current planning of sectors and localities is very overlapping and contradictory. For the same administrative unit and sector, there are many plans made, each of which sets out different targets, causing difficulties in the implementation process. Many plans with overlapping content and approval levels are implemented in the same territory.

In the same territory, there are many overlapping plans, such as in Quang Ngai province, there are 13 plans of various types approved by the Prime Minister and 53 plans of sectors, fields and products at the provincial level approved by local authorities.

In the pharmaceutical industry alone, there are two plans that mention the development of raw material areas, processing and extraction facilities of the pharmaceutical industry, leading to inconsistent development. Specifically, the plan for the development of the pharmaceutical industry to 2015, with a vision to 2025, and the plan for the development of the medicinal materials industry to 2020 and orientation to 2030 were approved.

Conflicts in development planning inevitably lead to conflicts in investment decisions and are the cause of disputes between businesses and between businesses and state management agencies.

Another example is the national power development plan for the period 2011 - 2020 with a view to 2030, nuclear power has a capacity of 10,700 MW. Meanwhile, the approved nuclear power development plan in Vietnam for the period up to 2030 has a total capacity of about 15,000 MW of nuclear power plants.

In the planning process, forecasting plays a particularly important role; the more accurate the forecast, the more effective and feasible the planning. However, this is also the weakest link in Vietnam today, leading to a situation where planning is far from reality and often has to be adjusted passively. Forecasting within a range of 5-10 years is difficult, long-term forecasting up to 20 years is even more difficult.

The seaport planning to 2010 approved by the Prime Minister in 1999 forecasted the volume of goods passing through the seaport system in 2010 to be about 200 million tons. However, according to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the volume of goods passing through the seaport system in 2009 reached 213.08 million tons. In 2010, the volume of goods passing through the seaports reached 259 million tons, exceeding the forecast by 30%.

According to the Vietnam cement industry development plan to 2010 and orientation to 2020 approved in 2005, the cement demand to 2010 is 46.8 million tons/year with 66 cement lines. However, by 2010, the whole country had 108 cement lines in operation, with a designed capacity of 65 million tons/year. In 2010, the cement supply exceeded the demand by about 3 million tons, and in 2011, there was a surplus of 7 million tons of cement.

According to Dan Tri