Handling slow-moving projects: Dramatically improving the investment environment

(Baonghean) - "Attracting investment is a very important task for the economic development of the province, but the implementation after granting the Investment Certificate is still slow. Causes, responsibilities and solutions" - that is the main content of the first question-and-answer session at the 13th session of the 16th Provincial People's Council. There were 6 questions to the Director of the Department of Planning and Investment and were basically explained clearly.

Vinh Airport is being upgraded. Photo: Hoang Vinh

The time taken to complete administrative procedures is one of the reasons for the slow progress of projects. In particular, compensation and site clearance (GPMB) is the main cause of the current slow progress of projects. Very few projects have been implemented with "clear land". According to the results of inspections of projects that are slow and not implemented in the province by interdisciplinary inspection teams from 2011 to present, the number of projects that are slow to implement due to compensation, GPMB, support and resettlement accounts for over 90%. In particular, there are projects that are slow to implement due to compensation and site clearance procedures that have been slow for years (BMC Vinh Plaza Commercial Center, renovation of Area A, B of Quang Trung Apartment, Hieu Market Complex (Thai Hoa), Olecco Dien Ky Urban Area, Cua Tien - Vinh Tan New Urban Area Project, Residential Area in Nghi Phu Commune, New Urban Residential Area in the South of Do Luong Town,...).

First of all, the land acquisition procedure is the most difficult step in the project implementation process due to its large nature, requiring simultaneous and complete implementation. In some cases, if not handled properly, it is easy to cause dissatisfaction among the authorities and people in the project area, leading to the project being "suspended", stagnant, and behind schedule; mainly due to the investor and the landowner not being able to agree on the compensation price (people request to calculate the compensation land price "close to the market price" at the time of land allocation. Many investors have to negotiate many times with the landowner to agree on the price, but the compensation cost is only deducted according to the State's compensation price, etc.).

Russian Ambassador to Vietnam visits Hanoi Brewery (Nam Cam Industrial Park). Photo: Sy Minh

The second reason, according to the Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, is that investors' investment projects are subject to the regulation of many legal documents such as: Enterprise Law, Investment Law, Land Law, Planning Law, Construction Law, Environmental Protection Law and Fire Prevention and Fighting Law, not to mention specialized laws and related sub-law documents. Being subject to the regulation of too many legal documents also makes investment procedures complicated, cumbersome and time-consuming, slowing down the progress of project implementation.

The third reason is that the appraisal of feasible investment projects and the screening of capable investors still face many difficulties. In reality, the appraisal of the capacity of investors is very difficult even though the documents and procedures meet the requirements and comply with the provisions of the law; because the appraisal of financial capacity and project implementation conditions is mainly based on the documents and papers provided by investors without testing, examining and verifying in practice. Therefore, the quality of appraisal is sometimes difficult to match the actual capacity of investors. In many cases, especially for foreign investment projects, it is necessary to coordinate with the Provincial Police to verify the legal status as well as the capacity of investors to serve as a basis for advising the Provincial People's Committee to consider and decide. Besides, investors in the area mainly come from other provinces and abroad, so it is difficult to grasp information and verify the financial capacity of these investors before consulting the Provincial People's Committee to issue investment certificates.

Construction of MDF wood panel factory (Nghia Dan). Photo: SM

The fourth reason is the lack of clean land to attract investment projects and resettlement. Director of the Department of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Do also stated the responsibilities of each sector, each level and solutions to overcome them. In particular, the Department of Planning and Investment is the agency assigned to preside over consulting and resolving problems arising from 2/10 groups of procedures mentioned above, including: Approval of investment policy and issuance of investment certificates. However, the slow implementation of projects after the issuance of investment certificates is partly the responsibility of the Department of Planning and Investment in examining the capacity and conditions for project implementation of investors. Many other sectors such as the Department of Construction, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, districts, and investors all have responsibilities according to regulations.

Regarding solutions, the Director of the Department of Planning and Investment proposed many solutions, including the general solution of implementing the solution contents in the Project "Focusing on attracting effective investment in Nghe An province until 2020" approved by the Provincial Party Committee.

After the explanation of the Director of the Department of Planning & Investment, delegate Hoang Xuan Truong (Yen Thanh district) asked: According to the reflection of investors and voters in the province, in the process of implementing projects, administrative procedures are still cumbersome, coordination between agencies is still rigid, not really grasping the spirit of the province's direction; what is the solution to this situation? Director of the Department of Planning & Investment Nguyen Van Do said: The province and agencies are not allowed to create additional procedures, but there may be limitations here and there during the implementation process, and the 10 procedural steps are according to the provisions of the law. The Provincial People's Committee has directed departments, branches and sectors to send qualified people to resolve at the focal point. On the other hand, the one-stop shop operation is not effective and the Provincial People's Committee is overcoming this situation. At the one-stop shop, there are surveillance cameras, however, the assignment of work from leaders to the one-stop shop is not close. The department's meetings are not regular and the information technology does not meet the requirements.

Answering the question of delegate Pham Van Tan (Nghi Loc district), it is necessary to clarify that after inspecting 76 projects, only 5% of the projects are implemented, 20% of the projects are being proposed to be withdrawn, so what about the other projects? The Director of the Department of Planning and Investment said: These 76 projects are all projects that have been reviewed many times and found to be slow, so they were inspected, not randomly. Most of these projects are invested in following the trend. Besides these projects, the remaining projects are having their difficulties resolved...

Construction of the National Highway 1A overpass and the North-South railway at Quan Banh (Vinh City). Photo: SM

Also the question of delegate Pham Van Tan: "Which field has many violations in the process of checking projects? Is the slow investment attraction after licensing the reason why the proportion of industry and construction in the last term was low?" - The answer of the Director of the Department of Planning & Investment said that the field with many violations in the process of checking projects is the situation of violating planning. Regarding the slow investment attraction after licensing, currently urban area projects account for a high structure with over 70%, the province is readjusting the structure; the sharp decrease in construction industry in recent years is due to the decrease in public investment and the economic recession, not due to slow implementation of investment projects; the main industrial products of the term such as cement and beer also did not meet the plan.

However, this answer did not satisfy the questioning delegate, so the delegate continued to ask: So what are the capacity and responsibility of organizations, individuals, and state agencies when appraising investors related to difficulties in land acquisition for the project? The Director of the Department of Planning & Investment replied: In just 2-3 days of appraising procedural documents, it is impossible to appraise the capacity of investors taking into account unforeseen difficulties. Moreover, the responsibility for carrying out land acquisition belongs to another agency, not the investment licensing agency. Regarding the question: Nguyen Kim Supermarket has been under construction for nearly 3 months but still does not meet the conditions for construction? The Director of the Department of Planning & Investment said: Land allocation procedures are being processed because compensation is being made to the previous investor.

Delegate Dinh Thi An Phong (Nghi Loc) raised 2 questions to the Director of the Department of Planning & Investment: Solutions for implementing the 2 projects of Vinh University phase 2, Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard Project?; What solutions to improve provincial competitiveness? The Director of the Department of Planning & Investment answered: Currently, the province is reviewing the 2 projects mentioned above, and for the Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard Project, the province is submitting to the Central Government for capital support because the provincial budget cannot meet the demand. Regarding the provincial competitiveness index, according to the Director of the Department of Planning & Investment, this low index is often not favorable for attracting investment, but this year with the results of attracting investment of the province, it shows that this index is not entirely accurate. The Department of Planning & Investment has just advised the province to issue a project on an action program to improve the provincial competitiveness index. Consensus in the voice of businesses and people with authorities at all levels is important for a good investment environment.

Regarding the question of delegate Pham Van Tan about the content stated by Nghe An Newspaper (in the "Exchange" section on December 10 on page 1) that there needs to be a fundamental solution to overcome "chronic diseases" in many situations, including slow investment attraction after licensing, the Director of the Department of Planning & Investment admitted that the newspaper's statement was correct.

Delegate Thai Thi An Chung (Do Luong) questioned: According to the Report on the socio-economic situation of the Provincial People's Committee, the attraction of projects into economic zones and industrial parks is still too small, only 11 projects. Recently, Decision 76/2014 of the Prime Minister expanded the Southeast Economic Zone, is it because the industries have not promoted and attracted them? Answering this question, the Director of the Department of Planning & Investment said: Currently, the province has 1 economic zone, 8 industrial parks, 32 small industrial clusters, of which 32 small industrial clusters have been filled. The Southeast Economic Zone is attracting the VSIP 6 Project. This is an investor with strong potential and when entering, it will be a meaningful investor to create a breakthrough for the province. When entering, they will bring their investors here.

Delegate Truong Van Hien (Yen Thanh district) commented: Should the Department of Planning & Investment advise the province to reduce investment procedures, because completing all 10 steps takes too long. Enterprises can pay for the Investment Promotion Center to help with the procedures. The Department of Planning & Investment should choose to classify investment projects and procedures for high-tech agricultural projects that need priority in investment procedures. The Director of the Department of Planning & Investment admitted that this issue has not been resolved, but in the coming time, the Department of Planning & Investment will consider and implement the delegate's opinion because it is a good solution.

Thus, there were 6 rounds of questioning the Director of the Department of Planning and Investment and all questions were answered by the Director of the Department of Planning and Investment in the first questioning session of the 13th session of the 16th Provincial People's Council. On behalf of the session chairman, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Xuan Son concluded: the questioning session of the Department of Planning and Investment basically met the requirements of the delegates and the wishes of the voters. Due to the slow implementation of many projects in the past, voters still have many concerns. After presenting solutions to effectively attract investment, the session chairman requested the Provincial People's Committee and branches to resolutely revoke projects that are slow to be implemented, causing negative impacts on the province's investment environment, strengthen the direction, promote the combined strength of the entire political system to strongly improve the investment environment, especially administrative reform with convincing results.

Chau Lan