Ministers field questions about land, environment, labour issues

At the fifth meeting of the 14th National Assembly

The session is broadcast live for people across the country to follow.

In the second day of the Q&A session, Minister Tran Hong Ha and cabinet members continue clearing up issues relating to land management in big cities, environmental pollution and control of businesses’ waste discharges as well as measures to cope with climate change, especially in the Mekong Delta.

Minister Dao Ngoc Dung will answer queries about the situation of labour market in the country, including generating jobs for locals and sending workers abroad in addition to solutions to improving the quality of vocational training, taking care of and protecting children, and addressing child abuse and violence against children.

In case needed, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam and Ministers of Education and Training, Information and Communications, Foreign Affairs, and Public Security will join the Q&A session.

Ministers of Transport, Natural Resources and Environment questioned at NA

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha at the National Assembly's Q&A session on June 4

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha were grilled by National Assembly (NA) deputies during the question-and-answer session on June 4 as part of the NA’s ongoing 5th meeting.

Minister The, the first Cabinet member at the session to be questioned, clarified issues related to measures to complete transport infrastructure system and ensure traffic safety, especially in major cities, and solutions to deal with problems in transport projects invested under the form of build-operate-transfer (BOT).

He also directly replied to queries of lawmakers at the session.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung and Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung join the session to make clear of related issues.

Concluding the Q&A session for the Transport Minister, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan also suggested a number of issues that the minister should focus on, while asking him to reply in document questions that he could not answered at the session.

Meanwhile, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha delivered a report on the land management in major cities and localities with a large number of complaints and denunciations, as well as environmental pollution situation and the control of waste release of enterprises, and measures to cope with climate change, especially in the Mekong Delta region.

He also gave direct answers to NA deputies.

Earlier, the NA deputies also discussed a report on supervision result of the settlement of voters’ ideas sent to the NA fourth session.

As scheduled, the NA will continue question-and-answer session on June 5. Like the session on June 4, it will also be broadcast live on the national radio Voice of Vietnam and the Vietnam Television channels.

Environment Minister fields questions from deputies at NA session

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha on June 4 answered queries by deputies on solutions to tackle urban pollution, as part of the National Assembly’s ongoing fifth session.

Regarding air pollution in big cities, the official attributed the problem to transport and construction activities.

According to him, his ministry has advised the Prime Minister to issue decisions on a nationwide plan, which pushes for local investment and installation of air pollution monitoring systems. The systems will help clarify pollution sources and make public the information.

He recommended other measures to the problem, including reducing fumes from transport and tackling post-harvest straw-burning in areas surrounding big cities.

Concerning river pollution, Minister Ha said the Government has basically controlled the quality of wastewater discharged from factories and industrial zones.

He noted the collection of household wastewater remains a difficulty, as 95 percent of the wastewater is released directly into the environment without previous treatment.

He stressed each city needs to hold responsibility to their own sources of wastewater, and mobilise social resources to collect and tackle wastewater.

He said a good point is that sources of waste disposal and local responsibilities have been identified. Hanoi has completed its mechanism encouraging the private involvement in wastewater treatment, he added.

The minister took the responsibility for weak control of land pollution. He said the matter involves the Ministry of Construction, which is in charge of planning, and the Ministry of Science and Technology overseeing technological issues.

Ha said ministries involved together will ask the PM to issue a mixed strategy on waste treatment based on using technologies suitable to the financial condition of each urban area.

According calculation from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, by 2030, Vietnam must operate waste-fueled power plants. The waste-to-energy technology is undergone assessment by the Ministry of Science and Technology to ensure its feasibility in Vietnam.

Transport minister admits railway sector’s weaknesses

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The

Weaknesses of the railway sector and orientations for its development were mentioned by National Assembly (NA) deputies while grilling Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The on June 4.

The, who was the first Cabinet member interpellated by legislators in the NA’s 5th session, highlighted the significant role of the railway systems, especially the North-South route in transport sector, adding that the smooth operation of the system will help ease pressure on road transport.

However, he acknowledged that the current North-South railway is very backward, with some sections built 70-80 years ago without upgrading.

The minister admitted the sector’s shortcomings in its role as advisor for the government and in improving the quality of railway systems.

Currently, there are 5,719 crossings between roads and railway routes nationwide, of which only 1,519 crossings are arranged by the Vietnam Railway Corporation (VNR), while 4,200 others are opened by the community with high risk of incidents despite warning signs, he noted.

The also added that many people have still ignored traffic rules while crossing the railways, leading to accidents.

The Ministry of Transport directed the VNR to hold teleconferences with cities and provinces to deal with problems related to railway transport, while committing with the localities on applying measures to ensure traffic safety at crossings with the railway systems.

Along with designing urgent measures to ensure safety of railway transport, the ministry is also working on a project to build a North-South high-speed railway, which will be submitted to the NA soon, The said.

Regarding the railway project submitted to the NA eight years ago, which has not been approved, he proposed that the NA gives directions and policies for railway projects, thus speeding up the approval and implementation of the projects, including the North-South railway.

Transport minister questioned about problems of BOT projects

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The was grilled by lawmakers on June 4 about solutions to deal with problems related to transport projects invested under the form of build-operate-transfer (BOT).

The is the first Cabinet member to reply to queries at the question and answer session of the ongoing fifth session of the 14th-tenure National Assembly (NA).

In his report, The said investment under the BOT form has been stepped up since 2009 to develop transport infrastructure. Promoting BOT investment is a policy appropriate to the reality as the budget is limited while public debt is big, he stressed.

BOT projects have made important contributions to socio-economic development and created a basis for the completion of transport system, he noted, admitting that there remain many problems in the management, invitation for bidding and operation of BOT toll booths which have yet to completely ensure harmonious interests among people, the State and investors.

Deputy Nguyen Ngoc Phuong of Quang Binh province asked about the difference in the numbers of toll collection years between the approved estimated value and the auditing results announced by the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV).

In response, The said approved BOT projects have big value because they include many backup costs such as those covering price depreciation, site clearance and issues that may need extra funding.

To ensure transparency in implementing BOT projects, the Ministry of Transport asked the SAV to audit those projects before summing up total expenses, and the value after total expenses are summed up is the basis for the ministry to adjust toll collection duration and toll-related policies, he said.

The difference in the numbers of toll collection years is obvious, he said, adding that it is the backup costs in the projects with fast implementation, few cost changes and few extra costs.

Statistics of the SAV and the transport ministry are mainly similar, The said, adding that total expenses of many projects calculated by the ministry are lower than the corresponding data of the SAV.

At the Q&A session, deputy Luu Binh Nhuong of Ben Tre province attributed problems of transport projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) and BOT forms, partly to incomplete regulations, leading to many violations and failure to ensure fundamental interests of investors, people and the State.

The minister acknowledged the incompletion of regulations on BOT, especially the Law on Public Investment, noting that wrongdoings in BOT projects have been inspected and his ministry is working to address them thoroughly. The Party and State will assign authorized agencies like the Government Inspectorate and the Ministry of Public Security to strictly deal with those committing violations, he stressed.

To harmonise interests of the State, people and businesses, the ministry will pay special attention to BOT projects, The said, affirming that it has cancelled 14 BOT projects on existing roads.

BOT projects will only be implemented on newly-built roads or roads that have another running parallel so that people can choose the facilities they want to use, thus harmonising interests of the relevant sides, the minister added.

National Assembly: new rule for Q&A session proves effective

Ministers field questions about land, environment, labour issues

The new rule for Question-&-Answer session has proved effective in the hearing at the National Assembly in the morning of June 4, according to both voters and NA deputies.

The rule gives each NA deputy one minute to put question, and after three questions, the Cabinet member has three minutes to make the answer. The change is designed to increase dialogue and face-to-face debate.

The Q&A session on June 4 morning focused on transport issues, and was broadcast live on national television and radio.

Do Ngoc Giao, an architect at the Tay Ho architecture consultation firm in Hanoi, said the questions posed by NA deputies were concise and straightforward, dealing with pressing problems that attract voters’ concern.

Voter Le Duy Tan in the southernmost province of Ca Mau, echoed the same view, saying that the new rule prevented roundabout questions.

Tan added that Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The has also given straight answers, but he still failed to present specific solutions to many issues raised by NA deputies.

On the sidelines of the Q&A session, many deputies said the answers given by Minister The have directly dealt with the raised matters and demonstrated his responsibility towards voters. However, they are not convinced by the minister’s reply on a number of issues related to BOT projects.

Deputy Dang Ngoc Nghia of Thua Thien-Hue province said the new way of working had made the hearing more lively, frank and more focused.

He urged the Minister to instruct the review of all BOT projects and correct the shortcomings in order to win approval from the public so that more investment projects in this form can be carried out to improve the national transport system.

According to deputy Duong Trung Quoc of Dong Nai province, the new rule allows the Q&A session to deal with more issues in limited time and prevent waste of time on equivocation.

NA Chairwoman stresses effective use of investments in transport sector

Nam Binh Dinh BOT toll station in the central province of Binh Dinh

Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has asked the Transport Ministry to use investments sourced from the State budget and mid-term government bonds effectively and in line with law.

She made the request while concluding the question and answer session for Transport Minister Nguyen Van The on June 4 as part of the ongoing fifth session of the 14th National Assembly.

The ministry should coordinate with other ministries, agencies and localities to seek solutions in order to speed up the progress of key projects, ensuring that they are implemented economically and effectively, the chief legislator said.

Several major transport projects and those which are overdue must be completed, she said, stressing the need to clarify responsibility of organisations and organisations for sluggishness and increased capital of these projects.

NA Chairwoman Ngan urged the ministry to review the transport planning, with attention paid to the railway system, saying the ministry should promptly study feasible schemes for the North-South high-speed railway to submit to the National Assembly in 2019.

It is a must to ensure connectivity between big economic centres and at transport gateways, while investing in transport infrastructure in disadvantaged areas, she noted.

She also highlighted solutions to attract different economic sectors, including foreign investors, to transport infrastructure development, guaranteeing legitimate interests of the State, investors and residents.

Besides, measures to ensure traffic safety and order should be implemented fully and effectively, the legislator said.

She asked the Government to effectively materialise the NA Standing Committee’s Resolution No. 437 on a number of tasks and solutions to continue to complete and step up the implementation of policies and laws on investment and use of build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects.

Earlier the same day, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The was grilled by lawmakers 4 about solutions to deal with problems related to transport projects invested under the form of build-operate-transfer.

The is the first Cabinet member to reply to queries at the question and answer session of the fifth session of the 14th NA.