Gov’t conference focuses on socio-economic tasks

HCM City (VNA) – Entanglements regarding investment procedures, interest rates, loans and project site clearance were high on the agenda of a conference held by the government in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec. 25.

The conference, chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, was designed to deploy the National Assembly’s resolution on socio-economic development plan and state budget estimates for 2009. Leaders from relevant ministries and agencies as well as all the nation’s 63 provinces and cities attended the event.

The conference served as a forum for the participants to make suggestions to the government’s plan to carry out five drastic measures to prevent economic slowdown, maintain growth and ensure social security as well as its scheme to support the country’s most disadvantaged districts.

The delegates also discussed measures and models to make the best of the government’s 1 billion USD stimulus package, and to disburse all investment sources for capital construction next year.

Most of the delegates agreed that procedures related to capital construction such as project site clearance and bidding still have shortcomings, hindering the disbursement of investment.

Mai Van Ninh, chairman of the central Thanh Hoa People’s Committee, said the identification of the origin of land for calculation of compensation prices is difficult, and proposed that the legislature amend the Land Law.

For bidding procedures, a number of delegates urged the government to permit provinces and cities to conduct bidding for projects with investment of less than 5 billion VND. They also asked for the decentralised management of build-transfer (BT) and build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects.

In this regard, PM Dung said the Government will consider and present to the National Assembly problems found in the Land Law and the Law on Bidding for revision.

In this process, the PM said, he may empower chairmen of municipal and provincial people’s committees to designate contractors for urgent projects.

Concerning development investment priority, especially the use of the Government’s 1 billion USD stimulus package, provincial and municipal people’s committee chairmen asked the Government to priorities agriculture and rural development in such areas as irrigation, transport infrastructure and electricity.

They also requested the Government to assist small and medium-sized businesses engaging in farm products and those employing a large number of labourers.

Nguyen Ngoc Phi, Chairman of the People’s Committee of northern Vinh Phuc province pointed to the need for banks to stand side by side with businesses in this difficult time, suggesting that banks reschedule loans for small and medium-sized businesses, especially those involved in farming and rural development.

Other local officials proposed that the Government increase investment decentralisation and delegate more responsibilities for localities in the field, and provide lending interest rates for projects to concrete inter-field canals, strengthen rural roads, build houses for low-income earners and protect the environment.

Provincial and local officials showed their consent to the Government’s urgent measures to contain the economic decline, maintain the growth rate and ensure social welfare in 2009.-