Minister of Transport talks about the North-South high-speed railway project

Continuing the agenda of the 8th Session, on October 26th, the National Assembly dedicated the entire working day to group discussions, evaluating the results of the implementation of the socio- economic development plan for 2024; the projected socio-economic development plan for 2025; and the policy on adjusting the National Land Use Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050…

A view of the discussion session of Group 8 (comprising the National Assembly delegations from Vinh Long, Dien Bien, Kon Tum provinces and Can Tho city). Photo: Hong Thai

Ensuring consistency and uniformity between construction planning and land use planning.

During the discussion in Group 8, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang (representative of the National Assembly delegation from Dien Bien province) provided information on the implementation of the high-speed railway project.

According to the delegates, the Government will submit the North-South high-speed railway project, connecting Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, to the National Assembly for consideration and approval of the investment plan.

Regarding the upgrade of the two-lane expressway, Minister Nguyen Van Thang stated that the Government has been very decisive in this term. The Minister personally believes that the previous decision by the National Assembly and the Government to implement a two-lane system was reasonable, because many routes previously had very low traffic volumes, and after a long period of development, the need for upgrading is inevitable.

The Minister of Transport said that the Ministry of Transport is upgrading 2-lane routes to 4-lane routes and some limited 4-lane routes to full and larger ones. Currently, the Ministry is working aggressively, and investment is underway on some routes.

During the discussion in Group 8, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang (National Assembly delegation from Dien Bien province) provided information on the implementation of the high-speed railway project. Photo: Quochoi

“However, I would like to add that international experience shows that wide roads are not necessarily required. Statistics on the causes of accidents show that over 90% stem from the awareness of road users. The wider the road, the lower the awareness, and the more catastrophic the accidents become,” Minister Nguyen Van Thang said, adding that along with investing in transportation infrastructure, many solutions are needed, including the involvement of the entire political system, to change traffic habits and culture.

Discussing at group 18 (including the National Assembly delegations of the provinces: Ha Nam, Thanh Hoa and Tra Vinh), Head of the National Assembly delegation of Ha Nam province Truong Quoc Huy proposed to have a balance so that localities with development conditions can be allocated more land to serve socio-economic development, thereby increasing state budget revenue, increasing the regulation rate, and supporting localities with difficulties. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that construction planning and land use planning are unified and coincide with each other to meet the requirements of immediate and long-term socio-economic development.

Furthermore, when adjusting the planning, it is necessary to consider the implementation of the North-South high-speed railway project, which will significantly increase the amount of land allocated for transportation, leading to a reduction in rice-growing land. Therefore, adjustments are absolutely essential, especially for localities through which the high-speed railway passes, such as Ha Nam, which will have a very wide corridor serving the railway, resulting in a decrease in rice-growing land and the need to halt other projects. Thus, adjusting the planning appropriately to meet the socio-economic development requirements of the locality is extremely important.

Head of the National Assembly delegation of Ha Nam province, Truong Quoc Huy, chaired the discussion in Group 18 (comprising the National Assembly delegations of Ha Nam, Thanh Hoa, and Tra Vinh provinces). Photo: Hong Thai

Adjusting the National Land Use Plan needs to take into account local characteristics.

During group discussions on the policy to adjust the National Land Use Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, National Assembly deputies suggested that an impact assessment of the policy is needed, and that the reasons for proposing adjustments to land use planning indicators should be further reviewed and clarified to ensure they align with practical needs.

The majority of National Assembly delegates agreed on the necessity of adjusting the National Land Use Planning, especially in the context of Vietnam preparing to implement several important national projects. However, they suggested that the process of formulating and adjusting the plan must ensure adherence to the strategic directions of the Party and the State, carefully review the land use needs of localities, and have appropriate and detailed adjustment plans.

The opinions also suggested clarifying the impacts of the land use planning adjustments on urbanization and infrastructure development, and adding updated data to increase accuracy and persuasiveness.

Deputy Head of the Bac Kan Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Ha Sy Huan, reflected on the difficulties faced by the locality in arranging resettlement for people affected by landslides after typhoon No. 3.

Based on the practical situation in the locality, Deputy Head of the Standing Delegation of the National Assembly of Bac Kan province, Ha Sy Huan, reflected on the difficulties the locality faces in arranging resettlement for people affected by landslides after typhoon No. 3.

Specifically, the construction of concentrated resettlement areas must comply with the regulations of the current Land Law (it must be consistent with the land use plan approved by the competent authority. Furthermore, for projects using rice paddy land, special-use forest land, protective forest land, or production forest land, the list of projects requiring land acquisition and land use conversion must be approved by the Provincial People's Council). This lack of urgency in helping people resettle and stabilize their lives immediately after storms and floods is not guaranteed.

Therefore, the delegates proposed that the Government consider fundamental solutions and specific mechanisms regarding land procedures to help localities promptly resolve difficulties when directing the resettlement of people in areas at high risk of landslides, such as: In urgent cases, allowing the implementation of resettlement area construction projects without immediately meeting all the conditions as stipulated above, and carrying out land procedures in parallel.

In addition, there is a mechanism that allows localities to arrange for mixed resettlement, enabling households to build resettlement houses on rice paddy land or production forest land before completing land procedures according to regulations, in order to address the situation where people have to live in temporary tents and shacks for extended periods.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/bo-truong-bo-gtvt-noi-ve-du-an-duong-sat-toc-do-cao-truc-bac-nam.html