On the afternoon of July 16, at the discussion session in the hall, delegates of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council asked what the city had done after 1 year of implementing Resolution 98 of the National Assembly . Some delegates asked that nothing had been done. Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Phan Van Mai explained this issue.

According to Mr. Mai, effectively implementing Resolution 98 of the National Assembly (on piloting special mechanisms for the development of Ho Chi Minh City) is one of the two topics of 2024.

The head of the Ho Chi Minh City government affirmed that after 1 year of Resolution 98 being issued and taking effect (August 1, 2023), the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the entire political system have effectively implemented many tasks.

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Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Phan Van Mai explains at the People's Council meeting on the afternoon of July 16. Photo: Contributor

First of all, the city has allocated public investment capital for poverty reduction policies. This policy has a great impact on social security for the people, especially the poor.

Allocate budget for Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai expressway, capital for stimulus program... with the aim of attracting social investment.

Next, issue a list of BOT and PPP projects in the transport sector, as well as regulations on minimum capital for public investment in the fields of culture, society, education , etc. to call for investment.

The city has also completed the rooftop solar project at a number of offices in the area.

According to the Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City, the city has implemented additional income for officials and civil servants with expanded targets. With this policy, combined with the increase in basic salary, the policy has created great efficiency and motivation for officials and civil servants.

In addition, with Resolution 98, the city has implemented a plan to support innovation and creativity. Thereby, 21/48 registration dossiers were assessed and 15 dossiers were granted initial support funding.

The city is also researching the establishment of a 4.0 technology center and will form an Advanced Technology Institute in the third and fourth quarters.

There is an operating mechanism for Thu Duc City.

Regarding the apparatus to implement Resolution 98, the Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City informed that the city has established the only Food Safety Department in the country; arranged the positions of Vice Chairmen of the People's Council and People's Committee for Thu Duc City; added Vice Chairmen for Can Gio, Nha Be, Hoc Mon districts... and Vice Chairmen for 51/52 communes, wards and towns.

In particular, since Resolution 98, after 3 years of establishment, Thu Duc City has had additional operating mechanisms for a number of departments, and established a number of new departments and offices.

“I can confirm that after 1 year of implementation, the city has achieved many tasks in terms of quantity and quality and created a more fundamental foundation than a whole term of implementing Resolution 54 (also a resolution on special mechanisms for the development of Ho Chi Minh City),” affirmed City Chairman Phan Van Mai.

In the coming time, Mr. Mai said, the city will implement more tasks such as carbon credits, TOD implementation, Can Gio port project, and apply special mechanisms for implementing urban railway projects.

Regarding public investment, the head of the city government admitted that disbursement has not met the target. Specifically, in 2024, Ho Chi Minh City was assigned more than 79,000 billion VND, but so far, only more than 11,000 billion VND has been disbursed, 30% lower than the set target.

According to Mr. Mai, in the remaining 6 months, the city will strive and commit to the Prime Minister to disburse public investment capital at 95% or more of the assigned capital.

Regarding digital transformation, also one of the two themes of 2024, according to City Chairman Phan Van Mai, the city strives to have all operations performed on a digital platform by 2025. By the end of 2025, the digital economy is expected to contribute 25% to growth.

The Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City criticized 8 units for slow public investment disbursement . 8 units including the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Planning and Investment, the Department of Education and Training, districts 3, 5, 8, Binh Thanh and Thu Duc City were criticized for not meeting the plan for public investment disbursement.
Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City: Public investment disbursement is still a concern for the city . In the first 6 months of the year, public investment disbursement in Ho Chi Minh City only reached 13.8%. Chairman of the City Phan Van Mai expressed his concern and requested to review the problems and find solutions.