Closely monitor to avoid profiteering, loss and waste of resources.

Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Nai Province Quan Minh Cuong chaired the discussion session.

On the afternoon of October 27, continuing the 6th session agenda, the National Assembly discussed in groups the adjustment of some contents of Resolution 53/2017/QH14 dated November 24, 2017 of the National Assembly on the Feasibility Study Report of the Land Acquisition, Compensation, Support and Resettlement Project of Long Thanh International Airport and the Draft Resolution on piloting some specific mechanisms and policies on investment in the construction of road traffic works.

Discussion at Group 06, including 03 National Assembly Delegations from the provinces: Dong Nai, Soc Trang, Ha Giang. Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Nai province, Quan Minh Cuong, chaired the discussion session.

Close monitoring is of utmost importance.

Delegate Trang A Duong spoke at the Group meeting on the afternoon of October 27.

Regarding the content of the special mechanism in the exploitation of mineral mines for common construction materials stipulated in Article 7 of the Draft Resolution, delegate Trang A Duong (Ha Giang National Assembly Delegation) proposed that it is necessary to stipulate the responsibilities of the management and supervision agencies, investment management agencies or local authorities where mineral mines are located to clarify responsibilities, ensure strict management, avoid negativity, profiteering, loss and waste.

Sharing the same view, delegate To Ai Vang (Soc Trang National Assembly Delegation) suggested that Article 7 should continue to be researched and thoroughly evaluated to have more appropriate solutions to ensure progress for the projects.

Delegates recommended that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) soon implement the project: Mineral resource assessment, serving the exploitation of sea sand, meeting the needs of filling highway projects and traffic and urban infrastructure in the Mekong Delta region, in order to meet the demand for filling materials.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will soon coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and the People's Committees of the Mekong Delta to determine the reserves of common construction material mines, such as: types of stone, construction sand, roadside clay, etc. From there, regulate for localities with scarce or no material sources so that the provinces can use it as a basis for calculating construction estimates and project implementation.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh talked with delegate To Ai Vang and Secretary of Soc Trang Provincial Party Committee Lam Van Man on the sidelines of the meeting.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment coordinates with ministries and branches to make the most of special mechanisms, issue coordination regulations, specify specific responsibilities of ministries, branches, investors, contractors and guide localities to carry out procedures for handing over construction material mines to contractors according to special mechanisms. Clarify the responsibility for inspecting and supervising the output of sand exploitation and supply and the authority to handle violations, if any, protect the environment, prevent landslides, and prevent policy exploitation.

The delegates proposed that the Ministry of Transport (MOT) provide guidance on the procedures for determining the estimated sand price and norms when handing over the mine to the contractor to exploit sand for the project; In addition, the MOT should provide guidance for the province to determine the sand mine and the exploitation cost. Because the price in the contract is only an estimate and after handing over the mine to the contractor and the sand exploitation organization, the investor will organize the reconstruction of the sand price and adjust the contract.

Many concerns about project progress

Discussing the group on adjusting some contents of Resolution 53/2017/QH14 dated November 24, 2017 of the National Assembly on the Feasibility Study Report of the Land Acquisition, Compensation, Support and Resettlement Project of Long Thanh International Airport, Ms. Pham Thuy Chinh - Deputy Head of the Finance and Budget Committee of the National Assembly (Ha Giang National Assembly Delegation) noted that the project was mentioned many times in the inspection report on practicing thrift and fighting waste in recent years and it was clear that there was a waste of resources, greatly affecting the progress of phase 1 of the project.

Delegate Pham Thuy Chinh - Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee

Citing the report, it shows that the remaining area to be recovered is not large, only accounting for over 4% of the total area, but "it is not a single place, so Ms. Pham Thuy Chinh is concerned that even if it is extended until 2024, whether it can be recovered or not is a whole story.

The female delegate also said that the number of households that have not been approved for resettlement is over 1,200 households, which is a high rate, accounting for 31%, especially hundreds of households that have been reviewed but do not meet the conditions for resettlement.

Another thing that Ms. Nguyen Thuy Chinh is concerned about is that the causes mentioned are mainly objective, and there is no assessment of subjective causes in organization, direction, operation and implementation.

Furthermore, the proposed adjustments also show that there are problems with discipline and order in implementing the provisions of the law on budget and public investment when capital sources are not disbursed in a timely manner and have been spread over many years, now the fiscal year has ended.

Delegates supported extending the disbursement period until the end of 2024 because of the need to create a legal basis for disbursement implementation and continued task performance.

Supporting the extension of the disbursement period until the end of 2024 due to the need to create a legal basis for disbursement implementation and continued implementation of tasks, the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee proposed that the disbursement source be divided into two parts, in which the capital source for the 2016-2020 period needs to be canceled because it is not in accordance with the law on budget, public investment as well as the resolution of the National Assembly and the Government to make an allocation estimate for the following years.

The female delegate was also "impatient" about preparing labor resources to meet the project's operational needs from 2025, because currently the number of vocational training registrations is very modest.

Regarding the above issues, she hopes that the delegates of the National Assembly delegation of Dong Nai province will provide more information.

Dong Nai province wishes to extend the implementation period to 2024

Mr. Bui Xuan Thong - Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Nai province mentioned some reasons for the delay in project implementation. First of all, Long Thanh airport could be a large-scale project, so site clearance, compensation, and resettlement also need more time. Second, at the time of implementation, the locality was subject to Directive 16 on social distancing due to the pandemic, so the work was frozen and it was impossible to go for counting.

Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Nai Province Bui Xuan Thong

Third, the project has been planned for more than 20 years, so during the time it has not been implemented, people in need still transfer and buy and sell through many people, leading to difficulties in measuring and counting, which if not done carefully can lead to complaints.

Fourth, in early 2022, the supply disruption affected projects with resettlement construction components. Some contractors, despite having spent money to build 30-40% of the project, still abandoned it. If they want to rebid, they have to separate the volume, prepare documents, not to mention requesting adjustments to labor and material prices...

"We went to monitor and survey and were also very "impatient" because it was very slow while the National Assembly's Resolution only required completion by the end of 2021" - Mr. Bui Xuan Thong shared, while emphasizing that the request to extend the time to 2024 was mainly to complete the technical infrastructure, while site clearance and compensation were almost completed.

Regarding vocational training and labor preparation, the Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Nai Province also said he felt "impatient". The province is implementing it vigorously but it still depends on the subjective will of workers in choosing. Therefore, Dong Nai is stepping up propaganda and implementation because if it is not well prepared, it will not be able to meet the requirements when the airport comes into operation in 2025.

Mr. Quan Minh Cuong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Nai province

Providing more information, Mr. Quan Minh Cuong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Nai province said that there are still 64 hectares that have not been recovered but are mainly located outside and not in the center of the project, so the next site clearance will not affect the airport construction.

Dong Nai province leaders also said that the price of raw materials increased, contractors left despite paying fines, and the businesses themselves suffered losses because they had spent tens of billions of dong on the project, but if they continued, they would lose money so they stopped. The province had to spend hundreds of billions of dong to build schools.

Mr. Quan Minh Cuong also frankly pointed out that there are many problems arising in reality that are very objective and affect people's lives. "Dong Nai will try to complete this task well, and we hope that the National Assembly will support it," he said.

Soc Trang Provincial Party Secretary Lam Van Man

Sharing with Dong Nai, Mr. Lam Van Man - Secretary of Soc Trang Provincial Party Committee said that although the law is like that, in reality, many difficulties arise. The Long Thanh airport project is especially important and must be completed as soon as possible to serve the common national interest, so it should be supported to continue implementation.

Source