Prime Minister: Do not use bidding as a safe haven for negativity

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presides over the 15th meeting of the Steering Committee for key projects in the transport sector. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

On the afternoon of December 6th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the State Steering Committee for National Key Projects and Projects in the Transport Sector, chaired the 15th meeting of the Steering Committee.

The meeting was held in person at the Government Headquarters; and online with 44 provinces and cities that have nationally important projects and key projects in the transportation sector.

Attending the session were Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha; leaders of relevant ministries, agencies, and leaders of provinces and centrally-administered cities; and representatives of investors, consulting firms, supervisory units, and construction contractors.

Currently, the whole country has 40 projects, with 92 component projects under the Steering Committee's direction for implementation across three sectors: road, rail, and aviation. These include expressways, ring roads in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, urban rail projects, airports, etc.

At the 14th session, the Prime Minister assigned 83 tasks to ministries, sectors, and localities focusing on removing difficulties and obstacles, and accelerating investment preparation procedures for projects. Of these, 33 tasks were related to direction and management, and 50 were specific tasks related to individual projects.

Following the meeting, government leaders and the Steering Committee inspected, urged, and encouraged the implementation of several expressway projects and airport construction projects. The inspection revealed that, in general, most projects were progressing well, but many projects, stages, and components were not performing as well.

To date, 41 tasks have been completed on time; 9 tasks remain unfinished, including 2 tasks that are not yet due and 7 tasks that are overdue.

The provinces of Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, and Dong Nai have not yet completed four tasks related to procedures for granting mining licenses and increasing the capacity of mines for projects in the Southern region, ensuring that the capacity meets the project implementation schedule.

Lam Dong province has not yet completed two tasks regarding the approval of the Tan Phu-Bao Loc and Bao Loc-Lien Khuong projects. Ho Chi Minh City has not yet put the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien urban railway into operation.

According to the Steering Committee, in some projects, the implementation progress is still slow due to a number of difficulties and obstacles, mainly related to land clearance.

Specifically, in some residential land areas, land clearance is difficult due to complex issues in determining land ownership and compensation plans; the construction of rest stops at component projects along the Eastern North-South Expressway is slow; and the relocation of technical infrastructure such as high-voltage power lines has not met requirements. The granting of permits for construction material quarries is slow or the capacity does not meet the plan…

In particular, some projects are experiencing delays in construction or only meeting the normal construction schedule requirements, such as: the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau and Ben Luc-Long Thanh expressways; Long Thanh International Airport; and the Nhon-Hanoi railway line…

Concluding the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh commended the ministries, localities, and units for their decisive efforts in resolving difficulties and obstacles, focusing on land clearance, meeting material needs, mobilizing forces, equipment, and personnel to vigorously carry out construction, and accelerating the progress of project implementation…; at the same time, he severely criticized the units and localities that were slow in implementing the projects.

Noting that 2025 holds special significance, with major national anniversaries: 95 years since the founding of the Party, 50 years since the liberation of the South and national reunification, 135 years since the birth of President Ho Chi Minh, and 80 years since the founding of the nation; it is also the year for holding Party congresses at all levels, leading up to the 14th National Party Congress; and it is the year that will determine the success of the entire 2021-2025 period, achieving the goal of having 3,000km of expressways nationwide and completing the elimination of temporary and dilapidated houses nationwide. The Prime Minister requested ministries, sectors, and localities to overcome difficulties and strive to implement projects on schedule, bringing them into use as soon as possible to maximize investment efficiency, contribute to national development, and ensure the people benefit from the results.

Emphasizing the need to accelerate progress, ensure technical standards, aesthetics, quality of construction, environmental protection, and labor safety at construction projects, the Prime Minister particularly noted that bidding should not be used as a safe haven for negativity and corruption in the implementation of projects; he called for the acceleration of projects to contribute to the disbursement of public investment and the completion of priority growth tasks; the implementation of a plan to sell the operating rights of expressways to recover capital for other projects; and urged investors, contractors, localities, units, and related entities to plan to compensate for lost progress…

In that spirit, the Prime Minister directed localities to mobilize the entire political system, coordinating with socio-political organizations such as the Youth Union, the Veterans Association, the Women's Association, etc., in the locality to accelerate the progress of land clearance work, strengthen efforts to encourage, share, and assist people in completing the handover of land for projects on schedule; ensuring that people can "settle down and prosper," especially during the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Year of the Snake.

Furthermore, attention must be paid to the well-being of workers on the construction site; a plan for Tet (Lunar New Year) preparations must be developed, especially for workers who remain on site during Tet. They need special treatment so that, although temporarily far from family and hometown, they can enjoy Tet while contributing to the development and prosperity of the country and the nation's progress, in the spirit of "ensuring that no worker is left alone on the construction site."

The head of government requested the managing agencies to urge contractors to increase machinery, equipment, and manpower for construction with the spirit of "overcoming the sun, conquering the rain, not losing to storms and strong winds," "working 3 shifts, 4 teams," "through holidays, Tet, and days off," "eating quickly, sleeping urgently"; contributing to accelerating construction progress and bringing projects to completion ahead of schedule.

Emphasizing the need to review regulations to promptly address shortcomings in legal frameworks and investment procedures, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of resolutely achieving the set goals, noting that adjustments to the targets are not an option; this must be identified as a top priority political task in the coming period, requiring focused leadership and management.

Regarding several key tasks, specifically, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Planning and Investment to expedite the appraisal of dossiers, including the Tan Phu-Bao Loc project, the Hoa Lac-Hoa Binh project, and the renovation and upgrading of National Highway 6 section through Xuan Mai-Hoa Binh.

The People's Committees of Thai Binh, Ninh Binh, and Lam Dong provinces are proactively and actively coordinating with relevant agencies, determined to complete the procedures according to regulations, ensuring the commencement of the projects.

Regarding land clearance, the Prime Minister instructed localities, especially the provinces of Tuyen Quang, Khanh Hoa, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu and Da Nang city, to be more decisive and make greater efforts in organizing the implementation; strictly implement Official Dispatch No. 80/CD-TTg dated August 16, 2024, ensuring the completion and handover of all remaining land by December 2024, as a basis for completing the project in 2025.

Specifically, regarding construction materials in the Mekong Delta region, the Prime Minister instructed the People's Committees of Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces to immediately process mining permits based on volume for projects; at the same time, he requested Tra Vinh province to uphold its responsibility in providing river and sea sand resources to projects in the region, as directed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha.

The Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Science and Technology to urgently implement the directives of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha in Notice No. 538/TB-VPCP dated December 1, 2024, regarding the review of regulations, standards, and procedures for processing sea sand for construction and land leveling activities, as a basis for localities to research and pilot implementation for projects in their areas.

Emphasizing the task of implementing projects in the plan to complete 3,000km of expressways by 2025, the Prime Minister pointed out that the goal of completing 3,000km of expressways by 2025 is a particularly important political task for the entire Party, the entire people, the entire army, especially the agencies in charge of implementing the projects, to celebrate the 14th National Party Congress.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested that ministries, sectors, localities, and managing agencies direct investors and construction contractors to coordinate with localities to resolve difficulties and obstacles related to land clearance, relocation of technical infrastructure, and supply of construction materials; focusing with high determination, great effort, and decisive action to accelerate the progress of projects, with the spirit of "all for the people, for the development of the country."

Specifically, it is necessary to seriously review and urgently implement key tasks to achieve the goals of the "500-day emulation movement to complete 3,000 km of expressways" launched by the Prime Minister on August 18, 2024 in Dak Lak province and specified in Official Letter No. 673/TTg-CN dated September 5, 2024.

The Prime Minister requested that project management boards learn from practical experience, urgently reorganize construction on the site, ensure smooth and simultaneous work in multiple locations following the "rolling" principle; rebuild and refine the critical path of the project schedule; urge and mobilize the total workforce of the main contractor and subcontractors, deploying modern machinery and equipment 24/7; mobilize youth, the army, and the police to perform public service tasks that are currently being done manually; and urgently and more decisively engage in the work, while ensuring labor safety on the construction site.

Assigning specific tasks related to the Long Thanh International Airport construction investment project and connecting infrastructure; the T3 Terminal project at Tan Son Nhat Airport and several other projects in the spirit of "clear responsibilities, clear tasks, clear agencies and units, clear products, clear completion deadlines," Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh basically agreed with the proposals of relevant ministries, sectors, and localities regarding capital, policies, scale of some projects, and innovation in the operation of the Appraisal Council…

The Prime Minister expressed confidence that ministries, sectors, localities, units, forces, relevant entities, and the people would work together to promote the implementation of projects, contributing to achieving double-digit economic growth in the coming period, fulfilling the directives of General Secretary To Lam to lead the country into a new era – an era of national progress, building a strong and prosperous nation.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/thu-tuong-khong-lay-viec-dau-thau-lam-noi-tru-an-an-toan-cho-tieu-cuc-post999495.vnp