The National Assembly Standing Committee discussed the supplementation of five new investment projects during the period of 2012-2015, the allocation of more VND5.5 trillion ($262 million) in Government bonds to urgent irrigation works and the implementation of national target programmes during its 8th session yesterday.

Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh proposed five new projects that fell outside the list approved by the National Assembly in 2010, but which were in urgent need of financial allocation.

These initiatives included the VND649 billion (US$31 million) Nam Can Bridge, Tuyen Quang Province's VND291billion ($13.8 million) Kim Xuyen Bridge, Tra Vinh Province's VND320 billion ($15.2 million) Tra Vinh University student housing project, Da Nang City's VND221.9 billion ($10.5 million) Cancer Hospital and a VND935.8 billion ($44.5 million) coastal road in Ninh Thuan Province.

He highlighted the importance of these five projects to local people.

Specifically, the Nam Can Bridge, crossing the Cua Lon River as a part of the Ho Chi Minh Highway, will connect Ca Mau Province's two districts of Nam Can and Ngoc Hien and ensure uninterrupted traffic flow from north to south.

The Kim Xuyen Bridge, which will connect Tuyen Quang Province's Son Duong District and Phu Tho Province's Doan Hung District, will ensure uninterrupted traffic flow on highways 2C and 37 in northern Tuyen Quang Province to highways 2 and 70 in northern Phu Tho Province and decrease traffic jams on the way from Ha Giang, Lao Cai and Yen Bai to Ha Noi.

Tra Vinh Province's Tra Vinh University student housing project will accommodate about 10,500 ethnic minority students.

Da Nang City's Cancer Hospital will play an important role in preventing and treating cancer in central provinces ravaged by war and Agent Orange.

The coastal road along central Ninh Thuan Province will contribute to the construction of two nuclear power plants and protect local people from natural disasters.

NA Standing Committee members agreed with allocating Government bonds to the five new projects during the period of 2012-2015.

Phung Quoc Hien, chairman of the NA's Finance and Budget Committee, said based on initial investigations and the Minister of Planning and Investment's report, these projects need implementing to serve the urgent demand of local people.

Minister Vinh also suggested raising the scale of four traffic projects in the provinces of Nghe An, Dac Nong and Ninh Binh, which would cost more than VND2.1 trillion ($100 million).

However, most members disagreed with this suggestion for the reason that if these projects were allowed to obtain more investment from the Government, it would create a bad precedent for other projects.

They said it was necessary to review these four projects to adjust their scale in accordance with initial approved investment.

Besides the four new projects, Minister Vinh said VND5.5 trillion ($262 million) in Government bonds would be put towards implementing 19 big irrigation projects during 2012-2015.

NA Standing Committee members agreed with using this amount for the irrigation projects.

However, Hien suggested that choosing the projects should be based on specific criteria including irrigation projects already receiving support, but unable to complete, those belonging to the list approved by the National Assembly in 2010, time of completion, levels of urgency and implementation.

Uong Chu Luu, deputy chairman of the National Assembly, along with other members of the NA Standing Committee, agreed that many irrigation projects have been delayed due to a lack of finances, making assistance necessary to avoid infective investment.

Phan Trung Ly, chairman of the National Assembly's Law Committee, said the irrigation projects which failed to reach completion as planned should be considered to be halted.

NA Standing Committee members agreed that implementing 17 out of 19 irrigation projects worth more than VND3.8 trillion ($180 million) played an important role in boosting agricultural production, preventing floods and supplying fresh water to local people.

These irrigation works are in the northern provinces of Phu Tho, Ha Nam and Ninh Binh, the central province of Binh Dinh, Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak and Gia Lai and the southern provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Tien Giang, An Giang, Kien Giang, Ben Tre, Soc Trang and Ca Mau.

Explaining the exclusion of the two irrigation projects, Hien said the project of upgrading Ha Noi's Tich River was expected to cost more than VND6.9 trillion ($328 million) while the city's leader asked for VND429 billion ($20.5 million) in Government bonds which did not play any role in deciding the implementation and accomplishment of the project.

He added that the Ngan Tuoi-Cam project in central Ha Tinh Province should be reconsidered before pouring more than VND1.1 trillion ($52.4 million) into it due to failure in drawing up legal procedures and necessary estimations.

Ambitious targets

Vinh said 16 national target programmes need implementation during the period of 2012-2015.

These include the national target programmes of employment and job training, sustainable poverty reduction, fresh water and hygiene environment for rural areas, health, population and family planning, food safety and hygiene, culture and heritage and education and training. Additional initiatives would focus on drug combat and prevention, crime combat and prevention, effective and economical power usage, climate change adaptation, construction of a new rural model, HIV/AIDS combat and prevention, information transmission to rural and border areas and islands as well as environmental pollution improvement.

The central budget of VND275,605 billion ($13 billion) is planned to be allocated for these 16 programmes during the period of 2012-2015.

Hien said many targets remained unclear and without a common goal while various programmes overlapped.

Truong Thi Mai, chairwoman of the NA Committee for Social Affairs, said some goals should be considered as the regular tasks of ministries and relevant agencies instead of setting them in the national target programmes. For example, offering health care services to elderly people is a regular task of the Health Ministry so it should not be set in the national target programme.

She said some planned activities should be cut out to direct investment to the big and important targets that affect people's lives.

Ksor Phuoc, chairman of the NA Council of Ethnic Affairs, said the programmes and their goals should be drawn up based on demand.

He said the implementation duration for each part of the programmes should also be set specifically.

Hien and other members agreed that the government's reports fail to define criteria and allocation of financial resources for every period of the programmes.

Besides, it is also necessary for the Government to draw up specific plans to mobilise finance from other resources that make up 62 per cent of the implementation of the programmes, he said.

Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, deputy chairwoman of National Assembly, said the Ministry of Planning and Investment and relevant agencies should keep reviewing these 16 national target programmes to adjust their goals and criteria to avoid overlaps among them and establish concrete linkage.

On the same day, the National Assembly Committee for Science, Technology and Environment held the third plenary session to discuss the renewal of their management and operation mechanism.

Vice Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh said that the country had seen improvement after 7 years of innovation in science and technology as well as in development strategies from 2001 to 2010.

The main solutions for the renewal came under discussion, including the renewal of building and organising science and technology tasks, the promotion of the autonomy of public science and technology organisations, infrastructure development and the policies of human resources.

Deputies also discussed amendments to the Law of Science and Technology and tasks and budget allocation for science and technology during this year.

VNS