VietNamNet Bridge – Any hydropower project that fails to satisfy the requirements for safety, environment and resettlement will be removed from planning, stated Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Speaking at the National Assembly (NA) question and answer session on Wednesday, Dung reiterated that every hydropower project must fulfill five requirements, namely safety of dams, reservoirs and local residents, resettlement, environmental impacts, efficiency and law compliance.

The prime minister ordered review of all hydropower projects in the country and removal of the unqualified ones from the planning of 107 hydropower projects.

He said Dong Nai 6 and 6A hydropower projects had been added to the planning. These projects are carrying out assessment of environmental impacts.

“If they had negative impacts on the environment, not meeting the five requirements, they could not get going,” Dung emphasized.

Regarding Song Tranh 2 hydropower dam, the prime minister said local experts and two advisors from Japan and Switzerland had reported that the dam remained safe and stable. Inspections of relevant ministries and research institutes also give the same result.

However, to ensure perfect safety for citizens, the dam is not allowed to store water yet, said Dung.

He assigned the State Appraisal and Acceptance Council and relevant ministries to form a working group to supervise tremors at Song Tranh 2 dam to timely map out response plans.

Dung said citizens must be updated information frequently and instructed to cope with earthquakes. In addition, he demanded compensations for families whose houses were damaged by earthquakes.

The prime minister stressed safety is the most important requirement for hydropower projects, asking NA deputies to keep an eye on this area.

Tackle bad debt and rescue businesses

The central task of the Government in the coming time is to reduce inventories, settle bad debts, remove difficulties for enterprises and promote production and business activities, said Prime Minister Dung at the Q&A session.

He stressed the macro-economy is not yet stable, businesses are still mired in troubles, and inventories and bad debts keep surging. If these problems are not solved properly, the economy will fall into stagnation, leaving a negative impact on citizens.

Dung pledged interest rates will be slashed further in line with the decline in inflation to grant businesses easy access to credit capital.

He admitted bad debts had been rising rapidly since the second half of 2011, hindering credit access of businesses and posing risks to the banking system and the financial market.

Therefore, Dung said bad debts must be tackled urgently and drastically but with an appropriate schedule.

One of the main focuses in the coming time, according to the prime minister, is to deal with debts in construction, which have amounted to some VND90 trillion.

VietNamNet/SGT