The 15th National Assembly convened its first-ever extraordinary session in Hanoi on Tuesday, debating four draft documents and their verification reports on important issues of the national economy.
They included the draft Resolution on fiscal and monetary policies in support of the socio-economic recovery and development program and the draft investment policy on a project to build the eastern section of the North-South expressway in the 2021-2025 period.
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| The first ever extraordinary session of the 15th NA opens on Tuesday__Photo: VNA |
The draft Law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Public-Private Partnership, the Investment Law, the Bidding Law, the Electricity Law, the Enterprise Law, the Law on Special Consumption Tax and the Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgments; and the draft Resolution on piloting several special policies and mechanisms for the development of Can Tho City were also discussed.
Opening the session, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had seriously affected all aspects of life. However, thanks to the right direction and leadership in a timely manner of the Party and State in moving to safe, flexible adaptation to and effective control of COVID-19, the socio-economic situation in the last months of 2021 recorded positive changes. The inflation was kept at a low rate, State budget collection exceeded the target and the monetary and foreign exchange markets were stabilized.
However, the economy still faced many challenges and difficulties, he said. The pandemic continued to develop complicatedly in both Vietnam and the world. The economic growth rate for the whole year 2021 was 2.58 per cent, the lowest in the past ten years; risks of bad debts increased; production and business activities and the life of people met many difficulties, which all affected the implementation of the socio-economic targets of not only 2022 but for the whole 2021-2025 periods.
The NA Chairman stressed that in response to the urgent requirements of the country and based on preparation tasks and legal foundation, the NA Standing Committee decided to summon the extraordinary session to quickly consider and decide a number of important issues relating to socio-economic development, finance and State budget to support the COVID-19 prevention and control program and the socio-economic recovery and development program.
Monetary policies
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung presented a proposal on the draft Resolution on fiscal and monetary policies in support of the socio-economic recovery and development program, which he said set the goals of quickly recovering production and supply chains, promoting growth drives, achieving the average growth rate of 6.5-6.7 percent during the 2021-25 periods and stabilizing the macroeconomy.
It also aimed to ensure social security and people’s livelihoods, particularly the poor and vulnerable groups and those who have been seriously affected by the pandemic.
The program set five key groups of solutions, including opening the economy in connection with investment in improving medical and pandemic prevention and control capacity; ensuring social security and job support, assisting recovery for businesses, cooperatives and household businesses; developing infrastructure and mobilizing social resources for development investment; promoting institutional and administrative reforms and improving investment and business environment.
The Government proposed the NA consider and give opinions about some fiscal and monetary policies, including increasing the State budget overspending to have resources to implement the program with a total estimated VND 240 trillion (USD 10.5 billion) for the two years of 2022-2023, including VND 102 trillion for 2022, equivalent to 5.08 percent of GDP (up 1.1 percent of GDP in comparison with the State budget estimate approved by the NA for 2022).
Chairman of the NA Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh then presented a verification report on the draft Resolution, saying that the committee basically agreed with the proposal but asked to supplement viewpoints about the improvement of the autonomy, resilience and adaptability of the economy and to only use the State budget expending for development investment.
North-South expressway
Later the same day, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The presented a proposal about the draft investment policy on a project to build the eastern section of the North-South expressway in the 2021-2025 period.
He said implementing the Party and NA policies to mobilize social resources for infrastructure development, the Government directed to study to invest the project under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP). However, the PPP investment has met many difficulties.
With the project’s special role as a backbone for the nation's roadways, the Government proposed to shift to invest in the project under the form of public investment. Upon completion, the fee collection rights will be franchised to recover the State investment capital (this is also a form of mobilizing social resources to continue investing in infrastructure).
As planned, the total investment for the eastern section of the expressway is estimated at VNĐ146.990 trillion (USD 6.40 billion). An estimated amount of over VND 119 trillion will be earmarked for the 2021-25 period.
The eastern wing will have a total length of 2,063km, of which 478km have been put into operation, 829km invested, and 756km waiting for investment, according to The.
Regarding the implementation of the project, the preparation is made during 2021-2022, land clearance and resettlement will be carried out in 2022-2023 and construction is scheduled to start in 2023 and be complete by 2025.
The same day, Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long delivered a proposal and Chairman of the NA Economic Committee Thanh presented an examination report on the draft law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Public-Private Partnership, the Investment Law, the Bidding Law, the Electricity Law, the Enterprise Law, the Law on Special Consumption Tax and the Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgments.
Chairman of the NA Finance Budget Committee Nguyen Phu Cuong also presented a report examining the draft resolution on piloting several special policies for the development of Can Tho City, after the Minister of Planning and Investment Dung presented his proposal.
Minister Dung highlighted that Can Tho was the center of the Mekong Delta region, helping connect Vietnam with other countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region.
He said that with its location in the middle of the two most dynamic economic-urban corridors in the region – the HCM City – Can Tho and the Hau River (An Giang-Can Tho-Soc Trang), Can Tho City plays the role of an important transit center for road, waterway, railway and aviation transport systems. It is also a locality of strategic importance in the defense and security of the whole region.
In the afternoon, legislators discussed the draft resolution on fiscal and monetary policies in support of the socio-economic recovery and development program.- (VNS/VLLF)
