Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has signed issue No 1617/CT-TTg directing ministers, heads of Government agencies and chairpersons of provincial and municipal People's Committees to strengthen and tighten the management of foreign investment in the period 2011-2020.
PM Dung told them to outline investment preference policies suited to Vietnam Government orientations for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) during 2011-2020.
He stressed the need to improve the quality of all foreign-invested projects, giving priority to environmentally friendly projects and those using modern technology. Foreign invested projects should make the utmost usage of natural resources, minerals, land…
Foreign investment also needed to be focused towards support industries, agricultural services, and knowledge-intensive sectors like information technology, he said.
The Prime Minister demanded that relevant ministries have to respond to the Prime Minister's recommendations, reaching out to local authorities to improve investment quality in support industries and power generation.
He urged the intensifying governmental management on foreign investment, particularly on projects using vast land and mineral resources and projects which have the potential of environmentally-affected consequences.
Investment licenses were being granted to foreign investors that were contrary to Government planning – particularly for such projects as golf courses, plantation of forests, steel production and mining, PM Dung said.
Some projects were licensed without due consideration of technical standards, environmental impacts or labor requirements, he said.
Once licenses had been granted, he added, ministries and localities had failed to properly supervise the execution of these projects.
He noted that investment projects in non-productive sectors should be limited since they made inefficient uses of energy, natural resources and land resources. Projects using out-of-date technology and causing environmental pollution should not be licensed, he added.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has also decided to draft a plan to enhance State management of land and natural resources and more closely control mineral usage by foreign-invested enterprises. This plan would also be completed by May.
Local People's Committees are also requesting the creation of a co-operative mechanism with central authorities in evaluation and granting investment certifications for foreign-invested projects.
