Basic construction projects financed by state capital in 2005-2007 had many shortcomings in terms of policies and management, according to a supervising team of the National Assembly Standing Committee.
More and more projects violate regulations on investment management
The number of projects violating regulations on management increased dramatically during this period, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
There were 1,822 projects in 2005, accounting for 15 percent of that year’s projects. The number soared to 4,763, or 16.6 percent, in 2007. Projects have are still progressing slowly.
Besides, many projects squander the state’s money. The number was 28 in 2005, making up 0.1 percent of the year’s projects. It was 8 in 2006, 0.03 percent; and 17 in 2007, 0.06 percent.
The scale of many projects was two or three times larger than their real scale, leading to the pending status due to lacking of capital, said Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien, a standing member of the National Assembly Committee on Economics and Budget.
Lacking of capital
Nguyen Ngoc Thuat, deputy minister for Agricultural and Rural Development, said the capital allocated to the ministry in the period met only 52 percent of the amount spent on its projects.
He attributed the slow performance in the progress of projects to the lacking of capital.
Finance deputy minister, Nguyen Cong Nghiep, admitted that the state budget was not sufficient for large projects.
He said for there hasn’t been any sanction to constrain the decision-making rights of ministers and managers in approving projects. Capital has been allocated rather equally to the ministries.
Moreover, approval of projects was given so late, slowing down the progress of projects and raising costs.
Project management system is inadequate
Tran Chi Liem, health deputy minister, said the implementation and disbursement of health projects had been very slow. He blamed the poor abilities of project management boards.
Besides difficulties concerning capital and management capacity, the authorities pointed out shortcomings of the government’s policies and regulations.
Nguyen Van Lien, construction deputy minister, said the current Auction Law is so complicated, prolonging the auction time and delaying implementation of the project.
Some documents guiding investment in basic constructions were issued late, he added.
Ngo Thinh Duc, deputy minister of transport and communication, raised a petition to changes many articles in laws on auctions and construction.
Nguyen Van Thuan, a member of the supervising team, said the team will review shortcomings in the policies and laws, especially laws related to the basic construction, including laws on construction, auction and state budget. They will study relations of those three laws with the land law, he added.
He asked authorities of ministries, sectors and localities to point out culprits of the shortcomings to adjust the policies. However, he added, shortcomings in management and operation of projects must be overcome completely.
The supervising team has worked with eight ministries and nine localities to review efficiency and suitability of the law system on basic construction, and the use of state’s capital.
The team’s results will be reported to the Assembly at the end of the year so that it can make adjustments in time.
