Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính chairs a national conference on planning on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính chaired a national conference on planning on Thursday to accelerate and improve the quality of regional and sectoral planning work.

Deputy prime ministers, representatives from relevant Governmental and National Assembly agencies, and local authorities from 63 provinces and cities attended the conference.

PM Chính said since the Law on Planning took effect in 2017, a series of related resolutions and directives have been issued to guide law enforcement. However, the planning progress still fell behind expectations.

According to Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng, the national planning framework has been completed. Sixty-one out of 63 provinces and cities have local planning approved by the Prime Minister.

Hà Nội and HCM City are the only localities that have not submitted plans for approval.

Nineteen out 38 sectoral plans, one out of six regional plans and 26 out of 63 provincial plans are expected to complete the assessment process this year.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment will continue to review and make amendments to documents related to the planning law to accelerate planning, Dũng said.

The ministry will also study and complete a national database on planning, he said.

PM Chính highlighted the importance of planning because “every locality, every sector needs planning so planning work must be one step ahead”.

The planning must be relevant with the potential and advantages of ministries, sectors and localities to ensure sustainable development, he said.

Localities and sectors must identify difficulties and report to the Government, he said.

Deputy prime ministers Lê Minh Khái, Vũ Đức Đam and Lê Văn Thành agreed that the current planning remained slow and had not met requirements.

The Deputy PMs proposed ministries, sectors and localities to exchange plans with each other. Local authorities should select experts to assess the plans.

The planning progress is behind schedule, PM Chính added, urging sectors and localities to speed up and ensure regional and national connections.

The National Assembly will conduct supreme supervision on planning, he said.

The Cabinet leader also assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to complete and submit to the Government for approval a resolution on lifting difficulties and accelerating the planning progress. — VNS