NA Standing Committee's meeting on Tuesday. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI National Assembly (NA) deputies on Tuesday agreed the Law on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Investment must create conditions to ensure quality of public services and take advantage of investment from the private sector.

While discussing the draft law at a meeting of the NA Standing Committee, lawmakers asked for clarification over auditing regulations applied on PPP projects.

Some agreed that auditing should only be conducted on public properties, not private ones while others debated that all parts of the projects including those owned by the State and private sector must be audited.

NA Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân asked the legislators to review the number of auditing procedures applied on PPP projects, saying that too many will not be practical.

The draft law also defines the role of independent auditors in PPP projects and regulations on specialised inspection by State management agencies, Fatherland Front and community supervision. These are State-owned tools to control and ensure the effectiveness of PPP projects.

In the afternoon, the Committee debated amendments and supplements of the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the Law on Dykes.

According to chairman of the NA’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Phan Xuân Dũng, most of the deputies agreed with the need to set up the National Anti-Natural Disaster Fund and asked for clear definitions over its financial source.

In practice, the fund in localities where natural disasters frequently occur is small while other provinces have big funds, he said, proposing it is necessary to balance the money available.

NA deputy chairman Phùng Quốc Hiển said the establishment of the fund is necessary at both central and local levels. However, the fund’s management, revenue and expenditure must be clearly specified in the law. VNS