Construction site of the S9 Kim Mã depot, part of the Nhổn-Hà Nội Station metro line. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Wednesday chaired the Steering Committee on national key transport infrastructure projects.

This is the first meeting of the committee after it was officially set up on July 23, 2022.

The committee concerns itself with nine projects (and 31 component sub-projects) of national importance – Hồ Chí Minh Road; expressways including North-South, Bến Lức-Long Thành, Khánh Hoà-Buôn Ma Thuột, Biên Hòa-Vũng Tàu, Châu Ðốc-Cần Thơ-Sóc Trăng, Hà Nội’s Belt Road No.4 and HCM City’s Belt Road No.3; the North-South high-speed rail line; urban metro projects in Hà Nội and HCM City; Long Thành International Airport project; as well as other projects that the committee deemed necessary.

The delegations agreed that these are all large-scale transport infrastructure projects that drive socio-economic development and national competitiveness.

The total budget required is VNĐ734 trillion (US$31.3 billion) and the sheets have been balanced, according to the finance ministry.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính reiterated the need to implement three strategic breakthroughs as per the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress – institutions, infrastructure, and human resources – which include key transport projects. The 13th National Congress also set a target that by 2030, the whole country must have at least 5,000km of highways, while from 2000 to 2021, the whole country has completed the construction of only 1,100km of highways.

PM Chính said that the huge budget of $31.3 billion allocated to these projects must be used efficiently, to help create new impetus for growth and development across the country; facilitate the development of new industrial zones, new urban areas, and new service centres; address the bottlenecks in transport; promote commerce and job creation; and jumpstart socio-economic recovery.

Localities with developed infrastructure like Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh, and Thanh Hoá will experience strong growth, PM Chính noted.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Wednesday chaired the steering committee on national key transport infrastructure projects. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

The Government leader urged all parties involved to be carrying out assigned duties in a responsible and proactive manner, with a high sense of determination and discipline, and not passing the blame, stressing that they must be well coordinated with each other to meet the demands of the people, the Party and the State.

The environment ministry is told to ensure the materials needed for the projects.

Ministries and localities must closely coordinate in the implementation of investment procedures, selecting consultants for design and supervision and contractors for quality control works in the spirit of impartiality and transparency, while ensuring the progress and quality of the project, and preventing corruption and vested interests to take hold.

Hà Nội and HCM City are asked to comply with the Prime Minister’s directives on the progress of urban metro lines, and must report to the Government on further issues and bottlenecks.

Resolutions on the Hà Nội’s Belt Road No.4 and HCM City’s Belt Road No.3 will soon be issued, he said.

On Long Thành International Airport project, PM Chính said he has received media reports on the difficulties some households and people are facing with regard to ground clearance and resettlement and ordered the Chairman of Đồng Nai Province People’s Committee to inspect and handle these complaints by the end of August to settle the lives of people having to relocate to make room for the project.

All component projects related to Long Thành International Airport must be implemented synchronously, such as site clearance, resettlement, construction of connecting roads, airport terminals, runways, and buildings under the management of the ministries of industry and trade, public security, and finance that serve import and export activities.

Regarding construction costs, PM said that by now, domestic gasoline prices have fallen below the level before the Ukraine conflict, and ministries and localities must urgently take measures to stabilise the prices of services as regulations dictate.

PM Chính said he was very concerned, and sympathises with the difficulties of contractors and businesses participating in the project when costs increased, but on the other hand, contractors and businesses also had to “share” with the Party, State and People given the challenges are global.

All parties must be cooperating on the basis of “harmonised benefits, shared risks,” he remarked.

Still, he urged State agencies to be flexible and responsive, quickly handling requests and demands from enterprises within their capacity all for the sake of the projects’ progress. — VNS