On August 11, at the First Extraordinary Session, the National Assembly discussed in the hall about the draft Law on Urban Development.
Contributing opinions on removing slow-progressing projects in Clause 5, Article 33, National Assembly Deputy (NA Deputy) Nguyen Ngoc Son (NA Delegation of Hai Phong City) said that this is a resource that is being "frozen", in which land has not been exploited effectively.
However, building a mechanism to handle backlog projects is necessary but must be accompanied by strict "keys" of control.
This delegate said that when allowing the project to continue, it is necessary to review and fully determine financial obligations related to land and arising obligations; ensure that the State does not lose revenue but also does not re-establish legally implemented obligations.
We cannot let the resource release mechanism become a mechanism to legitimize the benefits arising from the project being prolonged" - delegate Nguyen Ngoc Son emphasized.
As for projects with large and complex land values, public assets or financial obligations, an inter-sectoral appraisal step is needed before deciding.
The delegate also proposed considering the deadline for applying a special mechanism to handle backlogs until December 31, 2036, because extending it to 10 years may reduce urgency and create a waiting mentality.
At the meeting, paying attention to dynamic urban areas that are on the path of development, National Assembly Deputy Pham Van Thinh (National Assembly Delegation of Bac Ninh province) said that the Law on Urban Development is really being expected by localities, especially new units, which are about to be recognized as centrally-run cities.
This delegate said that the law will open up mechanisms and policies on investment, construction, science and technology, digital transformation, and economic development for localities; strongly and thoroughly decentralize the authority of the Government to localities.
The localities that benefit the most will be localities with large industrial development scale such as Hai Phong, Dong Nai, Bac Ninh - 3 industrial locomotives but not yet enjoying the special mechanism of special urban areas; are in great need of new mechanisms and policies to be able to compete internationally in attracting capital flows, technology, and human resources; necessary factors to be able to promote our country's double-digit economic growth.
Delegate Pham Van Thinh pointed out that forcing cities that are not yet special urban areas to have "the policy of competent authorities" and waiting for "regulations on the scope of the Government" to apply some mechanisms will create administrative barriers.
He proposed to allow these cities to immediately implement some policies in the Law. At the same time, he proposed to amend clauses 3 and 4 of Article 1 to allow these localities to apply point a, clause 2, Article 7 (promulgating administrative procedures to perform decentralized tasks), avoiding the situation of being decentralized but not being able to implement due to lack of procedures.
