On November 3, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to listen to reports and give opinions on the draft resolution of the National Assembly on a number of specific mechanisms and policies, especially applied to the North-South high-speed railway project.
According to the report of the Ministry of Construction, the group of specific mechanisms and policies will include: General regulations applicable to all 3 forms of public investment, PPP, business investment; regulations specifically applied to the form of business investment; regulations specifically applied to the PPP investment method; corruption prevention and control mechanism...
Regarding capital sources, Deputy Minister of Finance Do Thanh Trung proposed to add a mechanism for sharing resource responsibilities with local budgets, similar to the expressway projects being implemented.
In case state-owned enterprises are able to participate in related infrastructure investment, it is necessary to allow the mobilization of corporate capital, instead of strict regulations from the central budget.
Deputy Governor of the State Bank Nguyen Ngoc Canh said that it is necessary to clarify the state lending mechanism in cases of investment in the form of business investment (especially the lending ratio and the method of calculating the repayment period according to each disbursement).
The Deputy Governor also proposed to adjust a number of regulations related to credit granting limits and supervision responsibilities, to ensure feasibility and compliance with current law.
At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized that when investing in public investment, the State is responsible for management and risks; when investing in private investment, businesses will manage and must take corresponding responsibilities. Therefore, mechanisms and policies need to establish a harmonious relationship between rights and responsibilities, ensuring financial security and safety.
Mechanisms and policies that have been effective must be inherited and integrated, while those that are not strong enough must be reviewed, improved and upgraded to ensure that the resolution is truly breakthrough and meets practical requirements.
Regulations that have been fully legalized should not be repeated, avoid cumbersomeness and ensure smooth implementation.
The State lending mechanism in the case of investment in the form of business investment must have full evidence from the investor's capacity, the capital flow control mechanism to the risk prevention and preservation plan for assets formed from State capital.
The responsibility of enterprises in both cases must be clearly defined: Object risks (disasters, epidemics...) and risks due to weak capacity or violations, including the plan for the State to take over or naturalize assets when necessary to protect public interests.
The technological capacity and technology transfer of investors are considered key issues, in line with the requirements of mastering technology and developing the domestic railway industry.
Investors must develop a clear roadmap from receiving, operating, maintaining to moving towards production and manufacturing step by step, based on technology absorption capacity, human resource capacity and domestic market size; commit to specific and feasible technology transfer plans.
The draft needs to clarify the mechanism for management, ownership of assets, methods of operation and responsibilities of the State, enterprises and Vietnam Railway Corporation throughout the entire project life cycle, avoiding overlap and legal risks later.
