Directive No. 28/2006/CT-TTg on Strengthening Management of Investment and Construction with State Funds for the Last Six Months of 2006

DIRECTIVE
On Strengthening Management of Investment and Construction with State Funds for the Last Six Months of 2006
In the first six months of the year, many efforts have been made by sectors and levels to implement investment and construction plans. However, the results achieved have not met the requirements for economic development. The disbursement progress of funds, including state credit and government bonds, remains slow. Weaknesses in investment and construction management have not been resolved, adversely affecting the implementation of the 2006 plan and subsequent years.

To enhance the effectiveness of investment and construction in accordance with the spirit of the National Assembly's Resolution and Government Resolutions, the Prime Minister requests that Ministers, Heads of governmental agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees under the central government, Chairpersons of State Economic Group Councils, and General Directors of State Corporations must, on the one hand, continue to implement the tasks and solutions set out in Resolution No. 01/2006/NQ-CP dated January 16, 2006, and Resolution No. 13/2006/NQ-CP dated July 7, 2006 of the Government, and on the other hand, focus on implementing the following tasks and solutions:

1. Ministries and agencies responsible for drafting Decrees guiding the implementation of the Law on Investment, the Law on Bidding, the Law on Land, the Law on Enterprises, Decrees on managing and using ODA capital, and Decrees on managing public investment projects must urgently complete draft Decrees to submit to the Government for issuance in August 2006.

a) By September 2006, submit to the Government for issuance of a Decree defining the responsibilities of the person conducting the appraisal and the person making the investment decision.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment:

b) In the third quarter of 2006, submit to the Government for issuance of a Decree on managing investment with state funds; submit to the Prime Minister for issuance of regulations on the reporting system for investment plan implementation.

c) Coordinate with the Government Inspectorate, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and related agencies to guide and improve organizations for inspection of planning and investment; conduct inspections of investment and construction projects in accordance with the contents of the Directive No. 496/CĐ-TTg dated March 28, 2006 of the Prime Minister, avoiding overlapping inspections that cause difficulties and obstacles to investment and construction.

d) By August 2006, issue regulations guiding the functions, tasks, organization, and operations of the Office Managing ODA Projects.

đ) Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to assess the implementation of ODA capital and counterpart funds in 2006. If necessary, submit to the Prime Minister for decisions on adjusting or pre-applying the 2007 counterpart fund plan for ODA projects of ministries and sectors to accelerate the disbursement of these funds.

3. The ODA Task Force will strengthen inspection, supervision, timely identification, and resolution of difficulties and obstacles during the implementation of ODA programs and projects.

4. Ministry of Finance:

a) Review mechanisms for capital allocation and advance payments and administrative procedures to ensure compliance with financial management regulations, contributing to accelerating the disbursement of funds for projects, especially national key and priority projects.

b) Strengthen inspection and auditing of the management and use of state budget funds, government bond funds, state investment credit funds, ODA funds, state enterprise investment funds, and funds originating from the state budget.

c) Audit the management and use of assets such as office premises, cars, and motorcycles of project management boards using state funds (including ODA).

d) By September 2006, in coordination with related agencies, issue regulations adjusting cost standards for ODA program and project management boards in line with reality.

5. Ministry of Construction:

a) Before August 15, 2006, submit to the Government for issuance of a Decree amending and supplementing Decree No. 16/2005/NĐ-CP dated February 7, 2005 of the Government on managing construction investment projects, clearly defining the responsibilities and authorities of the investment decision-maker, the investor, etc.; the content of this Decree must be consistent with international integration processes and practices and the provisions of the Construction Law, the Bidding Law, the Investment Law, the Enterprise Law, etc.

b) In the third quarter of 2006, complete and issue regulations on the responsibilities of individuals and organizations related to ensuring the quality of construction projects (including the responsibilities of investors, consulting organizations, survey and design units, and construction contractors) at each stage of the investment and construction process.

c) In the third quarter of 2006, develop and issue supplementary regulations on supervising construction work within its authority.

d) By September 2006, issue regulations guiding the functions, tasks, organization, and operations of construction investment project management boards according to the Construction Law.

đ) By August 2006, submit to the Government for issuance of a Decree on managing construction investment costs.

a) In the third quarter of 2006, submit to the Government for issuance of a Decree guiding the issuance of land use rights certificates, land recovery, and resettlement compensation procedures when the state recovers land.

6. Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment:

b) By August 2006, implement the issuance of mining permits for raw material mines serving cement factories in accordance with the Prime Minister's directives.

7. Ministries, sectors, and localities shall implement within their respective jurisdictions:

a) By August 2006, immediately allocate remaining unallocated funds from the 2006 plan to projects that have completed all investment procedures and finalized technical design approval based on the following principles:

- Based on the total investment amount for the 2006 plan assigned by the Prime Minister, reallocate funds from projects that were allocated funds in 2006 but could not proceed to projects with urgent needs, prioritizing ODA projects and ongoing projects that need to be completed in 2006 but lack funding.

On the basis of the planned total investment amount for the year 2006 assigned by the Prime Minister, reallocate capital from projects that have been allocated capital for the year 2006 but cannot be implemented due to lack of conditions to urgent projects with immediate needs, prioritizing Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects and ongoing projects that need to be completed in 2006 but are still lacking capital.

- Only allocate funds for project preparation and implementation in 2006 (except in cases approved by the Prime Minister) for projects without investment decisions or investment decisions made after October 31, 2005; the remaining funds shall be transferred to other projects.

- Focus on allocating funds for Groups B and C projects that have been initiated but not completed within the prescribed time limit (Group B projects exceeding four years, Group C projects exceeding two years) so that these projects can be completed and put into use in 2006.

- Actively resolve difficulties and obstacles to accelerate construction progress and disbursement of state-funded projects, ensuring the completion of the capital utilization plan for 2006.

b) Strengthen inspection, supervision, monitoring, and evaluation of investment, with particular attention to planning, project formulation, review, allocation of investment funds, settlement of investment funds, adjustment of investment projects; at the same time, implement well the Community Investment Supervision Regulation issued together with Decision No. 80/2005/QĐ-TTg dated April 18, 2005.

c) Promptly rectify the organizational structure and procedures for investment supervision and evaluation within their jurisdiction; strictly adhere to the periodic reporting system on investment supervision and evaluation as stipulated.

d) The Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of National Defense, and localities with government bond-funded projects, based on the total allocated capital, should prioritize funding for each project to ensure the timely completion of projects according to schedule, enhancing the efficiency of government bond capital usage; for remaining projects lacking sufficient capital, they must delay implementation after 2010 or mobilize other legitimate sources of capital for investment.

đ) For the Education Bond Fund, proactively implement necessary measures to promptly address any issues; simultaneously direct project sponsors and construction units to expedite progress, ensure quality, avoid waste, and guarantee investment effectiveness.

e) For projects requiring adjustments to total investment amounts, sponsors must quickly supplement and complete project documentation and submit for approval according to the proper procedures and authority levels; for joint venture projects, carefully calculate financing plans and mobilization of capital sources to ensure the feasibility of the project, capital mobilization capacity, and high efficiency.

g) Local authorities and sponsors must promptly resolve land clearance, domestic counterpart funding, and other issues for ODA loan projects to ensure maximum disbursement of these funds.

h) Ministries, sectors, localities, and sponsors borrowing state credit must bear responsibility for balancing sources of funds to repay principal and interest to the Vietnam Development Bank.

8. The Vietnam Development Bank and State-owned Commercial Banks:

a) Review ongoing lending projects; concentrate investment funds on important projects, Group A projects currently being financed by the Vietnam Development Bank system, ensuring adequate investment capital according to schedule for Group A projects, especially power development projects.

b) State-owned Commercial Banks must ensure sufficient capital mobilization for joint venture financing of projects funded by state investment credit according to the agreed capital structure in credit contracts, particularly large-scale projects.

c) For important national projects such as the Son La Hydropower Project and the Dung Quat Refinery, loans can be provided without requiring a detailed repayment plan assessment.

9. The Government Inspectorate and investigative agencies:

a) The Government Inspectorate, in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Construction, immediately establish inter-ministerial inspection teams to inspect key projects and works of ministries, sectors, localities, and units using significant state capital, foreign loans, and grants, focusing on transportation and water resources projects. Appropriate personnel with the necessary qualities and capabilities must participate in these inspection teams.

b) Investigative agencies must focus on investigating major cases in basic construction investment, providing conclusions promptly, and informing relevant sectors, levels, and sponsors.

10. Ministries, sectors, and localities need to enhance coordination in managing and implementing investment plans and mechanisms. Units asked for comments must provide opinions within the specified timeframe; failure to do so within fifteen days will be considered agreement with the main unit's opinion, while bearing responsibility before the Prime Minister for their own unit's work.

Ministries, sectors, localities, economic groups, and state-owned corporations must organize meetings to review and urge progress on investment projects; if issues arise beyond their authority during implementation, they should recommend higher authorities for resolution.

11. Mass media agencies:

In information dissemination and propaganda through mass media, emphasize the principle of not publishing inaccurate or inadequately investigated information that could harm the overall economy and foreign direct investment (FDI, ODA) attraction.

The Prime Minister requests ministries, ministerial-level agencies, governmental agencies, Chairmen of provincial People's Committees under central administration, Chairmen of economic groups, and General Directors of state-owned corporations to take responsibility for organizing the implementation of this Directive.

The Prime Minister assigns the Ministry of Planning and Investment to lead, coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to monitor and urge the implementation of this Directive and report periodically to the Prime Minister as stipulated./.