Minister of Construction Tran Hong Ha (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Construction Tran HongHa admitted that there remain many shortcomings in urban planning whilefielding questions raised by National Assembly (NA) deputies at the ongoing13th session of the NA Standing Committee on August 16.
Opening the question and answer (Q&A)meeting, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan underlined outstanding problems inconstruction planning, urban architecture and urban land use issues, stressingthat they need to be addressed in a synchronous and effective manner.
Deputies said most urban areas faceenvironmental pollution, poor water drainage and waste treatment, not tomention serious traffic jams, lack of relaxing space and violations ofconstruction planning. They urged the minister to present solutions to theproblems and questioned about the responsibilities of the ministry in guidingand inspecting the construction work in localities.
Responding to deputies’ queries, Minister Ha acknowledgedlow-quality urban planning and sluggish implementation of planning, attributingthat fact to state agencies’ poor performance and lack of informationtransparency. Meanwhile, inspection and violation handling remain lax, resultingin such consequences as traffic congestion and illegal land encroachment.
He admitted that his ministry is to be blamedfor urban infrastructure technical standards not matching the country’sdevelopment conditions, complicated procedures for urban planning, andirregular inspection that has led to slow detection of shortcomings.
The Ministry of Construction (MoC) will continueadvising the Government and the NA in fine-tuning relevant regulations, thusimproving the quality of and preventing wastefulness in planning.
He said the ministry will overhaul relevantstandards to eliminate unnecessary, overlapping and contradictory procedures.Meanwhile, coordination with localities will be enhanced to monitor theimplementation of planning, thus preventing arbitrary adjustment of planningand interest groups’ profiteering.
When asked about illegal construction and publicland encroachment, Ha agreed that the problem remains serious and noted it isvery difficult to promise to put an end to illegal construction. This problemneeds synchronous and close coordination among sectors and agencies from thecentral and local levels.
The MoC will step up inspection and examinationin the time ahead, especially at some projects using large areas of land, theofficial added.
At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh DinhDung said the Government will overhaul regulations on urban planning and urbandevelopment management, including the Law on Construction. It will also speedup the formation of satellite urban areas surrounding big cities like Hanoi andHo Chi Minh City so as to ease pressure on big cities.
Concluding the question and answer session, NAVice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien asked the Government members to promptly realisetheir promises and report the outcomes to the parliament at upcomingmeetings.-VNA
Opening the question and answer (Q&A)meeting, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan underlined outstanding problems inconstruction planning, urban architecture and urban land use issues, stressingthat they need to be addressed in a synchronous and effective manner.
Deputies said most urban areas faceenvironmental pollution, poor water drainage and waste treatment, not tomention serious traffic jams, lack of relaxing space and violations ofconstruction planning. They urged the minister to present solutions to theproblems and questioned about the responsibilities of the ministry in guidingand inspecting the construction work in localities.
Responding to deputies’ queries, Minister Ha acknowledgedlow-quality urban planning and sluggish implementation of planning, attributingthat fact to state agencies’ poor performance and lack of informationtransparency. Meanwhile, inspection and violation handling remain lax, resultingin such consequences as traffic congestion and illegal land encroachment.
He admitted that his ministry is to be blamedfor urban infrastructure technical standards not matching the country’sdevelopment conditions, complicated procedures for urban planning, andirregular inspection that has led to slow detection of shortcomings.
The Ministry of Construction (MoC) will continueadvising the Government and the NA in fine-tuning relevant regulations, thusimproving the quality of and preventing wastefulness in planning.
He said the ministry will overhaul relevantstandards to eliminate unnecessary, overlapping and contradictory procedures.Meanwhile, coordination with localities will be enhanced to monitor theimplementation of planning, thus preventing arbitrary adjustment of planningand interest groups’ profiteering.
When asked about illegal construction and publicland encroachment, Ha agreed that the problem remains serious and noted it isvery difficult to promise to put an end to illegal construction. This problemneeds synchronous and close coordination among sectors and agencies from thecentral and local levels.
The MoC will step up inspection and examinationin the time ahead, especially at some projects using large areas of land, theofficial added.
At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh DinhDung said the Government will overhaul regulations on urban planning and urbandevelopment management, including the Law on Construction. It will also speedup the formation of satellite urban areas surrounding big cities like Hanoi andHo Chi Minh City so as to ease pressure on big cities.
Concluding the question and answer session, NAVice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien asked the Government members to promptly realisetheir promises and report the outcomes to the parliament at upcomingmeetings.-VNA
VNA
