National Assembly deputies agreed on November 26 that the quality ofconstruction projects would be improved by strengthening assessmentactivities at every stage and developing the capacity of humanresources.
Currently, poor-quality construction anddelayed projects that wasted resources were pressing issues forsociety, said deputy Nguyen Van Binh from the northern port city of HaiPhong.
However, construction agencies did not havean established role in supervising and assessing construction projects,from the design phase to the final phase of maintenance. Suchassessments were particularly critical in projects requiring complicatedtechnology and those using State funds, he said.
Binh and deputy Le Quang Hiep from central Thanh Hoa province agreedthat State agencies' ability to assess construction projects must beimproved and there must be criteria to define the capacity ofindependent consultants and assessing agencies.
Chau Thi Thu Nga and Trinh Ngoc Thach, deputies from Hanoi, said theresponsibility of project management boards needed to be specified inthe law to avoid the abuse of power, which typically led to projectinefficiency, and their sense of professionalism needed to be enhanced.
Deputy Nguyen Ngoc Bao from northern Vinh Phucprovince said it was necessary to classify projects to help the Statedecentralise management, as construction projects often require theparticipation of many economic sectors and were conducted underdifferent models, such as Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Build-Transfer(BT) and Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
TranHong Tham, a deputy from southern Can Tho city, said the Ministry ofConstruction should have plans to educate construction staff andallocate them to regions where there was high demand for infrastructure,such as the Mekong Delta provinces.
Deputy HoangThanh Tung from southern Soc Trang province said there were too fewconstruction inspectors, with only 1,000 in Hanoi and 1,500 in Ho ChiMinh City.
Deputy Nguyen Thanh Hai from northern HoaBinh province said she found no regulations on construction materialsmanagement in the draft law, despite the fact that building materialsaccounted for a large part of both project quality and cost.
Deputies Hoang Huu Phuoc from Ho Chi Minh City and Pham Thi My Le fromsouthern Binh Phuoc province and Hai agreed that so far, authoritieshad not paid enough attention to managing construction waste, one of themajor causes of environmental pollution.
Currently,construction projects not only discharge waste but also often havenegative effects on surrounding infrastructure and landscape, saidPhuoc.
So the law must require investors to includeurban embellishment work in contracts signed with contractors. Thiswould be a responsibility of contractors, so they would not be allowedto ask for additional payment, he pointed out.
Thedraft amended Law on Construction includes 11 chapters and 169 articles,two chapters and 45 articles more than the law issued in 2003.
Environmental issues
Discussing the amendments to the Law on Environment Protection,lawmakers agreed that the amendments were necessary because pollutionhad an alarming impact on people's daily lives.
They said regulations should aim to curb pollution and environmentalviolations, cope with climate change and promote green growth.
Deputy Truong Van Vo from southern Dong Nai province said the law mustclarify the responsibilities of State agencies when it came to managingnatural resources and responding to climate change.
Deputies Hoang Thi To Nga from northern Nam Dinh province and Trieu ThiNai from northern Ha Giang province added that the responsibilities ofindividuals and households must also be regulated, as they playedimportant roles in these processes.
Deputy HuynhMinh Thien of Ho Chi Minh City said that the draft amended law did notinclude any chapter on forest protection, an especially crucial error,as destroying forests recently caused severe damage to people's lives,especially in the flooding season.
Given theGovernment's target of raising forest coverage to 45 percent in 2020,Thien said, it was essential to have regulations to protect forests andensure their quality.
The deputy also warned thatwhile environmental violations were becoming more serious, punishmentsfor violators were still not harsh enough. Currently, violatingcompanies only had to pay a fine.
In the future,however, criminal proceedings should be taken against those firms andcompensation should be paid to affected individuals, he said.
Lawmakers also suggested revising inspection regulations, saying thatperiodical inspections encouraged violators to seek out short-term fixesrather than long-term solutions.
If surpriseinspections were conducted, inspectors might be able to catch violatorsin the act of discharging untreated waste or dumping waste into soil.
The same day, National Assembly deputies passed theLaw on Plant Protection and Quarantine and the Law on CitizenReception.-VNA
Currently, poor-quality construction anddelayed projects that wasted resources were pressing issues forsociety, said deputy Nguyen Van Binh from the northern port city of HaiPhong.
However, construction agencies did not havean established role in supervising and assessing construction projects,from the design phase to the final phase of maintenance. Suchassessments were particularly critical in projects requiring complicatedtechnology and those using State funds, he said.
Binh and deputy Le Quang Hiep from central Thanh Hoa province agreedthat State agencies' ability to assess construction projects must beimproved and there must be criteria to define the capacity ofindependent consultants and assessing agencies.
Chau Thi Thu Nga and Trinh Ngoc Thach, deputies from Hanoi, said theresponsibility of project management boards needed to be specified inthe law to avoid the abuse of power, which typically led to projectinefficiency, and their sense of professionalism needed to be enhanced.
Deputy Nguyen Ngoc Bao from northern Vinh Phucprovince said it was necessary to classify projects to help the Statedecentralise management, as construction projects often require theparticipation of many economic sectors and were conducted underdifferent models, such as Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Build-Transfer(BT) and Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
TranHong Tham, a deputy from southern Can Tho city, said the Ministry ofConstruction should have plans to educate construction staff andallocate them to regions where there was high demand for infrastructure,such as the Mekong Delta provinces.
Deputy HoangThanh Tung from southern Soc Trang province said there were too fewconstruction inspectors, with only 1,000 in Hanoi and 1,500 in Ho ChiMinh City.
Deputy Nguyen Thanh Hai from northern HoaBinh province said she found no regulations on construction materialsmanagement in the draft law, despite the fact that building materialsaccounted for a large part of both project quality and cost.
Deputies Hoang Huu Phuoc from Ho Chi Minh City and Pham Thi My Le fromsouthern Binh Phuoc province and Hai agreed that so far, authoritieshad not paid enough attention to managing construction waste, one of themajor causes of environmental pollution.
Currently,construction projects not only discharge waste but also often havenegative effects on surrounding infrastructure and landscape, saidPhuoc.
So the law must require investors to includeurban embellishment work in contracts signed with contractors. Thiswould be a responsibility of contractors, so they would not be allowedto ask for additional payment, he pointed out.
Thedraft amended Law on Construction includes 11 chapters and 169 articles,two chapters and 45 articles more than the law issued in 2003.
Environmental issues
Discussing the amendments to the Law on Environment Protection,lawmakers agreed that the amendments were necessary because pollutionhad an alarming impact on people's daily lives.
They said regulations should aim to curb pollution and environmentalviolations, cope with climate change and promote green growth.
Deputy Truong Van Vo from southern Dong Nai province said the law mustclarify the responsibilities of State agencies when it came to managingnatural resources and responding to climate change.
Deputies Hoang Thi To Nga from northern Nam Dinh province and Trieu ThiNai from northern Ha Giang province added that the responsibilities ofindividuals and households must also be regulated, as they playedimportant roles in these processes.
Deputy HuynhMinh Thien of Ho Chi Minh City said that the draft amended law did notinclude any chapter on forest protection, an especially crucial error,as destroying forests recently caused severe damage to people's lives,especially in the flooding season.
Given theGovernment's target of raising forest coverage to 45 percent in 2020,Thien said, it was essential to have regulations to protect forests andensure their quality.
The deputy also warned thatwhile environmental violations were becoming more serious, punishmentsfor violators were still not harsh enough. Currently, violatingcompanies only had to pay a fine.
In the future,however, criminal proceedings should be taken against those firms andcompensation should be paid to affected individuals, he said.
Lawmakers also suggested revising inspection regulations, saying thatperiodical inspections encouraged violators to seek out short-term fixesrather than long-term solutions.
If surpriseinspections were conducted, inspectors might be able to catch violatorsin the act of discharging untreated waste or dumping waste into soil.
The same day, National Assembly deputies passed theLaw on Plant Protection and Quarantine and the Law on CitizenReception.-VNA
