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Transport cuts made to ease inflation
The Ministry of Transport has pledged to cut down public investment to rein in inflation and ensure macro-economic stability.
Minister Ho Nghia Dung said half of the transportation projects that use Government bonds would be reduced this year, which means about VND11 trillion (US$523 million) would be funnelled into key, urgent projects and those set for completion this year.
Earlier, between VND20 trillion and VND25 trillion ($952 million-$1.1 billion) in Government bonds were expected to be disbursed to this year's projects.
Dung said the ministry had also slashed about 10 per cent of its regular spending in response to a Government appeal urging ministries, departments and local governments to enforce Resolution 11 to curb inflation and stabilise the economy.
He shared this information in an online forum titled "Transport sector needs synchronous measures for rapid and sustainable development" on the Government website in Ha Noi in Mar. 14
The minister said measures would be taken to help enterprises stabilise and develop their businesses, as would measures to slash investment in public projects.
"The ministry will try its utmost to support enterprises in the current difficult context," said Dung.
He said the ministry would focus on speeding up land clearance for projects that were not postponed. It would also work to improve the management abilities of project board, post-check fund disbursement and make it easier for enterprises to get building materials ready.
Dung affirmed the Party and the Government's consistent policy to mobilise individuals and organisations to help encourage foreign and private enterprises to invest in transport infrastructure.
"This is increasingly meaningful in the face of cutting down public investment," he said.
Viet Nam has a series of measures to promote the implementation of BOT (Build, operate, transfer) and PPP (Public-private partnerships) projects. Dung revealed that the Government had recently assigned the Ministry of Transport to build a legal system in line with Vietnamese law and international rules.
"The framework will be important for attracting investment," he said.
He said loans with preferential interest rates were needed and the time alotted to refund the principal should be adjusted.
Dung said the ministry would raise the number of BOT projects to between 30 per cent and 35 per cent of the total transportation projects this year and the next year to compensate for the deficiency in the State budget.
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