NA Standing Committee discusses plan to build Long Thanh Int’nal Airport

Thursday, February 26, 2015 | 15:33:35

(VOVworld) – Members of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee gave opinions on the construction plan for Long Thanh International Airport at Thursday’s session in Hanoi.

NA Standing Committee discusses plan to build Long Thanh Int’nal Airport - ảnh 1

The perspective of Long Thanh International Airport

Deputies called for a comprehensive evaluation of the project’s impacts on society, the economy, the environment, national security and defense, and particularly the state budget and public debt. Phung Quoc Hien, chairman of the NA Committee for Finance and State Budget, focused on “the need to clarify which financial resources the project will use - non-refundable capital from the state budget or funding for the project so that it can operate like a business or ODA investment. The report presented at this session included non-state budget investment but didn’t make clear which investment the government should guarantee. How much will the state reserve for the project? What is the project’s efficiency? How will the state recoup its investment?”

Hien highlighted the need to consider the order of investment priorities in developing Long Thanh International Airport and other transportation - roads, waterways, railways, and aviation - in the context of the current shortage of capital resources.

Phan Xuan Dung, chairman of the NA Committee for Science, Technology, and Environment, said “a report to ask for investment must assess environmental impacts. The government should include this assessment before submitting the report to the NA for approval of investment. Because as it’s a key long-term project, it’s necessary to cover technology, procurements, and selection of technology in the report.”

NA Standing Committee discusses plan to build Long Thanh Int’nal Airport - ảnh 2

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang reports to the NA on the construction plan for Long Thanh International Airport

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang explained that capital from the state budget will account for 30% of the total investment, adding that so far all airports have been profitable. According to Minister Thang, the project’s impact on public debts will be much lower than in previous reports.