MPI proposes amending 3 laws to promote ODA projects

Many existing legal regulations are contradictory and inconsistent and pose difficulties in ODA project implementation, according to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong.

Amending these laws immediately has become a pressing requirement, he added, to create the conditions necessary for investment, production, and business activities, especially in the context of Covid-19 having such a heavy impact on the economy.

Although the disbursement of foreign capital increased slightly in August compared to July, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) still considers it to be slow, and has suggested a review of existing regulations on investment projects using ODA capital.

From this, it proposed amending and supplementing three laws.

Firstly, amending Article 25 of the Law on Public Investment towards the decentralization of the authority to decide on investment policies from the Prime Minister to heads of managing agencies of projects in Group B and C projects using ODA loans, concessional loans, and non-refundable ODA capital. Group B and C projects are of small scale and are mainly managed by local authorities and often need to adjust investment policies during the implementation process, such as extending the implementation time.

Secondly, in order to synchronize with this proposed amendment, it also proposes amending the Law on Public-Private Partnership towards the Prime Minister deciding on the investment cycle for projects with total investment equivalent to Group A projects (which are large-scale, inter-sectoral, inter-regional projects, often with a high on-lending rate) in accordance with the Law on Public Investment and using ODA loans and concessional loans from foreign sponsors. For Group B and C projects, the authority to decide on investment policies should be decentralized to ministers, heads of central agencies, and other agencies, and provincial-level People’s Councils.

Thirdly, in order to promote ODA disbursement, MPI recommends amending and supplementing regulations on contractor selection for programs and projects funded by ODA and concessional loans. According to the current provisions of the Bidding Law, the approval of the contractor selection plan and documents usually takes at least 4-6 months, but, in fact, the time for planning and preparing documents can take years. Most of these projects may need extensions and greatly affect investment efficiency, not to mention that the Vietnamese party may be subject to certain fees. MPI therefore proposes to amend Article 34 of the Bidding Law.