This is the comment of the Hanoi Authority of Planning and Investment’s Deputy Director Nguyen Van Tu in a recent interview with Vietnam Business Forum. He explained that, in the investment sector, capital is the key thing. The symbol of a bird in the cage (disbursed capital) is the calculated capital and the bird (in a tree) is the virtual capital. He said, in the context of the global economic slow down, Hanoi’s capital disbursement has still seen positive signs, which is thanks to the city’s investment decentralisation.
Could you give your comments on the city’s current general investment?
Hanoi now ranks top places nationwide in both state budget disbursement and foreign investment (FDI and ODA). The city has focused on five key projects, including upgrading the water supply system, transport infrastructure development, building elevated railways and subways and human resource development. The biggest project among those is a 13.05-km elevated railway from Cat Linh - Giang Vo to Ha Dong station. The total investment of the project is VND8.77 trillion (US$552.86 million), including a US$17-million loan from the Chinese government and a US$250-million from China’s Eximbank and the rest is Vietnamese’ reciprocal capital. The railway is designed to resist an earthquake of level 8. In the first phase, the train, including carriages, (each 19 metres long, 2.8 metres wide and 3.8 metres high) can carry 1,326 passengers. The six-carriage train is expected to transport 2,008 passengers. The route will use MSPT technology and signal and operational systems in line with international standards. The survey and design are scheduled for completion within nine months to kick off the project on the occasion of the 1000th year of Thang Long-Hanoi. The railway is expected to become operational in 2014, running between 5h and 23h every day with a maximal transport capacity of 57,000 passengers per hour.
Besides, the city will build the first metro with a high record investment capital of US$1 billion financed by the French government and EU. The capital city also plans to build a quick bus system funded by the Japanese government.
Once operational, the projects are hoped to help boost foreign investment flow into the city as investors always care about infrastructure when pouring their money somewhere.
Could you tell more about Hanoi’s investment decentralisation policies?
Hanoi has worked out strong investment decentralisation policies. The city will not only base criteria of projects of different levels, but also their capital sources which are the condition to define the project’s investors. If the capital is from the state budget, the municipal People’s Committee will not directly approve the projects, but it will authorise district authorities to negotiate with partners for a final decision.
In addition, under the guidance of the Hanoi People’s Committee and the Investment Law, if districts are assigned to be the project investor, but they are not strong enough for the implementation, they can hire outside units to carry out the projects. In reality, this is proper, showing the strict investment decentralisation. This will help to create open investment mechanism to prevent wastes from delayed projects.
At present, in many localities across the country, districts are only allowed to approve projects with a maximal investment capital of VND5 billion. However, with the Hanoi’s investment decentralisation, a leader of a district can approve a project worth hundreds of billions of VND.
The decentralisation has brought positive impacts although it has just been merged with up to 29 districts. What are the Authority of Planning and Investment’s measures to raise its staffs’ capacity?
Capacity of inner-city cadres is often better than those living in outlying districts. But, the department has assigned tasks for its lower agencies to help them get experience. According to the department, some districts, including Hoan Kiem, has carried out the tasks well, to celebrate the 100th year of Thang Long-Hanoi. The newly-established Cau Giay district where it is home to many infrastructure projects has reached a high disbursement level.
Could you give some specific figures to show that Hanoi still has positive investment?
Despite facing negative impacts by the world economic slump, Hanoi’s foreign direct investment inflow so far this year has met 90 percent of the set goal. I believe that, with open administrative procedures and strict investment decentralisation, Hanoi will make new strides in the coming time.
Reported by Anh Phuong
Vietnamese
