Vietnam could have VND10 trillion (about US$440 million) for the Long Thanh International Airport project by saving 1% on regular budget spending, said deputy Pham Minh Chinh at the National Assembly sitting in Hanoi on June 8.
Vietnam could have VND10 trillion (about US$440 million) for the Long Thanh International Airport project by saving 1% on regular budget spending, said deputy Pham Minh Chinh at the National Assembly sitting in Hanoi on June 8.
Chinh suggested two measures for speeding up construction of Long Thanh airport, including creating a special mechanism for site clearance and reducing government spending.
According to Chinh, the Government’s regular spending has increased continuously over the years. Regular spending accounted for 62.3% of the State budget in 2015 and 65.7% in 2016, and is estimated to reach 64.9% in 2017. It means that regular spending in 2017 would increase by VND114 trillion compared to that of 2015.
“By reducing regular spending by 1% in 2017, we could save over VND10 trillion. To do this, we need to streamline the State machinery in accordance with Resolution 39 by the Politburo,” Chinh said.
Chinh’s suggestion received great support from other members of the National Assembly who discussed a possibility of separating site clearance, compensation and resettlement from the Long Thanh airport project to make them an independent component.
According to a report by the Government, 5,614 hectares of land needs to be cleared for the airport project, including 5,000 hectares for building the airport terminal and the remainder for resettlement areas.
There will be 4,730 households receiving a total compensation of over VND23 trillion, including VND5 trillion from the State budget.
However, National Assembly deputy of Hanoi Tran Thi Phuong Hoa said land prices in Dong Nai Province have doubled recently. “What will happen if the National Assembly does not approve the feasibility study for the airport although the Dong Nai government has started clearing land? Solutions for site clearance and compensation of the Long Thanh airport project should, therefore, be discussed in the later sessions of the National Assembly,” she said.
Speaking about Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Minister of Transport Truong Quang Nghia said it would be impossible to expand the airport to the north due to noise pollution, high site clearance cost and other problems.
Therefore, the ministry has chosen the scheme to build an additional terminal capable of handling 10-15 million passengers to raise the total capacity of the airport to 40-43 million passengers per year. Construction of the new terminal is scheduled for completion in 2019. However, the airport would be overloaded again in 2022.
“Therefore, the construction of Long Thanh airport is imperative and we need to speed up the project,” Nghia added.
Meanwhile, National Assembly delegate of HCMC Tran Anh Tuan said Tan Son Nhat International Airport should be given priority for expansion.
National Assembly delegate of Binh Duong Province Nguyen Thanh Hong raised his concern over the sources of finance for the project of Long Thanh airport as well as the North-South Expressway (worth US$14 billion) in the context of high public debt.
(Source:SGT)
