Prime Minister: 'If you borrow money, you have to turn the situation around, you can't do petty things'

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said it is necessary to invest with key focus and carry out large projects - Photo: NGOC AN

Delegate Nguyen Thi Quyen Thanh - Vice Chairwoman of Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee - said that the Mekong Delta has many potentials and outstanding competitive advantages. Resolution 13 of the Politburo was issued, affirming the determination to build this as a key economic region of the region and the whole country.

However, delegate Thanh suggested that the Government and Prime Minister have clearer directions on sustainable development, helping the region proactively respond to subsidence and salinity.

In fact, flooding, subsidence and salinity are happening seriously and unpredictably, affecting production and aquaculture, people's lives, and hindering development.

Mobilizing resources for large, effective projects

"If the sea level rises by 1 meter, 40% of the Mekong Delta area will be flooded, so we need to respond soon, otherwise the situation will become more serious," Ms. Thanh said, adding that the Prime Minister had personally surveyed the landslide sites in the Mekong Delta, so people really want specific policies to be implemented.

In response to the National Assembly delegates’ comments, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that to solve the immediate problems of the Mekong Delta, the Government has decided to spend 4,000 billion VND as initially proposed. Through actual surveys, the area has landslides, subsidence, drought and saltwater intrusion, especially in the provinces of Bac Lieu, Vinh Long, Ca Mau...

However, not only extreme climate change, Vietnam also has the responsibility to join the world in preventing global warming and achieving the goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Therefore, along with dealing with immediate problems, the Mekong Delta must mobilize resources to carry out large, effective projects.

As an example, he said he is directing the implementation of a project to develop 1 million hectares of clean rice and green agriculture to ensure food security and sustainable exports.

Recently, the Prime Minister met with the presidents of the Philippines and Indonesia to discuss signing government contracts on rice, promoting rice exports to farmers effectively and sustainably.

In addition, the Government is also working with the World Bank (WB) to implement agreements to address the Mekong Delta's issues related to climate change, with new thinking and approaches to address more fundamental issues.

Many transport infrastructure projects are being implemented. For example, the Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway project connecting Can Tho - Ho Chi Minh City; construction of the North - South axis from Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho - Ca Mau; East - West axis including Soc Trang - Can Tho - Hau Giang - An Giang; research on building an overpass system, investing in air and railway routes such as upgrading Ca Mau airport; research on building a North - South high-speed railway...

Central and local authorities are determined to work together to remove obstacles.

The Prime Minister hopes that the National Assembly, delegates and localities will join hands, focus on directing the allocation of resources, promote international cooperation, mobilize resources from both central and local levels, and be determined to implement. Propaganda for people to invest, research and produce green, clean, and environmentally friendly products...

"Borrowing money in a fragmented, scattered, and small way is ineffective and requires a lot of procedures. If you keep thinking that you want to do everything, it will be unfinished. If you borrow money, you have to change the situation and change the state. You cannot do it in a fragmented way. You need to determine the key points, there must be coordination between the public and private sectors, the central government, the local government and the State, and complete the work as it is done, with determination to implement it" - he emphasized.

Citing Dien Bien airport as an example, the Prime Minister said he had been very concerned about this project for years. So far, with the coordination and determination of the central and local governments, Dien Bien airport has been built and is about to come into operation.

"When I went to Ca Mau, I told you comrades to try hard. If you don't try hard, you will have to wait forever. Like Dien Bien airport, it was built by the French 70 years after the Dien Bien Phu victory and is still intact. Therefore, we must boldly remove obstacles and coordinate with the local government to be able to implement it now," he said./.

Supervising the effective implementation of 4,000 billion VND

Discussing further in the corridor of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister said that 4,000 billion VND for the Mekong Delta has been approved. This decision was made after the Prime Minister directly surveyed the region and assigned ministries and branches to propose and decide on spending for the provinces.

"This 4,000 billion VND will focus on solving urgent problems related to landslides and saltwater intrusion," he said, adding that in reality, when surveying the Mekong Delta, subsidence was real.

Therefore, this allocated capital needs to be checked, evaluated, and monitored to ensure its effectiveness, accuracy, and precision, and from there, lessons can be learned for future work. In the long term, there needs to be fundamental projects to prevent landslides and subsidence.

According to TTO

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thu-tuong-da-di-vay-thi-phai-xoay-chuyen-tinh-the-khong-the-lam-lat-vat-20231024115622788.htm

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