Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung presented the Summary Report of the draft Law. (Photo: THUY NGUYEN)

At the 8th session on the morning of October 30, the National Assembly listened to a presentation and verification report on the draft Law amending and supplementing several provisions of the Law on Planning, the Investment Law, the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment, and the Bidding Law.

Addition of Special Investment Procedures

On behalf of the Prime Minister, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng presented a summary of the draft Law. He noted that the amendments to the Investment Law include delegating the authority to approve investment policies from the Prime Minister to provincial-level People’s Committees. This would apply to projects involving the construction and operation of infrastructure in industrial parks and export processing zones, as well as new port and port area construction projects with investment capital below VND 2,300 billion in special seaports.

Additionally, the draft includes provisions for investment projects within Zone I and Zone II protection areas of national monuments, special national monuments, except for projects within the Zone I protection area of special national monuments on the World Heritage List, aiming to provide local authorities with greater autonomy.

The draft also specifies the establishment of the Investment Support Fund, drawing from additional corporate income tax revenues according to global anti-base erosion regulations and other lawful sources, to attract strategic investors, multinational corporations, and support businesses in certain preferential sectors.

View of the meeting. (Photo: THUY NGUYEN)

Furthermore, it includes provisions for terminating projects that are behind schedule or have not been implemented for many years, causing land waste, to free up resources for socio-economic development.

The Government also proposes adding special investment procedures, shifting from pre-checks to post-checks, to simplify investment procedures and shorten project implementation times, creating a more favorable and competitive mechanism to attract strategic investors.

Accordingly, special investment procedures will apply to certain projects in innovation, semiconductors, and high-tech sectors. These projects will be prioritized for development in industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech zones, and economic zones. The registration process for these areas will be handled by management boards, which are required to issue Investment Registration Certificates within 15 days.

Investors will not have to undergo some procedures for obtaining permits, approvals, or authorizations in three areas that typically require significant administrative processing time: construction, environmental protection, and fire safety (potentially reducing administrative processing time by up to 260 days).

Applying special investment procedures need associated with sanctions for violations

In reviewing the above contents, the National Assembly’s Economic Committee suggested that the Government carefully review and clearly specify the target groups eligible for special investment procedures. They recommended a thorough assessment of the impact to ensure that the delegation of authority to grant special investment certificates aligns with the capacity, decision-making ability, organization, and human resources of each level of management, ensuring consistency in the legal system.

Moreover, specific sanctions should be added to clearly assign responsibilities and address violations to ensure feasibility and effectiveness, particularly for large and complex projects that have a significant impact on local, regional, and national socio-economic development.

Chairman of the National Assembly’s Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh presents the audit report. (Photo: THUY NGUYEN)

Regarding further delegation to provincial People’s Committees to approve investment policies for new port and port area construction projects in special seaports with investment capital below VND 2,300 billion, the verification agency noted that this regulation does not distinguish between conditions for projects with investment capital of VND 2,300 billion or more for special and Type I seaports. They suggested a review of this content, ensuring alignment with amendments to the Public Investment Law (currently being presented to the National Assembly).

Additionally, the Economic Committee recommended that the Government continue reviewing and clarifying whether investment incentive policies should be specified in specialized laws or the Investment Law. Currently, some specialized laws are being revised, referring to investment incentives under the Investment Law, even though the Investment Law does not contain provisions on this matter.

A review of Clause 7, Article 36a, concerning the implementation of environmental permit procedures as per environmental protection laws, is also recommended to ensure feasibility. They also suggested revising regulations for assessing the compatibility of investment projects with various planning types, adding categories or classifications for delayed projects based on their completion level to have appropriate sanctions for terminating project operations, ensuring overall benefits for comprehensive development.

Source: https://nhandan.vn