Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked ministries, agencies and localities to work harder in order to pave way for transport projects, saying administrative procedures should be streamlined, while concluding a meeting of the State steering committee for national key transport projects in Hanoi on April 12.

The PM, who is also head of the committee, urged hastening transport projects from north to south so as to put relevant resolutions, guidelines and policies adopted by the Party and the State into place.

The Ministry of Transport should coordinate with other ministries, agencies and localities to review roadblocks regarding land, mechanisms, policies and tax incentives, and report them to the National Assembly and its Standing Committee for consideration, he said.

The leader also suggested persifying capital sources for the national key transport projects, targeting those out of the State budget and under the public-private partnership model.

Specifically, for projects whose investment plans have yet to get the green light, he asked the Ministry of Transport and localities to quickly complete preparations for the investment, noting that the investment amount of the Ninh Binh-Nam Dinh-Thai Binh expressway needs to be reviewed.

For those with approved investment plans, the PM urged localities to speed up site clearance and complete procedures in line with regulations so that their construction can start before June 30.

Regarding the projects underway, the Transport Ministry needs to drastically instruct contractors to push ahead with the progress, ensuring the quality, safety and environmental standards, he said.

About Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai, about 40km from Ho Chi Minh City, he said the bidding must be transparent to select capable contractors.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was assigned to guide the Transport Ministry to remove obstacles to construction material exploitation in localities, and settle the compensation work.

The Government leader also asked People’s Committees of the northern mountainous provinces of Hoa Binh, Tuyen Quang and Son La to review investment scale of expressways in order to take timely adjustments.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City need to accelerate the progress of the Nhon - Hanoi Station and Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien urban railway projects.

For the 14 cities and provinces that play a role in the three East-West expressways and two ring roads, the PM requested them to accelerate the work to start the construction before June 30.

Mentioning the 12 cities and provinces where the 2021-2025 North-South expressway runs through, he said they should focus on addressing public complaints about compensation, and temporary accommodation for local residents before resettlement areas are completed.

Notably, he asked Mekong Delta provinces to soon review their sand supply capacity, making it easier for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to allocate the material for projects.