-Sir, the Government is currently rushing to complete a number of laws related to public investment, budget, and state capital management in enterprises so that the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly, which is currently taking place, can pass them immediately. These are considered important laws, aiming to remove institutional bottlenecks in the spirit of the direction of General Secretary To Lam. As the head of a large construction corporation of the Ministry of National Defense, what do you personally hope for from these bills?

- I think these are very important laws, meaningful in many aspects, especially for enterprises like Army Corps 12 (Truong Son Construction Corporation). As we all know, using state capital flexibly and reasonably while still ensuring safety and capital development efficiency is always the top goal of enterprises. However, this is easy to say but difficult to do, especially in the current context of fierce competition. Therefore, the laws regulating business operations in general need to be very open and remove as many institutional bottlenecks as possible, as General Secretary To Lam said, so that enterprises can fully develop their capabilities.

-In your opinion, what are the bottlenecks that need to be identified early to be removed immediately?

-There are quite a few, but I would like to give an example of a prominent issue: currently, there are contents that many agencies participate in managing. Normally, it is okay, but when problems arise, it is very difficult to determine the agency that is most responsible and ultimately responsible. This is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

Major General Nguyen Huu Ngoc, Commander of the 12th Army Corps (in uniform, far right) accompanied Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to inspect the project.

Another problem is that there are currently some overlapping and duplicated contents in state management between the central and local levels. Such problems may not seem to have much impact, but when businesses like us have problems, they will directly affect the project progress, causing unnecessary waiting and waste of time and money.

-Can you give a specific example?

- For example, the decentralization of power between the central and local levels in handling problems. I would like to give an example of the Hoai Nhon - Quy Nhon expressway project that Corps 12 (Truong Son Construction Corporation) is working on. In the design documents, there are 3 km of forest, but during the construction process, additional forest area arose. According to current regulations, this additional forest area must be approved by the National Assembly if it is to be cleared. This alone has caused the project to be stuck for about 2 years, while if Binh Dinh province had handled it, it would have saved a lot of time and not wasted the opportunity.

Or like the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway project through An Giang that we are constructing, is also stuck with the issue of raw materials of soil and rock. Currently, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment only allows the purchase of one million cubic meters, while the reserve in An Giang is 20 million cubic meters. Therefore, the 12th Army Corps (Truong Son Construction Corporation) is forced to find another source, specifically to buy from Can Tho at a price 3 times higher than the price in An Giang. To be honest, it is very unreasonable.

I would like to give just two examples to show that there are shortcomings and limitations in practice that need to be identified, grasped and thoroughly handled by state management agencies. We will fix issues that need to be regulated by law or sub-law documents at that level, and we should also find timely solutions to issues that can be resolved immediately. Only then, in addition to creating conditions for businesses to develop effectively, will it also bring common benefits to the whole society.

-While you mentioned the existing problems in the laws and implementing documents, may I ask what you think about the gap between the law and practice that makes it difficult to apply them harmoniously?

-Currently, the reality is that when drafting, the drafting agency does seek opinions from businesses, but personally, I think this needs to be made more effective. In fact, this is a very important step in the law-making process, because the subjects of regulation are businesses, so no one understands this field better than them. The opinions of businesses will therefore be very practical, reflecting the movement of life, so listening to the contributions of the business community will only be beneficial. Then the content of the law will be close to reality, the implementation process will not arise problems that businesses will be very tired of finding ways to solve if they encounter them. And most importantly, the law will have a long lifespan, avoiding the need to amend and supplement after a period of implementation.

Major General Nguyen Huu Ngoc, Commander of the 12th Army Corps.

Therefore, it is very necessary to correctly and accurately identify institutional bottlenecks to remove them as General Secretary To Lam requested. In my opinion, we need to clearly define the responsibilities of each agency in each field, and each field has only one ministry responsible. If this is done, it will be really meaningful because it will overcome many limitations, save time, and most importantly, not miss out on development opportunities for the country.

Here I would also like to add another point about receiving preferential loans. As a developing country, Vietnam is in great need of this capital. However, when receiving it, I hope that the authorities should be more selective in order to ensure Vietnam's interests at the highest possible level.

-As the head of a large-scale enterprise, could you please give your assessment of the capacity of Vietnamese contractors today?

- Generally speaking, domestic contractors have very good capacity, for example, Corps 12 (Truong Son Construction Corporation) has enough capacity to participate in major projects of the country such as the North-South expressway project currently being implemented, the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong railway, or the upcoming North-South expressway. Overall, I think that with large projects that are implemented by domestic contractors, it is both effective and financially economical.

As for Corps 12 (Truong Son Construction Corporation), the overall performance results are very positive. In the first 10 months of 2024, we have achieved the target assigned by the Ministry of National Defense. That is the general result. In addition, Corps 12 (Truong Son Construction Corporation) also made great efforts to participate in social activities, for example, at the 3 hot spots after storm No. 3, in particular, with Lang Nu (Bao Yen district, Lao Cai province), the resettlement area for local people will be completed before December 22, 2024, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army.

In the future, Army Corps 12 (Truong Son Construction Corporation) will continue to invest in both scale and depth in human resources, machinery and equipment to ensure outstanding capacity in performing tasks assigned by the Ministry of National Defense as well as operating in areas that are the strengths of the enterprise.

-Thank you very much!