The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee discussed the draft Railway Law (amended) at its ongoing 43rd session on March 10, during which its members agreed on the necessity of a comprehensive revision of the law.
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed that this amendment focuses on breakthrough policies, decentralising and delegating more authority to localities in railway management, and ensuring consistency with the current legal system, including the Land Law, the Planning Law, and the Public Investment Law, to avoid contradictions and overlaps.
He requested a separate chapter on mechanisms for prioritising resources, technology, and specialised human resources training, as well as learning from international experiences.
The top legislator emphasised the importance of promoting transportation-oriented urban models, creating mechanisms to effectively use land funds, developing smart and sustainable cities, establishing an inter-agency mechanism at the central and local levels to solve obstacles in the implementation of projects.
Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Danh Huy stated that the draft law comprises of eight chapters and 70 articles, down two chapters and 17 articles compared to the 2017 law.
It also eliminates regulations on 20% of administrative procedures and 33% of business conditions compared to the current law in order to meet the requirements for simplifying and reducing administrative procedures and business conditions.
The bill also adds provisions to mobilise the maximum resources of localities and economic sectors to invest in the construction of railway infrastructure.
Deputies highlighted the need for a mechanism for monitoring and supervision across all levels, from national to local, to ensure consistency and effectiveness in investment projects, along with provisions on the mechanism for publicly disclosing information related to the quality and condition of infrastructure operations to ensure transparency and accountability of the involved parties./.
