NA considers hydropower master plan, bidding law

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang presented the hydropower master plan with the prime minister's authorisation. The government reported that it has approved the removal of six large and 418 small hydropower projects from the national plan.

The Government also agreed unanimously to suspend work on another 136 ongoing projects. Vietnam currently has 815 hydropower projects under its national plan, including 268 that are already operational and 205 others currently under construction.

The deputies then heard a verification report from the NA Committee on Science, Technology and Environment on the hydropower plan. The committee concluded that hydropower plays a crucial role in ensuring national energy security and socio-economic development.

However, several incidents at hydroelectric power plants have led to public concern, so the committee recommended clarifying the responsibilities of stakeholders and developing solutions and detailed tasks for the future.

They suggested that the Government provide further details about incidents at operational hydropower plants, including the known causes of any and all problems. The committee also requested in-depth studies about  the environmental impact of the plants.

Later in the day, the NA Standing Committee issued a report on how it processed public feedback on the draft amended Bidding Law.

Deputies debated several contentious issues of the draft law, with a focus on bidding management and inspection, settlement of relevant complaints, the responsibilities of bidders and investors and preferential treatment and competitiveness in the bidding process.

(Source: Nhandannewspaperonline)