A senior Vietnamese official has urged the Transport Ministry to undertake a review of all projects in light of recent cases of corruption exposed by the media.
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| Duong Thanh Bieu, former deputy head of the Supreme People's Procuracy |
Duong Thanh Bieu, former deputy head of the Supreme People's Procuracy, said the internal inspection system in Vietnam was weak and the Ministry of Transport should review and inspect all projects immediately.
Vietnam must also review its contract mechanism, with other experts suggesting the use of third-party management consultants to maintain transparency.
"These make us think more about our corruption fight and we must learn from these experiences," Bieu said. "We must provide clear and detail information in these cases to public."
Last year, Japan Transportation Consultants Inc. admitted to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper it had given JPY80m to Vietnamese railway officials to win a contract.
In March, news reports in South Korea said prosecutors raided the office of three subcontractors of the steel giant Posco Group in connection with an investigation into allegations the company had created a secret fund of KRW10bn in Vietnam by cooperating with local subcontractors to inflate the costs of expressways constructions from 2009 to 2012.
In early April, the World Bank Group banned Louis Berger Group, Inc. (LBG) for one year for engaging in corrupt practices under two Bank-financed projects in Vietnam.