Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang answered questions from National Assembly deputies on a number of problems in the country's traffic system.
Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang
Dozens of questions were given to Thang by NA deputies during the NA Legal Committee's explanation hearing on April 24.
Reduction in private vehicles not the solution?
NA deputy, Duong Trung Quoc, raised a question at the meeting about the amount of money the Government collects through various transport fees, and how it is spent. He said, “The amount of national budget being invested in transport infrastructure is clearly inadequate. There is no way that we can fix this problem with the fees collected from 600,000 private vehicles."
Quoc went on to say that the amount of money collected from traffic violations each year must reach into the thousands of billions of VND. But, he said, the ministry has only invested a portion of this back into the police force and transportation infrastructure.
"Most new transportation projects are largely dependent on ODA," Quoc said. "This may work temporarily, but it is unsustainable as a long-term solution to our needs."
He went on to say, "The rising number of private vehicles is good for the economy. Even though the population of the country is reaching 100 million, there are still only 1.9 million cars. Relative to other countries, this number is small. To avoid increasing the fees on consumer goods, the ministry should apply new transport fees."
He brought up the example of Highway Sai Gon – Trung Luong. Despite its convenience, due to the high tolls applied, drivers tend to use Highway One instead.
Minister Dinh La Thang said, “The number of drivers on Highway Sai Gon – Trung Luong is gradually increasing because the route is faster, and the savings on petrol and time is starting to balance out the fees.”
Thang went on to say, “Despite economic difficulties, the boost to the economy from car production and sales could outweigh any bad effects from new fees on transportation."
NA Deputy Duong Trung Quoc
Registry agencies to take more responsibility
Many lorries violate size and load standards while increasing traffic hazards and damaging roads and bridges. NA deputy Hoang Thanh Tung said, “The drivers of these trucks are financially encouraged to increase the size of their loads. For many of them, the financial benefits are greater than the potential risks of being fined."
Thang said, “I think we should focus on strictly dealing with violations.”
NA deputy, Nguyen Sy Cuong, asked for the minister's further explaination. Cuong assessed, “The main problem here stands with registry agencies.”
Cuong said, “The registry agencies face a lot of challenges, but don't seem to be able to handle them. Each day substandard cars are given registration, traffic accidents are on the rise, and yet, nobody seems to take responsibility."
Minister Thang admitted faults within the ministry, saying that many of them are due to problems with the registration process and negligence at the local level. "We have been making internal inquiries that have already resulted in the firing of several officers at registry offices," he said.
Thang's solution to the problem was to make the head of the office responsible for any violations of regulation. “If we find any violations, the head of that particular office will be strictly disciplined," he said.
Each day substandard cars are given registration and traffic accidents are on the rise