Project for Dredging and Recovery of Navigation Channel An Hải – Cần Thơ
The inland waterway system in the Mekong Delta region has a higher length and quality compared to other regions in the country, with a canal system of 28,000 km (of which 23,000 km is navigable), especially, the region currently has 2 major waterways from Ho Chi Minh City to Kien Giang, Ca Mau and Quan Chanh Bo canal which is capable of receiving large vessels (up to 10,000 tons) entering the Hau River. However, the investment and operation of these waterways in the past has faced many difficulties due to the large annual sedimentation, which increases the dredging costs, making it difficult to achieve the goal of exploitation and increased capacity to receive large vessels (over 10,000 tons) as planned and the effectiveness is not as expected… Therefore, dredging the An Hai – Can Tho navigation channel is an urgent task. Although the dredging work requires a large budget. Specifically, dredging 1 km of waterway to meet the maritime standards for vessels with a tonnage of 10,000 tons costs about VND 180 billion. Accordingly, if only dredging 29 km of An Hai gate, the most urgent area announced by the Ministry of Transport, the dredging cost is about VND 1,050 billion per dredging. If dredging to meet the maritime standards for vessels with a tonnage of 10,000 tons to Cai Cui Port, Can Tho, the cost is about over VND 2,000 billion per dredging.
Therefore, in order to mobilize social resources for the dredging activities of the An Hai channel, to reduce the burden on the budget, the National Assembly has promulgated many special preferential policies to attract businesses to participate in the dredging investment. Accordingly, these preferential policies include: (1) Income of enterprises from the implementation of the project for dredging and recovery of the An Hai – Can Tho navigation channel is applied with a tax rate of 10% of corporate income tax for 15 years, exempt from corporate income tax for 04 years and a 50% reduction in corporate income tax for the next 09 years. (2) Exemption from land rental fees for 15 years and a 50% reduction in land rental fees for the remaining period for the area of land used for dredging of the project.
Consultation conference with experts, relevant functional departments and localities on the Project for dredging the An Hai – Can Tho navigation channel. Photo: Huynh Bien
|
Based on that, the Can Tho People’s Committee issued Decision No. 878/QD-UBND on March 2, 2022, on the establishment of a task force to implement the Project for dredging and recovery of the An Hai – Can Tho navigation channel. At the same time, the city People’s Committee also had Official Letter No. 548/UBND-KT on February 15, 2022, sent to the Ministry of Transport and the Maritime Administration to coordinate the implementation of preferential policies and support investment in the project. In addition, the People’s Committee actively cooperated in organizing conferences for exchanges and consultations of opinions from Ministries, sectors, and localities, experts, and consulting units based on scientific basis, practical basis, socio-economic efficiency, and environmental protection to decide on the dredging plan.
Implementing the directions and conclusions of the Prime Minister at the working session with the Standing Committee of the Can Tho City Party Committee on June 13, 2023, the Ministry of Transport chaired a meeting with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the leaders of the Can Tho City People’s Committee, Trà Vinh, Sóc Trăng provinces, and the Departments and agencies under the Ministry on the Project. Based on the agreed content at the meeting, in November 2023, the Ministry of Transport submitted to the Government a proposal to amend Decree No. 159/2018/ND-CP dated November 28, 2018, of the Government regulating the management of dredging activities in seaport waters, inland waterways according to the direction of decentralization and empowerment to localities for dredging activities in port waters. At the same time, the Ministry of Transport will seek opinions from relevant Ministries and sectors to propose to the Government to issue a Resolution assigning the Can Tho City People’s Committee as the competent agency to organize the implementation of the Project, report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.
At present, the biggest problem in the implementation process of the Project is mainly related to the specific division of authority for Can Tho City to implement the task is not specifically regulated; there are no regulations or guidelines related to the method of determining the price of dredging products.
Linking Center, Production, Processing and Consumption of Agricultural Products in the Mekong Delta Region in Can Tho
For many years, the pressing issue of the agriculture sector in the Mekong Delta region is that production and the market within the region are not closely connected, as well as with the international market, leading to low efficiency in production and business, difficulty in attracting large-scale and long-term investment projects, slow economic development, and unstable people’s lives. This situation is completely contrary to the increasing demand for agricultural product consumption in terms of quantity, variety in processing forms, as well as accompanying services.
Therefore, the Project for the Linking Center, Production, Processing, and Consumption of Agricultural Products in the Mekong Delta Region in Can Tho (The Center) is a special mechanism to overcome the bottleneck in the production linkage process in the value chain not only for Can Tho but also for the entire Mekong Delta region. Thereby, contributing to increasing the value of agricultural products, managing the supply source effectively, connecting fields, forming a supply and service center, market connectivity, job creation, raising the economic value of the agricultural sector of the Mekong Delta region to the level of the region and the world.
On September 15, 2023, Can Tho organized an annual economic forum to discuss effective implementation solutions for the establishment of the Center. Source: Can Tho City Institute of Economics – Society.
|
According to Resolution No. 45, investment projects in the Center, besides enjoying preferential policies on exemption and reduction of corporate income tax, exemption and reduction of land rental fees, are also entitled to customs procedures priority if they meet the conditions as prescribed. Based on that, the Can Tho People’s Committee has actively cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as Central ministries and agencies, to build the Project for the establishment of the Center, organize workshops, conferences to obtain opinions from experts, scientists, Central agencies, and have completed the Project, submitting it to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval according to the regulations.
Implementing the directions and conclusions of the Prime Minister at the working session with the Standing Committee of the Can Tho City Party Committee on June 8, 2023, the city had a direct working session with the professional agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Government Office, in which continued to obtain opinions from the 04 Ministries including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Up to now, some important content has been agreed upon, such as the project scale of about 250 ha; The activities of the Center are in a production and business area (not an industrial park); Legal basis for land use in project implementation. In addition, the city People’s Committee also issued Official Letter No. 2598/UBND-KT on July 13, 2023, sent to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Government Office to clarify the dossier for the establishment of the Center.
At the same time, to effectively implement the Project for the establishment of the Center after being approved by the Prime Minister, the City People’s Committee issued Official Letter No. 3569/UBND-KT on September 8, 2023, assigning specific tasks to the city departments, sectors, and related agencies and units. It is expected that the Project will be approved after the Can Tho City Planning for the period of 2021-2030, vision to 2050 is approved. The City People’s Committee will focus on organizing the implementation of related legal procedures, early selection of investors, and putting the Center into operation.
On November 23, 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issued Official Letter No. 8587/BNN-KH, requesting the Can Tho City People’s Committee to continue reviewing and adjusting the Project according to the Announcement No. 2821/TB-VPQH dated October 26, 2023, of the Office of the National Assembly, the Conclusion of the National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue at the working session with the Standing Committee of the Can Tho City Party Committee; the directive opinion of the Prime Minister in Official Letter No. 9082/VPCP-QHDP dated November 20, 2023, of the Government Office on handling the recommendations of the provinces of Can Tho, Hau Giang, Soc Trang at the working session of the National Assembly Chairman.
Specifically, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed that the Can Tho City People’s Committee continue to review the content of the Project for the establishment of the Center to ensure conformity with the Planning of Can Tho City for the period of 2021-2030, vision to 2050 (being submitted to the Prime Minister), in which it is necessary to further supplement and clarify the following contents: (1) Updating the legal basis of the Project after the Can Tho City Planning has been approved by the authorized level; (2) Clearly demonstrate the appropriateness of the Center with the Planning of Can Tho City and other related plans (urban planning, rural planning, technical plans, specialized plans, etc.); (3) The appropriateness of the boundaries of the Center with other relevant plans; (4) Clearly define the expected land area for establishment and construction, classify the type of land used for the Center in planning, land use plans? In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also requested to clarify the mechanism of investment and operation of the Center (investment attraction mechanism, joint venture and cooperation mechanism, management and operation mechanism, etc.), including clarifying the management and linkages between infrastructure investors and investors in functional areas, production, processing, and consumption areas at the Center.
The planned area for the Center. Source: Project for the establishment of the Center
|
In the coming time, in order to continue to effectively implement the 02 special projects assigned by the National Assembly, the Can Tho City People’s Committee determines:
For the Project for dredging and recovery of the An Hai – Can Tho navigation channel, the Can Tho City People’s Committee determines to implement the guidance of the Ministry of Transport in the Official Letter No. 9096/BGTVT-KCHT dated August 17, 2023, on researching the Project for dredging and recovery of the An Hai – Can Tho navigation channel. In addition, taking advantage of the support of the Central government in the work of preparation and appraisal of the Feasibility Study Report and Environmental Impact Assessment of the project.
For the Project for the Linking Center, Production, Processing, and Consumption of Agricultural Products in the Mekong Delta Region in Can Tho. The Can Tho City People’s Committee also determines to continue to take advantage of the support of the Central government in the work of preparing and approving the Project for the establishment of the Center. At the same time, implementing the instructions of the Central government on the operating model of the Center as a basis for further steps such as updating the Land Use Plan, General Construction Planning, investment procedure establishment, and preferential policies for investment projects in the Center.
Dinh Tan Phong – Can Tho City Institute of Economics – Society
