Many opinions agree with the regulation allowing localities to invest in and build national highways.

Continuing the program of the 7th Session of the 15th National Assembly, on the morning of May 21, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense and Security Le Tan Toi presented a report explaining, accepting and revising the draft Law on Roads.

Create investment resources and build road infrastructure

Chairman of the National Defense and Security Committee Le Tan Toi said that the draft Road Law submitted to the National Assembly for discussion at the 7th Session has 86 articles (6 articles less than the draft Law submitted by the Government).

The Draft Law has received maximum input from National Assembly deputies, ensuring consistency in the legal system, ensuring feasibility, consistent with the objectives of law-making, and meeting the conditions for reporting to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.

Regarding road infrastructure, some opinions suggested clearly defining the responsibilities of entities in investing, constructing, managing, operating, exploiting, and maintaining road infrastructure.

Many opinions agree with the regulation on decentralization to the provincial People's Committee to invest, construct, manage, operate, exploit, and maintain road infrastructure if resources can be arranged.

Some opinions suggest considering this content to ensure consistency with the provisions of the law on investment, the law on the state budget, etc.

Regarding the proposal to decentralize and allow some localities with the ability to allocate resources to invest in and build national highways and expressways, the National Assembly Standing Committee proposed to stipulate that in cases where localities are able to ensure investment resources, the provincial People's Committee shall propose that the Prime Minister assign the People's Committee to manage that route in accordance with the provisions of law on management and use of public assets.

On that basis, the provincial People's Committee will carry out investment procedures according to regulations. The National Assembly Standing Committee finds that these regulations are consistent with current laws, are not contradictory or overlapping, and ensure feasibility.

Regarding financial resources for investment, construction, management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of road infrastructure and revenue from road infrastructure, the National Assembly Standing Committee has directed amendments to be consistent with the provisions of the State Budget Law.

The revenue sources specified in this clause shall be paid into the state budget for allocation according to regulations.

The National Assembly Standing Committee proposed to keep the regulations on highway toll collection as in the draft submitted by the Government in order to create resources for investment and construction of road infrastructure in the context of difficult state budget.

Regarding expressways, the National Assembly Standing Committee believes that expressways are a technical level of roads, with specific requirements on investment, construction, standards, technical regulations, and management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance activities.

Therefore, the construction of a separate chapter to specify these contents is to ensure the legal basis and feasibility for investment, construction, management, operation, exploitation and maintenance of highways.

Clearly define software to support transport connection

In response to the proposal to consider the regulation that “compensation, support and resettlement work must be carried out according to the planning scale”, Chairman of the National Defense and Security Committee Le Tan Toi said that the National Assembly Standing Committee found that this regulation is suitable for practice, helps save total investment costs, builds highways and facilitates investment activities, builds technical infrastructure of highways.

At the same time, land recovery, compensation and resettlement are decided by the investment policy decision-making authority, must be determined in the investment policy decision in accordance with land law and can only be carried out when there is a project, not when there is only planning but no project has been established.

Regarding the regulations on expanding and upgrading highways, the National Assembly Standing Committee has directed the revision to be consistent with the provisions of the law on construction, the law on public investment, the law on investment under the public-private partnership method... and consistent with reality to create a legal basis to attract financial resources for investment activities to expand and upgrade existing roads into highways or highways invested in on a phased scale.

Many opinions agree with the provisions of the draft Law, especially the provisions on automobile transportation business. Some opinions suggest considering and clarifying the provisions on conditions for automobile transportation business; suggesting defining the provision of connection software services as transportation support services.

The National Assembly Standing Committee revised the provisions in Chapter IV to review and ensure consistency with the provisions of the draft Law on Road Traffic Safety and Order, focusing only on regulations on the management of transport business activities, responsibilities of entities in transport business activities and services supporting road transport activities.

Regarding opinions on automobile transportation business activities and software services supporting automobile transportation connection, the National Assembly Standing Committee emphasized that Article 71 of the draft Law stipulates that the application of software supporting automobile transportation connection is a road transportation support service, not a transportation business activity.

Article 80 of the draft Law specifically regulates software services supporting the connection of automobile transportation. In case the unit providing software to support the connection and participating in one of the following stages: operating vehicles and drivers or deciding on transportation fares to transport passengers and goods on the road for profit purposes, it is considered a transportation business.

This provision is consistent with the law on investment. Therefore, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly proposes that the National Assembly retain this content and revise it to clarify the business of automobile transportation.

Regarding the proposal to regulate that the Road Inspectorate is allowed to stop vehicles for handling, to ensure consistency, avoid overlapping functions and tasks between the Traffic Police force and the Road Inspectorate force, and avoid inconvenience to traffic participants when there are many forces with the authority to handle violations on the road, the draft Law stipulates that the Road Inspectorate performs specialized inspection functions, does not conduct inspections or handle violations on the road, and only handles responsibilities through "static" traffic points and through the database.

Patrolling and handling on the road are carried out by the Traffic Police. The National Assembly Standing Committee proposed that the National Assembly keep it as the draft Law submitted by the Government.