Industry, environment-related problems heat up Q&A session

Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha were grilled about issues within their remit by National Assembly (NA) deputies on November 15.

The question and answer (Q&A) session was part of the 14th parliament’s ongoing second session.

At the beginning of the morning plenum, head of the NA Standing Committee’s ombudsman board Nguyen Thanh Hai delivered a report on the outcomes of supervising the handling of voters’ opinions sent to the 11th session of the 13th NA.

After that, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh fielded questions raised by 39 deputies, mainly about the settlement of loss-making projects, the reinforcement of the retail market and support to domestically made goods, the control of multi-level marketing, the slow progress of thermal power plants, the examination of hydropower plants and the safety of their water release.

He also replied to queries about policies for trade with China and regional countries, solutions to developing manufacturing mechanics and support industries, policies for developing steel and automobile industries, and the effectiveness of fertilizer production policies.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong also joined Minister Anh in providing further explanations of the problems related to his authority.

In the afternoon, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha took the floor dealing with queries raised by 46 deputies.

Ha responded to matters pertaining to waste treatment at industrial and services providing facilities, craft villages, and residential areas; the punishment of law violators in environmental incidents; and the handling of environmental pollution in rural areas.

Other issues were measures to monitor the waste release and environment-related flaws of Formosa Ha Tinh which caused mass fish deaths in the central region, the management and exploitation of natural resources, solutions and resources for climate change response, the management of environmental protection, and solutions to prolong droughts in the south central provinces and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta.

The Q&A session was broadcast live by the Vietnam Television and the Voice of Vietnam.

On November 16, Minister Ha is scheduled to continue responding to questions. Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha and Minister of Home Affairs Le Vinh Tan later will be the next to reply to NA deputies’ concerns. This Q&A session will also be broadcast live on television and radio.-VNA