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

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha were questioned about issues within their fields of responsibility by National Assembly (NA) deputies on November 15.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha answers questions raised by NA deputies. (Credit: NDO)
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha answers questions raised by NA deputies. (Credit: NDO)

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 discharge.

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 as well as the effectiveness of fertilizer production policies.

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

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

Ha responded to matters pertaining to waste treatment at industrial and service 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 included 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 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 queries raised by NA deputies. This Q&A session will also be broadcast live on television and radio.