Leaders of the Ha Noi Exchange Board and the State Treasury follow a government bond auction. The Standing Committee of the National Assembly has approved an additional allocation of Government bonds for the 2014-16 period. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuan Anh

HA NOI — The Standing Committee of the National Assembly approved the extra allocation of government bonds for the 2014-16 period, prioritising projects nearing completion, urgent projects, and projects greatly affecting socio-economic development.

At the meeting yesterday morning, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said priority would be assigned to projects that had suffered capital shortage of less than VND100 billion (US$4.7 million) and to urgent irrigation, traffic and healthcare projects.

The supplement of capital will help add 4,000 kilometres of road, 115 kilometres of railway tracks and 429,000 hectares covered by an irrigation system once these projects are completed, Vinh stated.

According to the government's proposal, VND66.72 trillion ($3.17 billion) will be allocated to incomplete projects, meeting 43 per cent of the demand for additional capital from government bonds, and VND6.6 trillion ($314 million) will be allocated to the construction project to aid the flow of large-tonnage vessels across Hau River (the Hau River project) in the Mekong Delta.

Another key project is phase two of the border patrol road, which is supposed to receive a sum of VND1 trillion ($47.61 million) from government bonds.

Several members of the committee, however, noted at the meeting that the border patrol road being managed by the Ministry of Defence should receive more capital to accelerate progress because it was an extremely important and urgent project.

After some discussion, Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan concluded that a sum of VND500 billion ($23.8 million) should be withdrawn from the Hau River project and transferred to the border patrol road project.

In November, the National Assembly approved a resolution on the additional issuance and allocation of government bonds in the 2014-16 period for a total amount of VND170 trillion ($8billion).

During the morning session, the committee also discussed the amended draft of the law on bankruptcy. Most of the committee's members stated the procedure for filing bankruptcy and recovery must be clarified within the law.

The Standing Committee also urged the National Assembly's Economics Committee to complete the draft and petition the National Assembly for approval.

The 24th three-day session of the National Assembly Standing Committee closed yesterday. — VNS