Six Major PPP Projects in the works

The Ministry of Transport has forwarded to the Ministry of Planning and Investment six big-ticket infrastructure projects that will be developed in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) format.

The proposed PPP projects are Ninh Binh-Thanh Hoa expressway (VND33 trillion), Nghi Son-Bai Vot thruway (VND23 trillion), Cam Lo-La Son freeway (VND16 trillion), Dau Giay-Lien Khuong superhighway (VND48.3 trillion), Halong-Mong Cai expressway (VND25 trillion) and Long Thanh International Airport.

Nguyen Hoang, head of planning and investment at the ministry, said the country would need hefty amounts of capital between now and 2020 to carry out huge infrastructure projects, especially freeways.

Around US$16 billion is needed for infrastructure development in Vietnam each year while local financing sources are enough to cover half that amount. Build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) are seen as a way out for the financing issue faced by infrastructure projects but the capital recovery problem that has been dogging the already-implemented BOT projects discourages investors.

The transport ministry has also proposed splitting Beltway 3 project into smaller components and assigning them to HCMC, Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Long An which the road passes through. This way can help cope with the financing matter.

Around 49 km of the road will be in HCMC, 11.6 km in Dong Nai, 23.4 km in Binh Duong and 5.4 km in Long An.

HCMC is calling for investors to get involved in some of its infrastructure projects under the PPP, such as Ben Thanh Central Railway Station, and the city’s first tramway. – Saigon Times

Tags: Vietnam PPP projects