Infrastructure projects seek investors

Viet Nam is calling for infrastructure investment under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model as funds from the State budget, Government bonds and ODA (Official Development Assistance) capital are insufficient to meet demand.

Dang Huy Dong, deputy minister of Planning and Investment, said Viet Nam hoped to cooperate with Italian businesses to attract capital and exchange work experiences in infrastructure improvement.

Dong spoke at a conference on Viet Nam’s infrastructure development held on Monday in Ha Noi by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in collaboration with the Italian Trade Commission and the Transport Ministry.

The Italian ambassador to Viet Nam, Andrea Peregini, said his country had used the PPP model for several projects that were expected to be profitable in the future.

“Italian businesses are interested in highway projects in Viet Nam because similar projects under the PPP model in Italy had been successful,” he added.

Marco Saladini, Italian trade commissioner in Viet Nam, said more than 5,000 kilometres of highway in Italy were built mainly under the PPP model by large European companies.

Apart from highway projects, Italy has used the PPP model for underground parks as well as electricity and transport-management projects.

Saladini said the Vietnamese Government had implemented an online auction for projects that was more transparent than in the past, creating a more favourable climate for investors.

He added that Italian businesses were committed to creating jobs for local workers at their projects in Viet Nam.

In the 2006-10 period, investment capital for infrastructure development was about VND140 billion (US$28 billion) per year.

However, the need for transport, energy and environmental projects has not yet been met.

Dong said infrastructure improvement was the top priority for Viet Nam because of increased development.

Viet Nam needs to have 3,000-5,000km of highway, 300-400km of metro, and dozens of seaports in the next 10 years.

To meet the demand, Viet Nam needs to attract billions of US dollars to develop infrastructure in the next five to 10 years.

To meet the demand, Viet Nam needs to attract billions of dollars to develop infrastructure in the next five to 10 years.

Viet Nam has used the PPP model to attract more private and foreign-direct invested capital for its projects, including the Ninh Binh-Thanh Hoa Highway and Dau Giay-Phan Thiet Highway. The two highways are expected to be completed by 2014.

Other projects using the PPP model include Highway No.1 Upgrade Project, Ha Noi-Lao Cai Railway, and Phnom Penh-HCM City Highway, according to the Ministry of Transport.

In the near future, Viet Nam will call for more PPP and FDI capital for transport projects, such as Da Nang-Quang Ngai, My Thuan-Can Tho, Noi Bai-Ha Long, Dau Giay-Da Lat, Ben Luc-Long Thanh, the international port in Hai Phong and HCM City-Can Tho Highway. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam Infrastructure