This was confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung at a meeting to review transport investments in the form of the build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) models in the past five years.
According to the Deputy PM, the public has recently expressed concern over the shortcomings of the BOT and BT projects, such as the high toll rates and unplanned toll stations on national highways. He highlighted the need to ensure transparency, adding that BOT projects are under the management of 10 ministries and agencies.
"To implement a BOT project, Ministry of Planning and Investment has to cooperate with other bodies such as the Ministries of Finance, Justice, Transport and other localities, as well as take into account the project’s social impact", said Nguyen Hong Truong - Deputy Minister of Transport.
A representative of the ministry reported at the meeting that between 2011 and 2015, US$8.33 billion was mobilized in private investments, accounting for 42 per cent of total investment in 62 BOT and BT transport infrastructure projects.
By 2020, the sector will require an additional 45 billion USD, equivalent to 42% of total investments for the sector. However, the State Budget has met 11 per cent of the demand and thus the PPP investment model was a necessary solution.
"The Vietnamese government should work out proper mechanisms so that foreign investors are interested", said Le Quoc Binh - Director General of HCMC Infrastructure Investment JSC.
So far, 26 projects with a total investment of US$3.35 billion have been put into operation. To ensure transparency, the Ministry of Transport has asked these projects to install automatic toll stations and to publicize their revenues and time of tax collections.
"With automatic stations, businesses can save hundreds of million USD each year, including environmental costs, time costs and gasoline expenses", said Pham Quang Dung - Chairman of TASCO.
According to the Ministry of Transport, in the future, the BOT model will only be applied to large-scale projects and highways. Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung also suggested that the Ministry of Transport formulate policies and mechanisms for this investment model.
