VietNamNet Bridge – Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang has claimed Vietnam will create the best possible conditions for local and foreign firms to invest in build-operate-transfer expressway projects. He spoke to VIR about ambitious plans to have 2,500km of expressways built.

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang

The government wants to see 2,500km of expressways or dual-carriageways built as quickly as possible. What do you think about this?

In the coming time, we’ll focus on building three important north-south expressway lines of which the Highway 1 and the Ho Chi Minh Expressway running through the Central Highland region which will be near completion in 2015, while the remaining sections of the expressway running from Cao Bang province’s Pac Bo area to southernmost Ca Mau province, with two lanes, will also be completed. It is expected that 679km will become operational by late 2015, and 2,500km will be put into use by 2020.

I think a developed country needs expressways. However, to build such a system, we can’t only rely on state funding and government bond-based capital, we have to attract capital from other sources. Attracting capital from enterprises to construct 2,500km of expressways over the next five years will be the next breakthrough for the transport sector.

What will the ministry do to reach this target?

We will continue concentrating on implementing key solutions, including improving policies, legal documents and administrative procedures to create healthy competition, and attract all types of firms into transport infrastructure projects.

The ministry will also attach importance to improving the quality of planning. We’ll additionally make greater efforts to ensure transparency and publicity while working jointly with other ministries, agencies and localities in carrying out the plans.

The ministry will implement the government’s Resolution 11/NQ-CP and the prime minister’s directives on strengthening the management of investment capital sourced from the state budget and government bond issues. These funds will be disbursed transparently in a concentrated fashion, while enhancing responsibility in managing and using capital and official development assistance (ODA).

The transport sector particularly encourages and attracts investments from non-state investors for transport projects under the public-private partnership model. We will also select priority expressway projects for construction in order to make a breakthrough in transport infrastructure construction.

Additionally, we will incorporate technological developments into design, construction, usage and maintenance of road projects with a view to improving project quality and reducing investment costs, while helping protect the environment and dealing with climate change issues.

New investment forms like public-private partnership or the privatisation of these expressways will be needed as there isn’t enough state funding available. What do you think about that?

The ministry would need tens of billions of dollars for constructing its transport projects. However, while the state budget and government bond-based capital is becoming more stretched, and ODA is declining as Vietnam has become a middle-income nation, the ministry will need to diversify its sources of investment by coaxing more private capital. Since 2011, we have successfully attracted VND178.165 trillion ($8.48 billion) including VND137.165 trillion ($6.53 billion) since 2013 for 44 projects. This is three times higher than government funding in the period of before 2012.

It is our viewpoint that development of these expressways must not affect the country’s public debt. All the projects must be designed carefully and implemented effectively.

In order to remove capital-related difficulties and create capital for re-investment, the ministry has ordered its agencies to work out how to transfer these projects as quickly as possible. We are working out how to transfer the Vietnam Expressway Corporation’s five expressways including the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh, Noi Bai-Lao Cai, Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay, Ben Luc-Long Thanh and Danang-Quang Ngai routes.

It is expected that by the second quarter, this scheme will be submitted to the prime minister for consideration.

VIR