Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The has said that all of the BOT (build-operate-transfer) sub-projects under the project on building certain sections of the North-South expressway in the east, will be put out to tender without designating contractors.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The speaks at the meeting 

The minister made the statement at the ongoing NA meeting on November 14, which discussed the project on building certain sections of the North-South expressway in the east during the 2017-2010 period. 

Previously, the Government's report on the pre-feasibility study of the project was presented to the NA on November 3.

According to the report, the project has a total length of 654 km and a total investment capital of VND118.7 trillion (US$5.27 billion). It comprises of 11 sub-projects, including eight BOT sub-projects.

Although a majority of the NA deputies agreed that it is necessary to implement the project, others remained concerned with regards to the mobilisation of capital, as well as the selection of contractors.

Deputy Nguyen Ngoc Phuong, from Quang Binh province, recommended that the Government should take into account the long-term efficiency and vision of the project to avoid underutilising the full capacity of the project. 

Meanwhile, the Government must pay attention to the size of land clearance to limit compensation in the future.

Meanwhile, Deputy Hoang Quang Ham, from Phu Tho province, noted that the inspection results of the BOT construction projects pointed out a number of inadequacies, particularly the designation of contractors. 

Therefore, Ham suggested that BOT projects should only apply for the construction of new highways on the basis of careful selection of investors and ensuring the rights of customers.

In response, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said that all eight BOT sub-projects will be put out to tender in order to avoid the inadequacies encountered in recent times.

Minister The noted that the toll fees charged at BOT toll stations will be automatically collected to ensure transparency, convenience and the interests of both investors and people.

The transport minister added that the toll fee was estimated to be VND1,500 per km, per five-seat car, in the first year and the fee will be increased by 12% every three years, with the highest fee at VND3,400 per km per car in the final stage of toll collection.

According to The, the approval of the toll fees will be the basis for investors to consider investment in the project. After being approved by the NA in this working session, the project is scheduled to commence in mid-2019 and be completed in 2021.

Nhan Dan