Experts say the north-south expressway project worth tens of billions of dollars raises big questions in the context of ‘every locality has one airport’ race.

The requirements on financial capability and experience that contractors must have for the north-south expressway project are out of reach of domestic enterprises.

Fifty-one investors have been selected in the preliminary bidding for seven public-private partnership (PPP) projects for the North-South Expressway.

Tenders for building three sections of the North-South Expressway project have attracted a total of 27 investors, including 18 firms from South Korea and China.

Few Vietnamese companies have participated in projects of VND4-5 trillion (US$172-US$215 million). This means there`s little chance for domestic investors.

The investors selected to develop the North-South Expressway will have to have successfully developed at least one similar project in an overseas market.

The Hanoi-HCM City high speed rail project will benefit the country’s economy, but there are several challenges to implementation of the mega project, including financing, attracting private sector interest and a weak business case.

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has issued documents for international bidding to find investors for 5 out of 8 component projects of the North-South Expressway.

The Eastern North-South expressway project includes 11 sub-projects with total length of 654km running through 13 provinces, of which three will be financed by state budget and eight under the PPP and BOT financing.

Tolls on eight sections being developed under the public-private partnership format for the North-South expressway project are likely to be collected for at least 24 years.

The representative of the Project Management Unit No 2 under MOT said many foreign investors from France, Japan and South Korea have expressed interest in the Highway 45-Nghi Son section of the north-south expressway project.

Only investors from China have shown willingness to implement the north-south high-speed railway, sparking concern among National Assembly’s deputies, according to MOT.

VietNamNet Bridge - Experts have concerns about the fate of the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway if the Hai Phong Port becomes overloaded.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a project on passenger transport quality supervision and safe traffic.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Construction work on eastern section of the North-South Expressway will start next year, and is scheduled to finish by 2021, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) announced yesterday.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The has ordered relevant agencies to quickly complete necessary documents so that the ministry can approve 10 sub-projects that are part of the North-South Expressway in July as scheduled.

The Ministry of Transport has issued a decision calling for public-private partnership (PPP) investment totaling nearly VND104.1 trillion in eight sections of the North-South Expressway in 2017-2020.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The transport ministry should consider the possibility of cost overruns and prepare accordingly as it prepares to build a 654km section of the North-South expressway, 

Do Van Sinh, a permanent member of the NA Committee for Economic Affairs, speaks to online newspaper VietnamNet about the importance of finding workable measures to construct the future North-South expressway.

 The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has decided to adjust its construction plan for the North-South Expressway linking Ha Noi and HCM City due to a funding shortfall.