Many large enterprises apply for high-speed investment

Vingroup will consider the investment in Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh expressway, Deo Ca Group will invest in Dong Dang - Tra Linh and Huu Nghi - Chi Lang expressway.

The Ministry of Transport has just provided Vingroup and Techcombank with approval to prepare a pre-feasibility report for the North-South West expressway construction investment project, section Gia Nghia (Dak Nong) - Chon Thanh (Binh Phuoc) under PPP method. The consortium shall submit the project report by August 31.

Both Vingroup and Techcombank are valuated to have financial potential,  investment management experience, open a great opportunity to soon carry out the North-South West Expressway, connecting the Central Highlands to the gateway of the Southeast region.

After preparing the pre-feasibility report, appraising and approving the feasibility study report, the bidding to select the project investor will be carried out by the Ministry of Transport in accordance with the Law on Bidding and the Law on PPP. The above consortium will participate in bidding to select the project investor if any necessary.

According to the planning, Dak Nong - Binh Phuoc expressway is 212 km long, of which the section passing through Dak Nong province is about 110 km, the section passing through Binh Phuoc is 102 km, with the scale of 4-6 lanes, a design speed of 80-100 km/h. 

Because the topographical condition crossing Dak Nong is broken and the traffic flow is not much, the parties agreed to study the section through Dak Nong with a scale of 4 lanes, of which the roadbed is 24 m wide, the road surface is 15 m wide, the median strip is 2.2 m, and the curb is 7.5 m.

To the North, Dong Dang (Lang Son) - Tra Linh (Cao Bang) and Huu Nghi - Chi Lang (Lang Son) expressway investment has been proposed by the leading consortium, Deo Ca Group Joint Stock Company. 

The consortium also includes Phu My Group, Thanh Loi Construction Investment and Trading Company and Van Phu Investment Joint Stock Company. The parties undertake to raise funds of VND 2,685 billion to implement the project.

Dong Dang - Tra Linh expressway is more than 115 km long, passing through high terrain, many valleys with complex geology, total investment of the first phase is expected to be VND 13,180 billion. As a highland province bordered by China, the traffic flow of the roads to Cao Bang is low, so the expressway project has not attracted any investor for many years.

Huu Nghi - Chi Lang Expressway is 43 km long, the total investment of the first phase is expected to be VND 7,609 billion. This project has been delayed since 2018 because the investor could not arrange credit funds, the expressway has not been connected from Chi Lang to Huu Nghi border gate.

In May, Cienco6 - Coteccons - Thuan Viet Construction - Trading Company Limited and Tan Thanh Holdings Investment Joint Stock Company have also applied for investment in Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway under PPP method.

This consortium undertakes to raise more funds, of which 40% is contributed by the members of the consortium, the balance is from banks and partners.

Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway is valuated to be able to get the feedback, it is an important road connecting directly with Cai Mep - Thi Vai seaport clusters, Long Thanh airport, the Southern key economic region and the southern region's expressway, should be completed soon.

This project’s feasibility report with a total investment of the first phase of VND 17,830 billion has been approved by the Government. However, according to the latest proposal of the Government to the National Assembly, this project is invested with the state budget and will be completed in 2025.

The Ministry of Transport said that if bidding to select the investor in the form of PPP is carried out, it will be impossible to start the project until March 2024 and the project will be basically completed by 2026. Public investment in Bien Hoa - Vung Tau project to ensure the project to be on schedule, in order to synchronously operate the North-South expressway to the East (coordinates 12.6 km with Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway), passenger and cargo clearance for Long Thanh airport will be completed in 2025.

From the expert point of view, Mr. Tran Chung, Chairperson of the Association of Traffic Construction Investors said that many enterprises want to invest or research the expressway projects is a good sign after the projects have not attracted investors for a long time. In the period of 2017-2020, only 3 out of 8 North-South expressway projects implemented by the Ministry of Transport receive the investors engaging in the form of PPP.

Said Mr. Chung, the current PPP Law has specified the basic rights and obligations of the parties, there is still a bottleneck such as the state's funds contribution not more than 50% of the total project investment. This regulation will not encourage the investors for the infrastructure projects in the remote areas because of low traffic flow and less funds recovery. These projects are required to increase the support rate from the state budget.

Moreover, many investors are also concerned about the risk-sharing mechanism when revenue is low. The state and local authority should undertake to disburse the fund on time and clearing the site on schedule.

Mr. Chung emphasized, the new road brings a lot of benefits to the locality, forming urban areas, industrial parks, and logistics chains, so many investors accompany with the locality to contribute funds for infrastructure investment, remove the dependence on bank credit funds.

Source : VnExpress