Many PPP projects in Ho Chi Minh City are unfinished because they are waiting for procedures

At the beginning of May, the construction site of Tan Ky – Tan Quy bridge (Binh Tan district) was silent, not a single person. The corrugated iron fence is about 2 m high, locked, the inside is overgrown with weeds surrounding the concrete blocks, drainage pipes, iron and steel… The main part of the bridge has crossed Tham Luong – Ben Cat canal, many sections The concrete is gray from being exposed to the sun and rain for a long time. On both sides, each branch of the steel bridge is about 3 m wide, built temporarily, every time a car goes back and forth, it vibrates.

Project Tan Ky – Tan Quy bridge started more than 4 years ago under PPP method, BOT contract (build – operate – transfer), invested by Infrastructure Development Investment Joint Stock Company (IDICO-IDI). The bridge is more than 80 m long and the 225 m path is built to replace the old bridge spanning Tham Luong – Ben Cat canal. The project initially had a total investment of more than 312 billion VND, later increased to 668 billion VND due to including interest on loans during the construction period, waiting for the fee to be paid back.

At the end of 2018 – the time the work is expected to be completed, but only 70% of the volume has been reached, and then stalled. In addition to the reason for the delay in site clearance, the State Audit concluded that the BOT project was not suitable. Resolution 437 Congressional. This resolution only allows the BOT form to invest in new roads to ensure the right of people to choose, not to invest in upgrading projects or existing monorails. The audit agency suggested Ho Chi Minh City check and handle to ensure fairness for people to pay fees.

However, the problem solving to get the project back on track is at an impasse. The city has no precedent for transferring projects from PPP to public investment and stopping the BOT contract ahead of time but has not been given specific instructions. Currently, the construction is “covered with blankets”, which not only causes waste, but also affects travel and pollution, because many surrounding points are used to collect garbage.

Similarly, at project Binh Trieu 2 road bridge (phase two), a BOT contract between Ho Chi Minh City and the City Technical Infrastructure Investment Corporation (CII) signed in 2018, with a total capital of nearly 2,300 billion VND. Due to working on the existing road, the project also had to stop and wait for the change of investment form. The project includes upgrading some roads around Mien Dong bus station (Binh Thanh district), expanding Ong Dau bridge on National Highway 13 (Thu Duc city), etc. In which, CII has completed Ong Dau bridge branch and pay a part of compensation for clearing Ung Van Khiem street.

Recently, this business has worked with the city’s departments and agencies, but the settlement has not been completed. According to Ms. Nguyen Mai Bao Tram, Deputy General Director of CII, the project delay not only investors but also the city suffers. “Owner capital spent by the business lies waiting, has not been recovered, while the bank loan generates interest every day the city has to bear”, Ms. Tram said and hopes the city will soon solve problems for businesses. early capital recovery.

Not only BOT projects, many BT (build – transfer) projects that are in progress in the city are also facing difficulties when they have to adjust investment policies, adjust projects to suit reality or comply with regulations. conclusions of inspection and auditing agencies. Typically, the road project connecting Pham Van Dong to the Go Dua intersection (Thu Duc city) with a total investment of more than 2,700 billion VND is stalled after 5 years of construction.

As one of the passages in Belt 2, the project has been implemented since the end of 2017, but by March 2020, it had to be halted when it reached nearly 44% of the volume. At the end of 2021, the interest arising at the project is calculated at more than 230 billion VND after the pause, the city will have to pay.

One of the reasons for the project’s delay, according to the investor, is waiting for the signing of the contract appendix, adjustment of the implementation time, valuation of the land plots for payment, etc. Previously, the investor said that he had spent about 1,400 billion VND for site clearance and construction at the project.

Mr. Luong Minh Phuc, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board, said that the city has assigned relevant departments to negotiate with investors for two projects of Tan Ky – Tan Quy and Tan Ky bridges. Binh Trieu Bridge and Road to terminate the contract. However, in addition to the procedures that have not been specifically guided, the settlement process is also time-consuming, because it is necessary to clearly determine the costs that the investor has spent in the project before proceeding with the payment and settlement procedures. maths.

“This is being completed by the city this year to restart projects,” he said.

Deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Investment Tran Anh Tuan also said that according to the guidance of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the competent state agency at the project will be able to decide related issues, including: including premature termination of the contract. However, the order of procedures and implementation steps have not been detailed, so the city still has to wait.

To remove obstacles for signed PPP projects, recently Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai proposed the National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee to supplement specific regulations and guidelines such as allowing the use of budget capital to pay investors for the work that has been done and continue to deploy the remaining volume, the work will be completed soon…

Meanwhile, for key PPP projects that are preparing for investment, the City Council has approved capital sources to carry out pre-feasibility studies, plan to call for investment… In which, projects Projects will be prioritized by the city such as Thu Thiem 4, Can Gio, Nguyen Khoai and Binh Tien streets…

As for BT projects that are still in progress, the city has set up its own working group to update the situation weekly, thereby removing obstacles for investors to accelerate completion.

Gia minh