HCMC – The Ministry of Transport, authorized by the Government, asked the National Assembly on May 14 for approval to change the sources of funding of eight projects for the North-South Expressway from the public-private partnership (PPP) model and, instead, be financed through the State budget.
The eight subprojects include Mai Son-National Highway 45, National Highway 45-Nghi Son, Nghi Son-Dien Chau, Dien Chau-Bai Vot, Nha Trang-Cam Lam, Cam Lam-Vinh Hao, Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet and Phan Thiet-Dau Giay, VnExpress news site reported.
The Government’s report showed that the technical design and estimates of these projects have largely been completed, while over 70% of the site clearance workload was finished.
If these projects are funded through public investments, work on these projects can begin this year and be completed by 2022.
Meanwhile, if these projects continue to be carried out under the PPP format, their investors will face difficulties in raising capital. In a positive scenario, these projects might begin in mid-2021, which would not be enough time to complete the projects on schedule.
After being approved for public investment, the total investment in the eight subprojects of the North-South Expressway will fall from VND118.7 trillion to VND99.5 trillion.
The Government said that the change will boost the disbursement of public investment capital, encourage the production of building materials, and create more jobs for laborers.
When being opened to traffic, these projects will increase the country’s socioeconomic growth in the years to come.
