These are two of the specific mechanisms for investing in road traffic projects (national highways, expressways) that will be presented to the National Assembly and discussed by the Government at the afternoon group of October 27.
Under the Prime Minister's authorization, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung presented the proposal, saying that the Government first proposed to "relax" the ratio of State capital participating in road traffic projects in the form of partnership. Public-private (PPP) up to a maximum of 70% of the total project investment, an increase of 20% compared to current regulations.
Minister Nguyen Chi Dung explained that in fact, some road traffic projects have a large total investment, while transport demand is not high, so they need more State capital to ensure feasibility when calling for investment. . In addition, money for site clearance in some projects accounts for a high proportion of the total investment. If the State capital is low, it will be difficult to be financially effective and not attractive to investors to participate.
Therefore, increasing the proportion of State capital in road traffic PPP projects aims to create motivation for mobilizing private capital, attracting investors and banks to invest capital when the project's financial efficiency is guaranteed. This is also the policy allowed by the National Assembly to apply in Ho Chi Minh City, according to Resolution 98.
In addition, the Government proposes that the Provincial People's Committee have the authority to implement expressway and national highway investment projects using local budget (including capital support from the central government, if any). This policy aims to promote the potential, advantages and responsibilities of local leaders, as well as facilitate planning and infrastructure connection, according to Minister Nguyen Chi Dung.
A section of Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway, passing through Hung Long commune (Binh Chanh district, Ho Chi Minh City), March 2023. Photo: Thanh Tung
For traffic projects through many localities, the Prime Minister considers and decides to assign a provincial People's Committee to be the investment management agency, and use this local budget to support investment capital for other provinces to carry out the project.
Mr. Dung stated that current regulations do not allow localities to decide on investment policies and allocate capital for projects going through other provinces. In reality, many traffic projects pass through many localities, or cross the boundary of two localities by bridge or tunnel. "If each locality invests in half of a bridge or tunnel, it will not be convenient for project management, wasting machinery, time, and investment procedures. Therefore, this policy aims to unify authority and remove obstacles for The traffic project goes through many localities," said the Minister of Planning and Investment.
The next policy proposed by the Government is a special mechanism in mineral mining for common construction materials, in the context of many ongoing projects lacking materials, pushing prices up.
The Government proposes to apply these specific mechanisms and policies until the end of 2025. Each mechanism will be accompanied by a list of specific projects to be applied in localities.
Finally, the Government requested the National Assembly to allow the one-time application of a specific mechanism for projects from the additional revenue of the 2022 central budget. Types of projects expected to apply this policy include state-funded projects. , new construction will start in the period 2021-2025; Locally managed projects are included in the medium-term public investment plan (2021-2025)...
In addition, capital to increase central budget revenue in 2022 will be used to pay site clearance costs (including late payment) of finalized projects.
Examining this content , the Economic Committee agreed on the need for a special mechanism to invest in expressway and national highway projects, but there were also disagreements due to the unclear policy effectiveness. Therefore, this agency requests the Government to supplement and more carefully evaluate the impact of policies and clarify implementation resources.
For each specific mechanism, the Economic Committee agreed to increase the proportion of State capital in PPP traffic projects to a maximum of 70% of the total project investment. But this agency noted that the above policy has not yet completely resolved the difficulties of current PPP transportation projects. Because, recent reality shows that PPP transportation projects have difficulty mobilizing capital due to unstable and frequently changing State mechanisms and policies, but there is no adequate mechanism to protect investors. private.
On the other hand, the shortcomings of previous BOT traffic projects have not yet been completely resolved; The actual vehicle traffic of these projects is much lower than the proposed financial plans, and the increase in service fees under project contracts is slow. This makes banks and investors concerned about investing in PPP transportation projects.
There are suggestions that it is possible to increase the proportion of state capital participating in the project compared to the provisions of the PPP Law but not exceeding the cost of compensation and resettlement support when the State recovers land and does not determine the proportion. Specifically, avoid taking advantage to request higher levels of support from the State
Regarding the allocation of investment rights in road traffic projects to the Provincial People's Committee, according to the Economic Committee, this policy has been applied to a number of projects under the economic recovery program according to Resolution 43. But in reality, implementation also revealed limitations, such as project management boards in localities are not synchronized, in some localities doing well, in some localities facing difficulties, it is easy for the situation to not be completed according to the progress of the localities. Project components.
Therefore, the Economic Committee proposed that the Government add a preliminary assessment of the implementation of this policy during the implementation of Resolution 43 to provide additional grounds to convince National Assembly delegates.
Similarly, the inspection agency requested the Government to review the specific mechanism for projects using capital from the 2022 central budget increase to ensure no spread, loss, waste and compliance with regulations. Law on public investment and budget.
The Economic Committee proposed not to consider the list and specific capital levels for projects and not attach them to the draft Resolution of the National Assembly. The reason is that the projects have not yet had their investment policies approved, so there is no basis to allocate central budget capital. The project list specifically states the capital level from the source of increased central budget revenue, while the National Assembly Standing Committee has not yet considered and decided on the 2022 budget allocation for these projects.
In case it is necessary to have a list attached to the Resolution to clearly identify subjects for pilot application, it is recommended not to specify the capital amount from the increase in central budget revenue in 2022 for each project.
