Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Hong Truong spoke on the Governmentwebsite chinhphu.vn about work that still needed to be done to complete2,000km of highways by 2020.
Q: Under the transport restructuringproject approved by the Government in January, the country wants tocomplete 2,000km of highways by 2020, five years from now. The need toattract funding outside the State budget remains a challenge. Are youconfident we can meet the deadline?
A: We all know that transportinfrastructure development is a critical component of our plan torevamp the sector. We have made every effort to do so.
Currently,600km of highway has been built. Some of these highways have been putinto operation, such as Noi Bai -Lao Cai, Hanoi-Hai Phong.
We areconfident that we can even surpass the goal of building 2,000km by 2020by 200km. We are implementing many programs and solutions to attractfunding. It's highly feasible.
Q: One of the project's goals isto attract nearly 500 trillion VND (23 billion USD) outside the Statebudget. What kinds of policies have been put into place to make sure thegoal is met?
A: For the past five years, the Ministry hasmobilised nearly 30 trillion VND outside the State budget, mainly todevelop National Highway 1 and National Highway 14, which pass throughthe Central Highlands region.
The ministry must draw funding fromvarious sources: ODA, credit loan from international organizations, andinvestment in the build-operate-transfer (BOT) andpublic-private-partnership (PPP) models.
Regarding the PPP model,the Government has issued Decree 15/2015/ND-CP and Decree 30/2015/ND-CPon investment in the form of PPP and selection of investors toimplement the projects.
Under these decrees, the State cancontribute up to 80 percent of total investment capital for PPP projectsand ensure site clearance. Previously, the State could only contribute20 to 30 percent.
This can become the reason international and domestic investors invest in the development of our infrastructure system.
TheGovernment participates in the investment process, but must also acceptthe risks. I think that's a very important point to keep in mind.
Q:Some experts believe that we need a legal framework to define theresponsibilities of investors, and that not everyone can have the rightto buy Government infrastructure projects. What are your thoughts onthis?
A: Transferring certain infrastructure projects' operationrights to domestic and foreign investors is a new issue. However, it hasbeen done in many countries. This can allow us to raise funds for otherinfrastructure projects.
Currently, many investors want to havethe operation rights transferred to them in the areas of groundtransport, railways, seaports and airports. But I agree that we need tohave a legal framework to avoid monopolies and other problems that couldcrop up when the Government is not in charge of operations.
Wealready provided the Government with regulations we thought should beput into place and introduced investors to the conditions.
Forexample, the Ministry of Transport will provide the investors with aplan to ensure that fees couldn't be raised needlessly. The publicshould not have to worry about investors being able to raise fees at anytime. That condition has to be laid out in the contract between theGovernment and investors. It must follow the economic climate of thetime, as well.-VNA
Q: Under the transport restructuringproject approved by the Government in January, the country wants tocomplete 2,000km of highways by 2020, five years from now. The need toattract funding outside the State budget remains a challenge. Are youconfident we can meet the deadline?
A: We all know that transportinfrastructure development is a critical component of our plan torevamp the sector. We have made every effort to do so.
Currently,600km of highway has been built. Some of these highways have been putinto operation, such as Noi Bai -Lao Cai, Hanoi-Hai Phong.
We areconfident that we can even surpass the goal of building 2,000km by 2020by 200km. We are implementing many programs and solutions to attractfunding. It's highly feasible.
Q: One of the project's goals isto attract nearly 500 trillion VND (23 billion USD) outside the Statebudget. What kinds of policies have been put into place to make sure thegoal is met?
A: For the past five years, the Ministry hasmobilised nearly 30 trillion VND outside the State budget, mainly todevelop National Highway 1 and National Highway 14, which pass throughthe Central Highlands region.
The ministry must draw funding fromvarious sources: ODA, credit loan from international organizations, andinvestment in the build-operate-transfer (BOT) andpublic-private-partnership (PPP) models.
Regarding the PPP model,the Government has issued Decree 15/2015/ND-CP and Decree 30/2015/ND-CPon investment in the form of PPP and selection of investors toimplement the projects.
Under these decrees, the State cancontribute up to 80 percent of total investment capital for PPP projectsand ensure site clearance. Previously, the State could only contribute20 to 30 percent.
This can become the reason international and domestic investors invest in the development of our infrastructure system.
TheGovernment participates in the investment process, but must also acceptthe risks. I think that's a very important point to keep in mind.
Q:Some experts believe that we need a legal framework to define theresponsibilities of investors, and that not everyone can have the rightto buy Government infrastructure projects. What are your thoughts onthis?
A: Transferring certain infrastructure projects' operationrights to domestic and foreign investors is a new issue. However, it hasbeen done in many countries. This can allow us to raise funds for otherinfrastructure projects.
Currently, many investors want to havethe operation rights transferred to them in the areas of groundtransport, railways, seaports and airports. But I agree that we need tohave a legal framework to avoid monopolies and other problems that couldcrop up when the Government is not in charge of operations.
Wealready provided the Government with regulations we thought should beput into place and introduced investors to the conditions.
Forexample, the Ministry of Transport will provide the investors with aplan to ensure that fees couldn't be raised needlessly. The publicshould not have to worry about investors being able to raise fees at anytime. That condition has to be laid out in the contract between theGovernment and investors. It must follow the economic climate of thetime, as well.-VNA
