Ministry of Transport agrees with the bidding plan for Phan Thiet airport

The Ministry of Transport has just responded to the proposal of the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province on terminating the BOT contract and requesting approval to appoint a replacement investor to implement the Phan Thiet airport project.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province has reported on investing in the Phan Thiet airport project under the BOT form.

The Prime Minister has issued a Decision approving the adjustment of the Air Transport Development Plan for the period up to 2020, with a vision to 2030.

The Minister of Transport also issued a Decision approving the adjustment of the detailed planning of Phan Thiet Airport for the period up to 2020, with a vision to 2030.

Accordingly, Phan Thiet Airport has been adjusted from a level 4C airport to a level 4E airport, with a passenger terminal designed to handle 2 million passengers per year by 2030.

Based on the approved planning, the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province has reported to the Prime Minister to adjust the project investment policy. Currently, the project is being appraised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and consulted with ministries and branches on adjusting the project investment policy.

Because the adjusted project has changed the investment scale and total investment compared to the approved investment project and the opinion of the Appraisal Council, the Prime Minister has issued notices and requests to review the selection of investors to implement the project according to the new scale and current regulations.

Currently, the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province and the investor have reviewed the actual situation of project implementation and the terms of the contract. The parties agreed to sign a written agreement to terminate the contract before the deadline according to the provisions of the contract.

To ensure the termination of the contract before the project deadline as prescribed, the Ministry of Transport requests the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province to review the legal basis, the provisions of the contract, the PPP Law, guiding decrees and relevant laws to resolve, ensure compliance with the order, procedures, rights and obligations of the parties so as not to cause related problems.

In addition, according to the provisions of the PPP Law, the Prime Minister has the duty and authority to decide to terminate or suspend PPP project contracts for projects under the investment policy decision authority of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister.

The project has been approved in principle for investment and construction by the Prime Minister. Therefore, the Ministry of Transport believes that the Binh Thuan Provincial People's Committee's report to the Prime Minister for permission to terminate the contract for the project is appropriate.

Event - Ministry of Transport agrees with the bidding plan for Phan Thiet airport — Perspective of Phan Thiet Airport project.

Regarding the proposal to appoint a replacement investor, according to the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province, Phan Thiet airport is a dual-use airport (shared civil and military use), the military aviation category is being invested in by the Ministry of National Defense and is expected to be put into operation at the end of 2023.

After the Prime Minister approves the adjustment of the project investment policy (from level 4C to 4E) according to the planning, if the procedures for selecting investors are organized according to regulations, the selection of a replacement investor to implement the project will be completed by August 2024 at the earliest, and the civil aviation category is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Thus, it will not ensure synchronous exploitation and operation between military and civil items; affecting security, defense, and military secrets.

"Therefore, the Binh Thuan Provincial People's Committee's report and proposal to the Prime Minister to consider and approve the policy of applying the form of appointing investors is well-founded," the Ministry of Transport commented.

Pursuant to the provisions of the PPP Law, on the basis of the report of the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province, the opinions of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Transport requests the Ministry of Planning and Investment to synthesize and report to the Prime Minister on the application of the form of selecting investors for the project according to regulations.

Previously, the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province had sent a document to the Prime Minister requesting the policy of terminating the contract ahead of schedule for the BOT project to invest in the construction of Phan Thiet airport, civil aviation category with investor Rang Dong Joint Stock Company to select a replacement investor to soon implement the construction and put into operation, use the civil aviation category, synchronized with the military airport categories.

The People's Committee of Binh Thuan province also proposed that the Prime Minister allow the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province to designate a domestic investor with capacity and experience to continue implementing the Phan Thiet Airport BOT Project, civil aviation category under the form of a BOT contract .

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