Investing in 5 BOT projects in Ho Chi Minh City, businesses want the budget to participate from 50-70%

When investing in 5 BOT projects in Ho Chi Minh City, investors expect the State budget to participate from 50 - 70% to shorten the toll collection time and ensure capital recovery for businesses.

When investing in 5 BOT projects in Ho Chi Minh City, investors expect the State budget to participate from 50 - 70% to shorten the toll collection time and ensure capital recovery for businesses.

On the afternoon of November 14, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport held a conference to consult investors on the Pre-Feasibility Study Report of 5 BOT projects invested under the special mechanism of Resolution 98/2023/QH15.

Informing investors, Mr. Tran Quang Lam, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, said that currently, 5 projects following the special mechanism of Resolution 98 have been approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council.

The city wants to speed up the progress of these projects, so it needs investors' opinions on financial plans to harmonize interests; toll collection plans; procedures for project establishment and approval, selection of BOT investors...

One of the issues that investors are most concerned about at the conference is the capital recovery plan for investors when participating in these BOT projects.

Mr. Le Quoc Binh, General Director of Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company (CII) proposed a mechanism to attract investors to 5 BOT projects - Photo: Le Anh

Mr. Le Quynh Mai, Vice Chairman of Deo Ca Transport Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company, said that these projects need the participation of 50-70% of the State budget capital to shorten the toll collection time and ensure capital recovery for investors.

According to Mr. Mai, the capital recovery plan for 5 BOT projects in Ho Chi Minh City is about 20 years, which is reasonable. The capital recovery period should not be longer because it is not feasible with the financial plan.

Regarding toll collection, the Vice Chairman of Deo Ca said that it is better to collect fees by kilometer instead of by trip, because the toll collection method by trip often leads to disagreements on usage views. "With the current automatic toll collection, there is a complete technical basis to organize toll collection by kilometer, people pay as much as they travel," Mr. Mai proposed.

Regarding the financial plan, Mr. Le Quoc Binh, General Director of Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company (CII), said that when investors participate in a project, they need to carefully consider financial capacity and have an audit report. Investors must demonstrate their capacity and experience in raising capital, at least 50%.

According to Mr. Binh, people often protest against toll collection in BOT projects, so the State agency can change the toll collection plan. If the toll collection plan is changed, the State needs to compensate for this cost to ensure the rights of investors.

Regarding the land clearance part, most investors attending the conference proposed to separate the land clearance into a separate project to be implemented by the state. Because through investing in many BOT projects, the most difficult part is still the land clearance, which makes investors hesitant.

Mr. Le Quoc Binh suggested that construction should only begin when the project has completed 90% of site clearance, to avoid the situation where investors participating in the project have to wait for the site clearance, causing businesses to "bury" capital in the project.

"I think there should be specific sanctions when project participants do not complete their tasks. If there are no clear regulations, who will be responsible for the costs incurred when the project is behind schedule?", Mr. Binh suggested.

List of 5 BOT projects invested under the special mechanism of Resolution 98

To speed up the progress of the 5 BOT projects, Dr. Tran Du Lich, Chairman of the Advisory Council for the implementation of Resolution 98, said that if we want businesses to participate in investment, we cannot let the project's capital recovery cycle exceed 20 years.

He said that with the special mechanism from Resolution 98, the City should calculate a guarantee plan for winning enterprises to issue bonds for road construction. This is a solution to help enterprises reduce financial costs and not depend on bank credit capital.

If the City queues up 5 projects, starts construction in the third quarter of 2026 and waits several years for construction, then when Resolution 98 is reviewed, there will still be no results. "Of these 5 projects, whichever project can be done immediately, shortening the stages, design, construction... then there should be a decision to implement immediately, start construction early, do it early, do it quickly," Mr. Tran Du Lich suggested.

Answering some questions from investors, Mr. Tran Quang Lam, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, said that all 5 BOT projects implemented under the mechanism of Resolution 98 have had the site clearance part separated into a separate project by the City. The site clearance part will be paid for by the City budget, and the investor will carry out the construction part.

Mr. Lam said that after the conference, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport will collect opinions from businesses to complete the pre-feasibility study report with the goal of completing the report by the end of this year, or at the latest early next year. After that, the City will organize the selection of investors in the third or fourth quarter of 2025.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/dau-tu-5-du-an-bot-tai-tphcm-doanh-nghiep-muon-ngan-sach-tham-gia-tu-50-70-d230063.html