Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh Expressway Project: Increasing connectivity in the Central Highlands - Southeast region

On the morning of June 17, continuing the 7th Session of the 15th National Assembly, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the "investment policy for the North-South Expressway Construction Project, Western section, Gia Nghia (Dak Nong) - Chon Thanh (Binh Phuoc)". The Minister of Transport explained and clarified a number of issues raised by National Assembly deputies.

Agree with many contents in the draft resolution

At the discussion session, 10 delegates spoke, most of whom agreed on the need to invest in the construction of the North-South Expressway in the West, Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh phase, to gradually complete the expressway network, opening up new development space for localities; strengthening regional connectivity in general and intra-regional connectivity in particular, creating momentum and favorable spillover effects connecting Long Thanh International Airport and Cai Mep Thi Vai Port, serving the socio-economic development of the Central Highlands and Southeast regions, helping to strengthen national defense and security.

Agreeing with many contents in the draft resolution, delegates also proposed reviewing compliance with planning, targets, land use plans, scope, scale of investment phases, division of component projects, etc.

Delegates also gave their opinions on the scale of investment phases, dividing the project into the number of lanes, emergency lanes, curves, and underpasses; carefully assessing factors affecting project implementation progress such as land acquisition, compensation, resettlement arrangements, and material supply for projects to ensure project completion progress; assessing the impact of projects on the implementation of parallel BOT traffic projects; decentralization to localities needs to ensure implementation capacity, clearly defining the authority, responsibility, and coordination mechanism of the Ministry of Transport, ministries, branches, and localities during project implementation...

According to delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap), regarding the scale and investment project, the relevant agencies have been very receptive, in addition to investment from the state budget, it is necessary to use the public-private partnership method according to regulations and apply a special mechanism for this road section. However, according to the report, there are currently 2 existing roads implementing BOT, now continuing to implement according to the BOT method will lead to inadequacies, affecting the 2 existing BOT roads. Therefore, the Government and the Ministry of Transport need to study to ensure fairness and convenience for investment partners.

Delegate Trinh Lam Sinh (An Giang)

Delegate Trinh Lam Sinh (An Giang) requested the Government to further clarify the remaining concerns. Accordingly, there should be a supplementary report on the effectiveness of the construction and completion time of this project by 2026. Along with that, the Government should request the two localities where the project passes through (Dak Nong and Binh Phuoc) to make a strong commitment to hand over the construction site as quickly as possible. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the interests of the two investors who have BOT projects on National Highway 14 and Ho Chi Minh Road.

In addition, when calling for investors to participate in the project under the public-private partnership method, it is necessary to take into account the harmonization of interests as well as reasonable risk sharing of both parties, in which the State needs to create conditions for investors to have an effective capital recovery plan. This is very important because if the project is not attractive enough to attract investors, we have to switch the project to the public investment method, which can cause delays, affect the State budget, and mobilize social contributions to build transport infrastructure works.

In addition, delegates also proposed a preliminary review of the total investment, capital structure, capital allocation capacity, especially the capacity of localities, capital absorption capacity, disbursement period; basis and basis for the feasibility of project investment under the public-private partnership method; financial plan for selecting investors; credit institutions participating in project investment.

Confidence that the project will be completed on schedule

Speaking to explain and report on some of the contents mentioned by the delegates at the meeting, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang said that through summarizing the opinions expressed in groups and in the hall, it can be seen that all National Assembly delegates highly agreed and supported the necessity of implementing this expressway project to promote regional connectivity in the Central Highlands with the Southeast and the Southwest.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang

Regarding the feasibility of investing in the project under the PPP method, the Minister of Transport said that this is a relatively complete project, planned with 6 lanes, and will construct 4 complete lanes, with the state capital supporting participation being 50%. After reaching full load, 2 more lanes will be expanded on this section.

The calculation process shows that this will be a project with a relatively good payback period compared to previous projects, suitable for investors, and highly appreciated by banks. The Minister said that projects often encounter difficulties when the capital mobilized from banks to invest in BOT projects is mainly short-term, medium and long-term, with a maximum of 5 years. With a project with a payback period of about 18 to 20 years like this project, investors will prioritize revenue to repay bank loans, so it will be very suitable and feasible in attracting investors.

Regarding the impact of the project on parallel BOT projects on National Highway 14, the Minister said that when the entire North-South Expressway in the East and some cross-sections are completed, not only the two BOT projects will be affected, but also other projects. This impact has been anticipated by the Government, which has directed the Ministry of Transport to submit a plan to remove and handle the affected BOT projects.

The Minister said that after the Gia Nghia - Chon Thanh expressway project comes into operation, the level of impact on other projects will be calculated to have specific proposals, possibly extending the toll collection period, or supplementing a part of the state budget to support affected projects.

Regarding the project's progress, Minister Nguyen Van Thang said that the project's implementation time is favorable as there is experience in implementing the road system, especially the expressway system. The construction implementation time is calculated based on the experience in constructing the North-South expressway in the East, phase 2. Therefore, the Minister believes that the expected progress is completely feasible and achievable.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/du-an-cao-toc-doan-gia-nghia-chon-thanh-tang-lien-ket-vung-tay-nguyen-dong-nam-bo-152658.html