After fully updating the inspection and audit findings and adjusting the financial plan, the project has essentially fulfilled its obligation to repay capital and profits to the investor; this is an important basis for proceeding with the cessation of toll collection.
The Rach Mieu Bridge is one of the first BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) projects in the field of road transport in Vietnam. Phase 1 of the project was put into operation on April 2, 2009, with a toll collection period of 13 years and 5 months as per the contract (10 years and 5 months for capital recovery, and 3 years to generate profit for the investor).
In fact, the toll collection process went more smoothly than expected. Revenue from the project increased significantly due to the increased traffic volume, while many cost factors were adjusted downwards following inspection and audit findings; therefore, the actual payback period was significantly shortened.
During the project implementation, the specific terms of the contract changed as follows: the final settlement value decreased by 8%; management and maintenance costs increased by 58%; actual toll revenue from 2009-2016 increased by 24%; revenue from 2017-2019 increased by 119% compared to the original contract and by 28% compared to the contract addendum; and the project budget allocated over 151 billion VND. The toll collection period for phase 1 was reduced by 10 years compared to the original contract, equivalent to 50% of the project's toll collection period; and reduced by 3 years compared to the contract addendum, equivalent to 30% of the project's toll collection period.
Regarding the profit-generating plan for investors, after 11 negotiation sessions, the profit allocated to investors was redefined based on the principle of "expected profit" converted to actual time.
According to the BOT contract signed in 2003 and the 2016 addendum, the investor is entitled to 3 years of toll collection to generate profit after the payback period ends. Based on the expected profit calculation method, after updating actual financial factors and removing irrelevant costs, the toll collection period for generating profit is only 2 years, 4 months, and 2 days, from November 18, 2016 to March 22, 2019, corresponding to a profit of over 338 billion VND, a reduction of 7 months and 29 days compared to the profit generation period stipulated in the contract.
Another factor directly impacting the toll collection period is the update of over 151 billion VND in state budget support for the project in the initial phase. This capital was included in the actual cash flow balance, reducing the amount of capital that the investor must recover through toll stations.
Another factor is the removal of the 4.8%/year "capital preservation fee." The State Audit Office, in Document 336/KTNN-TH of 2017, determined that this fee lacked legal basis and recommended its removal from the financial plan. Simply removing this fee reduced the project's toll collection period by approximately 1 year and 11 months.
After updating the project's financial plan according to the above contents, the toll collection period for capital recovery is expected to end at the end of September 2026. If the financial indicators do not change as projected in the calculated financial plan, the Department of Roads will decide to stop toll collection at the end of September 2026.
Source: https://baophapluat.vn/bot-cau-rach-mieu-hoan-von-som-giam-10-nam-thu-phi.html
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