Unable to establish public ownership of assets of BOT Project National Highway 51

There are currently three points of disagreement between the investor and the Vietnam Road Administration regarding the termination of the BOT contract for the expansion of National Highway 51.

It is not yet possible to establish public ownership of the assets of the National Highway 51 BOT Project.

There are currently three points of disagreement between the investor and the Vietnam Road Administration regarding the termination of the BOT contract for the expansion of National Highway 51.

A section of National Highway 51.

The Ministry of Finance has recently sent a letter to the Ministry of Transport responding to the proposal to establish public ownership of the assets of the National Highway 51 expansion project, section Km0+900-Km73+600, in Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces, under the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model (National Highway 51 BOT Project).

According to the Ministry of Finance , the BOT National Highway 51 project currently has several outstanding issues and is continuing to work and negotiate with the investor to resolve them, such as: equity capital preservation fees; the toll collection period for generating profit; and negotiations for early contract termination.

Therefore, the Ministry of Finance stated that there is not yet sufficient basis for it to comment on establishing state ownership of the assets transferred from the investor of the BOT National Highway 51 Project.

"The Ministry of Transport is requested to direct the Vietnam Road Administration and relevant units to definitively resolve the remaining issues of the project in order to terminate the BOT contract for the National Highway 51 BOT project in accordance with the regulations on investment under the public-private partnership method; based on that, an official opinion should be sent to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and comments as prescribed," the Ministry of Finance's official letter stated.

Previously, the Ministry of Transport had sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance requesting that the latter promptly establish public ownership of the assets of the National Highway 51 BOT Project.

The Ministry of Transport stated that the management and maintenance of the main section of National Highway 51 is extremely urgent; at the same time, road transport infrastructure assets are unique assets serving public purposes, people's lives, economic development, and national defense and security... under any circumstances, the State management agency must organize the management and exploitation of these assets to ensure continuous, smooth, and safe traffic.

"Therefore, the Ministry of Transport continues to request the Ministry of Finance to agree on establishing state ownership of assets that have been handed over by project enterprises to the Vietnam Road Administration to support competent state agencies in promptly organizing and implementing the management, maintenance, and exploitation of assets according to regulations," the Ministry of Transport leader proposed.

This is the third time in the past six months that the Ministry of Finance has been asked to establish state ownership of the assets of the BOT project to expand National Highway 51 in Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces.

It is understood that the investor has requested a temporary suspension of project maintenance and the handover of the project assets to the Vietnam Road Administration by the end of January 2023.

By April 19, 2023, the project investor, BVEC, had handed over 72.7 km, including road length and bridge lengths exceeding 25 m, of the section from Km0+900 to Km73+600 of National Highway 51 to the Vietnam Road Administration.

However, the investor has not yet handed over the operator, the toll collection system, and other assets serving the Project. To ensure continuous management, maintenance, and operation of transportation infrastructure assets, guarantee traffic safety, and protect and extend the lifespan of transportation infrastructure assets, the Vietnam Road Administration has received the assets handed over by BVEC to carry out management, maintenance, and preservation of the assets.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/chua-the-xac-lap-quyen-so-huu-toan-dan-tai-san-du-an-bot-quoc-lo-51-d230338.html