Maintain investment scenario of Hoa Binh expressway project

The People's Committees of Hoa Binh and Son La provinces both want to continue implementing the phased plan for the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway with a scale of 2 lanes, instead of investing immediately according to the planning scale with 4 standard lanes.

Perspective of a section of the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway project.

Worried about difficulty in raising additional capital

The hesitation can be seen in Report No. 95/BC-UBND recently sent by the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Transport regarding the investment plan for the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Construction Investment Project, section from Km19 to Km53, Hoa Binh province.

This is the content that the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province implemented according to the request of the Prime Minister in Official Dispatch No. 16/CD-TTg on accelerating research and investment in upgrading expressways in operation and being invested in according to a phased scale.

In Report No. 95/BC-UBND, the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province requested the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Transport to allow the province to invest in the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Construction Investment Project, section from Km19 - Km53, in Hoa Binh province according to the phased plan.

In which, phase I (2024 - 2028), investment will be made in 2 lanes, site clearance will be made according to the scale of 4 lanes; phase II (2026 - 2029), investment will be made to complete the expressway according to the plan.

“The People's Committee of Hoa Binh province proposed that the two ministries synthesize and report to the Government to submit to the National Assembly to support Hoa Binh province with a capital of about 9,763 billion VND (preliminary total investment according to the scale of the completed 4-lane expressway is about 19,760 billion VND, capital arranged according to the total investment in the phased phase is 9,997 billion VND) in the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2026 - 2030 to invest in completing the planning of the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway, the section in Hoa Binh province”, Report No. 95/BC-UBND signed by Mr. Quach Tat Liem, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province stated.

It should be added that, according to the Road Network Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, the 188 km long Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway section is planned with a scale of 4 lanes, a roadbed width of 22 m, and investment progress before 2030.

However, the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Project from Km19+000 to Km53, invested by the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province with a length of 34 km, is being implemented in phases. In which, phase I will be built on a scale of 2 lanes, roadbed width of 12 m, equivalent to a level III plain road, design speed of 80 km and site clearance will be carried out according to the planning scale.

With the above investment scale, the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Project, section from Km19 to Km53, phase I has a total investment of 9,997 billion VND from the central budget and Hoa Binh province budget.

“Thus, the proposed content of phase I mentioned in Report No. 95/BC-UBND is also the investment plan for the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Construction Investment Project, section from Km19 - Km53 being implemented by the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province,” commented a leader of the Vietnam Expressway Administration.

Compatible with needs

According to preliminary calculations by the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province, in case of immediate investment according to the planning, the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Construction Investment Project, section from Km19 - Km53, will need about 19,760 billion VND.

In addition to the lack of up to 9,763 billion VND, the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province is concerned that upgrading to a complete expressway scale will change the project group, from a group A project to a national important project, forcing the investor to submit to the National Assembly for decision on the project investment policy according to the decision of the Law on Public Investment.

In order to submit the project to the National Assembly for approval, the investor will have to redo the steps of deciding on the investment policy (including preparing and appraising the Pre-Feasibility Study Report, submitting the decision on the project investment policy, etc.), this regulation will take about 1 year to implement. Meanwhile, the Phase I Project has been approved by the People's Council of Hoa Binh province for investment policy, ensuring conditions for capital allocation.

In addition, the Project has been allocated 4,650 billion VND by the Government and the National Assembly Standing Committee from the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program on the basis of the Resolution approving the province's investment policy.

In case the investment policy must be adjusted, the Project will not be eligible for capital allocation from the Program because in Resolution No. 69/2022/QH15, the National Assembly requested the Government to submit to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration and comments on projects with capital allocation conditions before March 31, 2023.

"Therefore, if the project scale is adjusted, it will be very difficult to meet the National Assembly's regulations on capital disbursement time requirements and the ability to balance local budget capital," the leader of the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province analyzed.

It is known that, along with the above reasons, the People's Committee of Son La province also wants to continue implementing the 2-lane divergence plan, instead of the 4-lane investment plan for the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway Construction Investment Project, the section in Son La province.

“Although the investment plan on a 2-lane scale must continue to invest in phase II to achieve the complete expressway scale according to the plan, it is compatible with the ability to balance the central and local budgets in the Medium-Term Public Investment Plan for the period 2021-2025 determined for this project, and at the same time, it is suitable for the socio-economic development needs of the locality in the period up to 2030”, the leader of the People's Committee of Son La province analyzed.

The Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway project was approved by the Prime Minister for investment under the PPP method in 2019 with a length of 83 km and a total investment of VND 22,294 billion. Due to difficulties in mobilizing social capital to invest in the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway, in April 2021, the People's Committee of Son La province proposed to the Prime Minister to stop implementing the project under the PPP method and divide it into two sections for Hoa Binh and Son La provinces to implement according to the Law on Public Investment.

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