Public-private partnership: New impetus for investment restructuring

The public-private partnership (PPP) model and the policy of promoting privatization of public investment are being strongly and extensively implemented in many strategic infrastructure projects, from transportation, energy, to smart cities. This demonstrates a shift in development thinking - from a model of full State investment to a model of co-creation between the public and private sectors; in which the Government plays the role of "creating - leading", and private enterprises become "engines of implementation and innovation".

Báo Tin Tức•02/12/2025

Photo caption — The 63.26 km Tien Yen - Mong Cai Expressway is under the public-private partnership (PPP) form, BOT contract, with a total investment of more than VND9,110 billion. Photo (illustrative): Huy Hung/VNA

Ms. Nguyen Thi Linh Giang, Chief of the Public-Private Partnership Office, Bidding Management Department, Ministry of Finance , said that the current legal system for the PPP model is relatively complete, creating a transparent and favorable corridor for investors.

“From the PPP Law to the guiding Decrees, everything has been amended and supplemented to suit the reality. The investment sector has been expanded, the minimum scale has been removed; the investor selection process has been simplified; and the proportion of state capital in PPP projects has been increased to increase their attractiveness to the private sector,” said Ms. Giang.

In addition, the mechanism for sharing the increase and decrease in revenue between the State and investors is also an important progress, helping both sides share risks and ensure the harmony of interests. The new regulations also allow for the addition of BT (build-transfer) projects, as well as clearly stipulate the handling of contracts that terminate early, thereby increasing the feasibility and legal safety of the projects.

With these innovations, the PPP model not only helps mobilize non-budgetary capital, but also contributes to renewing public investment thinking, when the State plays a guiding role, while the private sector takes on more flexible implementation and operation; at the same time, it also creates new values, contributing to promoting sustainable growth.

The recent infrastructure development story in An Giang is a concrete demonstration of the effectiveness of the PPP model. The People's Council of An Giang province has just passed a Resolution on the investment policy for the APEC 2027 Conference Center project under the PPP method.

The center is built in Phu Quoc special economic zone, An Giang province with a land use area of over 16 hectares, total investment of about 21,860 billion VND. The center includes the following items: Conference and exhibition center with 3 floors above ground, 1 basement with about 6,500 seats; multi-purpose theater with 6 floors above ground and 1 basement with about 4,000 seats; green park of 50,720 m2; other technical and auxiliary infrastructure works... Construction progress from the 4th quarter of 2025 to the 2nd quarter of 2027.

Chairman of the People's Council of An Giang province Nguyen Thanh Nhan said that the project to build the APEC Conference Center is invested under the PPP method - BT contract form. This is a suitable and advantageous form, reducing the financial burden for the State in the context of needing to invest simultaneously and synchronously in many projects in Phu Quoc to serve the APEC Conference 2027 as well as other key projects nationwide.

With the An Giang model, this PPP cooperation method will increase the efficiency of social resource allocation, when private capital is unleashed, reducing the burden on the state budget and shortening public investment progress; at the same time, competition mechanisms, transparent governance and risk management are significantly improved in key projects.

Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, said that private investment in areas that previously only had State participation shows that the economic picture has clearly changed. Domestic enterprises are no longer hesitant but are playing an increasingly large role in strategic projects with long-term vision. "Using the PPP model in a series of key projects not only solves the problem of public investment budget deficit, but also helps increase transparency, efficiency and operational capacity of the projects after completion," said Dr. Tran Dinh Thien.

Mr. Pham Thy Hung, Deputy Director of the Bidding Management Department, Ministry of Finance also said that in addition to cooperation in strategic infrastructure projects, transportation, energy... Decree 180/2025/ND-CP regulating the mechanism and policy of public-private partnership (PPP) in the field of science and technology development, innovation and digital transformation (Decree 180/2025/ND-CP) recently issued has also opened up a public-private partnership mechanism in the field of science and technology.

Accordingly, private investors can directly participate in projects to build digital infrastructure, develop strategic technologies or commercialize scientific research results. This is a big step forward, encouraging the private sector to invest in innovation.

“PPP in the field of innovation not only mobilizes capital, but also takes advantage of the operational capacity and creative thinking of enterprises. The State guides, and enterprises implement flexibly - this is the combination that creates real value,” Mr. Hung commented.

To make the PPP cooperation model operate more effectively, the Ministry of Finance has recently issued Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC stipulating the bidding documents for selecting investors to implement projects under the PPP method and business investment projects.

Accordingly, Circular No. 98/2025/TT-BTC details the preparation of interest surveys, bidding documents, and request documents for PPP projects; the preparation of notices of interest, invitations to express interest, bidding documents, and request documents for business investment projects. These regulations apply to both projects implemented under the simplified investor appointment process and special cases according to the law.

The PPP model is gradually proving its role as a “lever” to help Vietnam develop modern infrastructure, while promoting innovation and digital transformation. The public-private partnership model not only brings new resources to infrastructure but also creates a spillover effect on modern economic management and operation methods...

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