Unlocking credit funding for the Nam Dinh - Thai Binh section of the expressway project.

The VND 500 trillion investment credit program for infrastructure and digital technology is considered the key to resolving the capital bottleneck for the Ninh Binh - Hai Phong Expressway PPP project, specifically the section passing through the former Nam Dinh and Thai Binh provinces.

Construction of the Ninh Binh - Hai Phong Expressway Investment Project, the section passing through the former Nam Dinh and Thai Binh provinces.

Breaking the deadlock

Exactly 20 days after receiving the Prime Minister's directive, last weekend, the Ministry of Construction sent Official Letter No. 8104/BXD-CĐBVN to the Standing Committee of the Government regarding the removal of difficulties in the financial mechanism for the implementation of the Ninh Binh - Hai Phong Expressway Construction Project, the section passing through the former Nam Dinh and Thai Binh provinces.

Previously, in Official Letter No. 6715/VPCP-KTTH, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed the Ministry of Construction to urgently study GELEXIMCO Group's proposals regarding credit funding for the Project, and report to the Standing Committee of the Government before July 20, 2025.

According to the Ministry of Construction, the Ninh Binh - Hai Phong expressway construction project, specifically the section passing through Nam Dinh and Thai Binh provinces, is a key national project. Accelerating the project's implementation plays a crucial role in promoting socio-economic development, particularly in achieving the economic growth target of 8-8.5% in 2025 and double-digit growth in subsequent years.

According to the plan, the Ninh Binh - Hai Phong expressway connects the Eastern North-South expressway (the section through Ninh Binh) to the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway. The Prime Minister has assigned the People's Committees of Ninh Binh, Hung Yen, and Hai Phong provinces to implement the project synchronously, with a complete 4-lane scale.

  Specifically, the Ninh Binh section, approximately 25 km long, commenced construction on April 19, 2025; the 2 km bridge over the Day River in the former Nam Dinh province is basically completed; the 61 km Nam Dinh - Thai Binh section commenced construction on May 12, 2025; and the 30 km section through Hai Phong is undergoing project adjustments for expansion.

Removing obstacles to accessing credit for the Project requires coordination among relevant ministries, departments, and agencies, especially the People's Committee of Hung Yen province, in its role as the competent state agency.

In Official Letter No. 8104, the Ministry of Construction requested the Standing Committee of the Government to direct the People's Committee of Hung Yen province to continue to uphold its responsibility towards the Project, coordinating and working alongside the investor and project enterprise in negotiations with banks to provide credit for the Project's implementation.

The Ministry of Construction believes that GELEXIMCO Group, as the leading investor in the consortium, should proactively develop a suitable debt repayment plan based on the financial plan in the project contract. This will serve as the basis for negotiating with banks regarding the loan for the project.

“Investors need to study options that prioritize the project's revenue stream (after paying management, operation, and maintenance costs) and mobilize other legitimate sources of capital to pay interest and principal on bank loans. Equity capital and equity profit will be recovered after the principal and interest on bank loans are fully repaid,” recommended Mr. Le Anh Tuan, Deputy Minister of Construction.

Also in the document sent to the Standing Committee of the Government, the Ministry of Construction proposed that the State Bank of Vietnam take the lead, in coordination with ministries, sectors and localities, in urgently developing a list of projects using credit from the Credit Program for Investment in Infrastructure and Digital Technology, especially key national projects (including the Ninh Binh - Hai Phong Expressway Construction Project, the section through Nam Dinh and Thai Binh).

"The Ministry of Construction requests that banks including the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB), Vietcombank, BIDV, VietinBank, and Agribank enhance their sense of responsibility in providing credit for key national projects, coordinate with the People's Committee of Hung Yen province and GELEXIMCO Group, and expedite the appraisal procedures to consider and provide investment credit for the Project," stated Official Letter No. 8104 from the Ministry of Construction.

GELEXIMCO is known to be the leading enterprise in the consortium, selected by the People's Committee of Thai Binh province (now the People's Committee of Hung Yen province) as the investor for the Ninh Binh - Hai Phong expressway construction project, the section passing through Nam Dinh and Thai Binh, under the PPP model, with a total investment of up to VND 19,784.54 billion.

This project commenced on May 12, 2025, and the head of government requested that the timeline be shortened, striving to be at least 6 months ahead of schedule, so that it can be completed in 2026.

In Document No. 1060/CV-GELE sent to the Prime Minister on July 11, 2025, GELEXIMCO Group stated that the investor and project enterprise are very actively directing construction; contractors have also demonstrated their determination by mobilizing machinery, equipment, personnel, and resources, and organizing construction immediately after receiving the land handover from the locality. However, all the above efforts have not yet been recognized by the competent authority because the investor has not yet been granted a performance guarantee for the contract.

Meanwhile, Article 5, "Effectiveness of the Contract," of BOT Contract No. 01/2025/HĐ.BOT-CT08, signed between the People's Committee of Thai Binh Province (formerly) and the consortium of investors, stipulates: "The contract shall be effective from the day immediately following the date on which the performance guarantee certificate has become effective and is duly submitted by the investor or project enterprise to the competent authority."

This means that, to date, more than two months after the commencement date, the validity of BOT Contract No. 01/2025/HĐ.BOT-CT08 has not yet been activated, causing difficulties for the investor, the project enterprise, and the competent state agencies in implementing the next steps of the Ninh Binh - Hai Phong expressway PPP project, the section passing through Nam Dinh and Thai Binh.

GELEXIMCO argues that Appraisal Report No. 8786/BC-HĐTĐLN dated October 23, 2025, which assessed the project as having a large loan amount and a long payback period (25 years and 5 months), as well as the inability to repay the principal in the first 15 years of operation, has created difficulties for the investor in working with credit institutions to request guarantees and arrange loans.

Therefore, in Document No. 1060/CV-GELE, GELEXIMCO Group requested the Prime Minister to consider and direct the competent authorities to find solutions to overcome difficulties and establish a special mechanism for national key projects so that investors can borrow credit from state-owned credit institutions (Vietnam Development Bank - VDB, Vietcombank, BIDV, VietinBank, Agribank), primarily for contract performance guarantees, and subsequently for procedures related to disbursing credit for the project.

GELEXIMCO is committed to using other legitimate financial sources of the Group to supplement debt repayment for loans (especially during the first 15 years of operation) to ensure the financial viability of the Ninh Binh - Hai Phong Expressway PPP Project, the section passing through Nam Dinh and Thai Binh.

"The timely resolution of the aforementioned obstacles also creates a foundation for other highway PPP projects to access credit quickly and conveniently, providing a basis for organizing construction to ensure quality and progress," said Mr. Vu Van Tien, General Director of GELEXIMCO.

Expectations from the 500 trillion VND Program

According to the leaders of the Ministry of Construction, on August 1st, the Ministry held a meeting with representatives from various ministries and agencies, the People's Committee of Hung Yen province, credit banks, and investors to discuss solutions to overcome difficulties in mobilizing credit for the Project.

At the same time, the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam have issued written responses to GELEXIMCO Group's proposal. According to the assessment of these agencies, the project's financial plan is feasible, and the People's Committee of Hung Yen province approved the project and signed a contract with the investor.

The Ministry of Construction assessed that the project, with state capital participation reaching 47.19% of the total investment and applying the revenue-sharing mechanism under the PPP Law; land clearance work reaching 82%; and obstacles regarding material supply sources having been resolved… are favorable conditions to ensure the project is completed on schedule and maximizes investment efficiency.

The Ninh Binh - Hai Phong expressway PPP project, specifically the section passing through the former Nam Dinh and Thai Binh provinces, was approved by the Prime Minister, with the People's Committee of Thai Binh province (now Hung Yen) acting as the competent authority.

The investor is a consortium of GELEXIMCO - Vinaconex - Phuong Thanh - Nam Son - Hoang Cau. The project company is Nam Dinh - Thai Binh Expressway Investment Joint Stock Company.

The project has cleared approximately 50/60.9 km (82%) of land; the central government has allocated 5,700 billion VND for 2025, and the local government has allocated 1,622 billion VND (701 billion VND has been disbursed); the investor has commenced construction on all 14 construction packages.

Regarding credit provision, the Ministry of Construction stated that current legislation grants credit institutions autonomy in considering and granting credit to customers based on an assessment of the feasibility and effectiveness of the project, the customer's ability to repay the debt, and the ability to balance capital sources in each period.

Based on the financial plan outlined in the signed project contract, investors have proactively developed debt repayment plans and negotiated with banks to secure credit loans in accordance with current regulations, without the need for special mechanisms.

Specifically, three projects on the Eastern North-South Expressway (the Dien Chau - Bai Vot, Nha Trang - Cam Lam, and Cam Lam - Vinh Hao sections) and the Dong Dang - Tra Linh Expressway Project, with similar scale and financial plans, have successfully mobilized credit capital.

In addition, according to a report from GELEXIMCO Group, through negotiations, BIDV has committed to mobilizing approximately 2,600/8,880 billion VND to implement the Project.

In Official Letter No. 6705/NHNN-TD sent to GELEXIMCO Group, the State Bank of Vietnam stated that, in implementing the Prime Minister's directive on the credit program for infrastructure and digital technology investment (including key national transportation projects), the bank has now prepared sufficient capital (VND 500,000 billion) for implementation.

“The State Bank of Vietnam has sent a document requesting the Ministry of Construction to identify the subjects, conditions, criteria, and list of projects participating in the Program. If a project falls within the list published by the Ministry of Construction, banks will consider lending in accordance with the policies of the Government and the Prime Minister,” said Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Canh, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/khoi-dong-von-tin-dung-du-an-cao-toc-doan-nam-dinh---thai-binh-d359786.html