Determining investment variables for Nha Trang - Da Lat expressway with capital of 25,058 billion VND

Illustration photo.

The Ministry of Finance has just issued Official Dispatch No. 16996/BTC-PTHT to the Ministry of Construction and the People's Committees of Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces to give opinions on the project to build the Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa) - Da Lat (Lam Dong) expressway under the PPP form.

This project is expected to contribute to forming a horizontal traffic axis connecting the Central Highlands with the South Central Coast; connecting the Dau Giay - Lien Khuong Expressway (CT.27), and at the same time effectively linking with existing vertical axes.

Clarifying investment efficiency

It is known that the document was issued by the Ministry of Finance after at the end of September 2025, Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 4429/UBND-XDND clarifying and explaining the contents of the investment project to build the Nha Trang - Da Lat expressway.

In document No. 4429, Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee proposed the total length of Nha Trang - Da Lat - Lien Khuong route to be about 99 km (14 km longer than the Road Network Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 1454/QD-TTg dated September 1, 2021) and to accelerate investment progress before 2030.

At the same time, Point 4 of Appendix III attached to Decision No. 12/QD-TTg dated January 3, 2025 of the Prime Minister approving the adjustment of the road network planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, stipulates "the specific locations of the starting points, ending points and route directions of the roads determined in the road traffic infrastructure planning".

In Official Dispatch No. 16996, the Ministry of Finance requested the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province to coordinate with the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the People's Committee of Lam Dong province to clearly identify the starting point and the end point of the route, ensuring effective connection with the local traffic system; analyze and evaluate the compliance with technical requirements and the conformity of the route direction with the road traffic infrastructure planning developed by the Ministry of Construction.

Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee was also asked to analyze and clarify the necessity and investment efficiency when proposing to increase the length of the Nha Trang - Lien Khuong Expressway (CT.25) by 14 km compared to the planning of the Nha Trang - Lien Khuong Expressway (CT.25) and accelerate the investment process of the Nha Trang - Da Lat Expressway section of the CT.25 Expressway before 2030; conditions for selecting the implementation of the investment plan under the PPP method for consideration and reporting to the Prime Minister for decision.

Regarding the proposal to assign the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province as the competent authority, the Ministry of Finance said that the determination of the competent authority to implement the PPP project is stipulated in Clause 1, Article 6 and Clause 5, Article 7 of Decree No. 243/2025/ND-CP dated September 11, 2025 of the Government detailing a number of articles of the Law on Investment under the PPP method.

Accordingly, for PPP projects under the management of ministries and central agencies and requiring the use of State capital to participate in the project, the Provincial People's Committee and the sector management ministry shall perform the responsibilities of the competent authority or agree with the Provincial People's Committee to assign the Provincial People's Committee to act as the competent authority (not having to report to the Prime Minister to ask for opinions from the ministries).

However, the Provincial People's Committee must report to the Provincial People's Council before agreeing to assign a locality as the competent authority.

“The People's Committees of Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces are requested to report to the Provincial People's Council to agree on assigning one locality as the competent authority. In case of different opinions, the People's Committees of Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces are requested to consult the Ministry of Construction to agree on assigning one locality as the competent authority, as a basis for implementing the following procedures to ensure compliance with legal regulations,” the dispatch stated.

Consider the State's capital contribution ratio

Regarding the State capital plan to participate in the project, the Ministry of Finance said that according to the latest proposal of the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province, the project requires State capital participation of about VND 16,286 billion (accounting for 65% of the preliminary total investment); of which the central budget capital in the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2026-2030 is VND 15,115 billion; the local budget capital is expected to be arranged at VND 1,171 billion.

The specific proportion of State capital participating in a project will be determined and clarified by the competent authority during the process of preparing, appraising and approving the project investment policy in accordance with the law on PPP, the State budget and relevant legal provisions.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the ability to balance and arrange the State budget for development investment in the 2026-2030 period has not been decided by competent authorities, so there is no basis to assess the ability to balance State capital for the project.

According to a preliminary summary, the demand for public investment capital from the central budget exceeds the ability to balance the central budget for development investment in the 2026-2030 period reported to the National Assembly. In particular, the need to allocate capital is concentrated on national target programs, key projects, and national importance, so the remaining central budget capital to balance for other tasks and projects is difficult.

According to Point 2, Section III of Decision No. 1454/QD-TTg dated September 1, 2021 of the Prime Minister, for investment planning projects after 2030, in case the locality has investment needs to serve socio-economic development and mobilize resources, it shall report to the Prime Minister for approval for earlier investment.

"Therefore, it is recommended that Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces maximize their role and autonomy, focus on prioritizing capital allocation and increasing the proportion of local budget capital, and reduce the proportion of central budget capital participating in projects," the Ministry of Finance stated.

Previously, in October 2024, the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province and the People's Committee of Lam Dong province submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister to invest in the construction of the Nha Trang - Da Lat expressway under the PPP method.

The project has its starting point at Km0+00, intersection with the North-South expressway in the East at Dien Tho commune, Khanh Hoa province; its end point is at Km80+810, Darahoa intersection, Lam Vien - Da Lat ward, Lam Dong province, with a total length of 80.8 km (about 44 km through Khanh Hoa, about 36.8 km through Lam Dong). The route is a one-time investment according to the complete 4-lane expressway planning scale, with a roadbed width of 22-24.75 m.

The total investment of the project is 25,058 billion VND, of which the construction cost is 18,889 billion VND; investment in the form of PPP - BOT contract, with the participation of State support. Investment preparation period 2024-2025; investment implementation period 2026-2028.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/minh-dinh-cac-bien-so-dau-tu-cao-toc-nha-trang---da-lat-von-25058-ty-dong-d426477.html