National Assembly considers investment policy for two key highway projects

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh presented the Proposal on investment policy for the Quy Nhon - Pleiku Expressway Construction Investment Project.

Presenting the Government 's proposal on the investment policy for the Quy Nhon - Pleiku Expressway Construction Project, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh emphasized the necessity and investment objectives of the Quy Nhon - Pleiku Expressway Project.

Accordingly, the project aims to form an East-West horizontal axis connecting the Central Highlands with the South Central Coast, connecting the vertical axis system (Eastern North-South Expressway, Western North-South Expressway, Ho Chi Minh Road, Eastern Truong Son Road, National Highway 1, coastal road), effectively promoting the projects that have been and are being invested in, meeting transportation needs.

At the same time, create space and motivation for regional space development with a synchronous and modern technical and social infrastructure system, connecting economic centers and seaports; enhance competitiveness, create linkage motivation, promote cooperation and regional development...

The project starts at National Highway 19B in An Nhon Town, Binh Dinh Province; ends at Ho Chi Minh Road in Pleiku City, Gia Lai Province. The total length is about 125 km; of which the section passing through Binh Dinh Province is about 40 km, and the section passing through Gia Lai Province is about 85 km.

The project passes through An Nhon Town and Tay Son District of Binh Dinh Province; An Khe Town, Dak Po District, Mang Yang District, Dak Doa District and Pleiku City of Gia Lai Province.

The preliminary total investment of the Project is 43,734 billion VND. The proposed capital source is from the state budget from increased revenue and savings in the state budget in 2024, central and local budget sources for the period 2021 - 2025 and the period 2026 - 2030.

Investment preparation and project implementation will begin in 2025 and be completed in 2029. The project will apply a number of specific mechanisms, policies and solutions for implementation.

To soon complete the Quy Nhon - Pleiku expressway, create momentum for socio-economic development, ensure national defense and security, the Government submitted to the National Assembly a decision on the investment policy of the Project.

Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai presented the audit report.

Presenting the appraisal report, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai said that the project meets the criteria for a national important project under the authority of the National Assembly to decide on investment policy as prescribed in Article 8 of the Law on Public Investment. Therefore, the Government's submission to the National Assembly for consideration and decision on the project's investment policy is in accordance with the provisions of law.

Regarding the division of the Project's component projects, the Government proposes to divide the Project into 02 component projects, according to the administrative boundaries of Binh Dinh province and Gia Lai province.

However, implementing the policy of arranging and merging provincial administrative units, it is expected that Binh Dinh province and Gia Lai province will merge into Gia Lai province, at that time the Project will be located entirely within the territory of one province, therefore it is recommended to study the plan to divide the project into components in accordance with the policy of merging provinces, local management capacity, and technical requirements of the Project to ensure the consistency, unity, and effectiveness of the entire Project.

Regarding capital sources and capital balancing ability, the Economic and Financial Committee recommends that the Government, based on the provisions of the current Law on Public Investment, report on the appraisal of capital sources and capital balancing ability of the Project.

Regarding specific mechanisms and policies for implementing the Project, in order to ensure the progress and effectiveness of the Project, it is necessary to allow the application of a number of specific mechanisms and policies. The Government proposes 9 groups of specific mechanisms and policies for the Project, according to which the National Assembly has basically allowed these specific policies to be applied to a number of important national projects in the past, so the Government's proposal is well-founded.

However, some policies have been adjusted compared to similar policies applied to some projects in the past (For example, policy 7 on mining minerals for common construction materials serving the Project. The Government proposed that sub-projects for site clearance be applied the mechanism on material mines, while previous projects only allowed application to main construction items of the project...).

Therefore, it is recommended to clarify the adjustment of some of these policies. At the same time, it is necessary to continue to carefully review the applied mechanisms and policies, ensuring that these mechanisms and policies are feasible and appropriate to the nature and objectives of the Project.

Consider adjusting investment policy for Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Project

The Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Project was decided by the National Assembly on investment policy in Resolution No. 59/2022/QH15 dated June 16, 2022, including investment in about 53.7 km of expressway, design speed of 100 km/h; scale of 4-6 lanes; preliminary total investment of about 17,837 billion VND; divided into 3 component projects.

Regarding investment capital, including: State budget for the period 2021 - 2025 is 14,270 billion VND, of which the central budget is 11,000 billion VND; local budget is 3,270 billion VND (Dong Nai province is 2,600 billion VND and Ba Ria - Vung Tau province is 670 billion VND); central budget for the period 2026 - 2030 is 3,567 billion VND.

The implementation progress is basically completed in 2025 and the entire project is put into synchronous operation in 2026.

Presenting the Proposal on adjusting the investment policy of the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Project, Phase 1, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh said that during the implementation of the Project, a number of factors arose that increased the total investment of the component projects approved by the Ministry of Construction and the People's Committees of Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces, leading to a preliminary increase in the total investment of the Project approved by the National Assembly.

The Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Project was affected by fluctuations in compensation prices in Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau at the time of land acquisition compared to the plan. The project had to add a grade-separated intersection connecting with My Xuan - Ngai Giao Road.

In addition, the construction investment cost will increase due to fluctuations in unit prices of materials, labor, and construction machinery at the time of preparation and approval of technical design documents and construction estimates in 2023 compared to the time of preparation of the investment policy; additional investment in vehicle load inspection stations according to QCVN 66:2024/BGTVT...

The Government proposed that the National Assembly consider and approve increasing the total project investment from VND 17,837 billion to VND 21,551 billion (an increase of VND 3,714 billion). Adjusting capital sources: The state budget for the 2021-2025 period is VND 17,124 billion (an increase of VND 2,854 billion), of which the central budget is VND 12,144 billion, the local budget is VND 4,980 billion (Dong Nai province is VND 2,969 billion and Ba Ria - Vung Tau province is VND 2,011 billion); the central budget for the 2026-2030 period is VND 4,427 billion (an increase of VND 860 billion).

Presenting the review report, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai said that the Economic and Financial Committee basically agreed with the necessity of adjusting the project investment policy for the reasons presented by the Government.

However, the appraisal agency requested to clarify the objective and subjective causes and responsibilities of relevant agencies, organizations and individuals in the lack of thorough preparation of the project investment, leading to increased compensation, support, resettlement and construction investment costs compared to the preliminary total investment approved by the National Assembly for the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway project. The competent agencies should clarify the capital source and the ability to balance capital for the project...

Thu Giang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/quoc-hoi-xem-xet-chu-truong-dau-tu-hai-du-an-duong-bo-cao-toc-trong-diem-102250519095230117.htm