National Highway 51 still has many problems, and cannot yet establish public ownership.

This is the Ministry of Finance's response to the Ministry of Transport 's proposal to establish public ownership of the assets of the BOT National Highway 51 project.

The National Highway 51 project still faces many obstacles and cannot yet establish public ownership - Photo: HM

Specifically, the Ministry of Finance has just sent a document responding to the Ministry of Transport regarding the proposal to establish public ownership of the assets of the BOT project to expand National Highway 51 through Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces.

The Ministry of Finance stated that, according to the Ministry of Transport, the BOT investment project currently faces some obstacles and is continuing to work and negotiate with the investor to resolve them.

These are the obstacles related to equity preservation fees; the time frame for generating project profits through fee collection; and negotiations for early contract termination.

"Therefore, there are still outstanding issues regarding negotiations to terminate the project contract prematurely."

"To date, the Ministry of Transport has not yet definitively resolved the obstacles of this project as proposed at the end of April," the Ministry of Finance emphasized, affirming that there is insufficient basis to comment on establishing public ownership of assets transferred from the investor of the BOT project for National Highway 51 through the two provinces of Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

Therefore, the Ministry of Finance requests the Ministry of Transport to direct the Vietnam Road Administration and relevant units to definitively resolve the remaining outstanding issues of the project in order to terminate the BOT contract for this project.

Based on that, the Ministry of Transport has submitted its official opinion to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and feedback.

Regarding the remaining issues of this project, according to the Ministry of Transport, Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Development Joint Stock Company proposes to maintain the capital preservation fee at 8.7%/year during the investment and operation phases as stipulated in the project contract.

Furthermore, based on the recommendations of the State Audit Office, the Vietnam Road Administration has removed the 8.7%/year security fee from the project's financial plan. This has resulted in a shortened toll collection period for the BOT National Highway 51.

Since 2019, the two sides have held 19 rounds of negotiations but have yet to reach an agreement. The BOT project on National Highway 51 has suspended toll collection since January 2023.

However, the investor has submitted a written request to temporarily suspend maintenance and hand over assets to the Vietnam Road Administration for a length of 72.7km, including roads and bridges. Items such as the operations building, toll collection system, and other assets serving the project have not yet been handed over.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the management, maintenance, and ensuring traffic safety on the main section of National Highway 51 are extremely urgent tasks.

Therefore, the Ministry of Transport requests the Ministry of Finance to promptly establish public ownership of the assets of the BOT National Highway 51 project, which have been handed over by the investor to the Vietnam Road Administration, in order to promptly organize and implement management, maintenance, and operation.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quoc-lo-51-con-nhieu-vuong-mac-chua-the-xac-lap-so-huu-toan-dan-20241119215611557.htm