The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Investment believes that the proposed amendments to the draft Law on PPP Investment, if approved, will remove many obstacles for BT projects.
On the afternoon of September 11th, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ministry of Planning and Investment organized a conference to gather feedback on the draft law amending and supplementing several articles of the Planning Law, the Investment Law, the Law on Investment under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) method, and the Bidding Law.
The content that received the most attention from localities was the inclusion in the Draft of the provision to continue applying BT contracts with payment in cash and payment in land funds, with a comprehensive reform of the implementation and payment methods for investors to minimize the shortcomings and obstacles in the implementation of this type of contract, such as: the total investment amount must be accurately determined to avoid inflating the value of the project; investors must be selected through bidding; and the payment mechanism for investors must be specifically and transparently defined from the project planning stage.
 |
| Representatives from the Ministry of Planning and Investment present the new points regarding investment under BT contracts in the draft amendments to the Law on PPP Investment - Photo: Le Toan |
The draft also clarifies the procedures for using public investment funds to pay investors in cases of compensation or early contract termination. It also adds sources of funds to share risks with PPP project enterprises, including: contingency funds from the medium-term and annual public investment plans; and increased annual state budget revenue allocated for development investment expenditures.
The draft also includes regulations aimed at definitively resolving difficulties and obstacles for transitional BOT and BT projects. Specifically, it allows the application of the PPP Law in cases where contracts were signed before the PPP Law came into effect and there are no regulations governing issues arising during project implementation.
At the same time, the Draft also specifies how to handle BT project contracts with content that is inconsistent with the law at the time of signing, based on the conclusions of state inspection and auditing agencies, in order to ensure the complete resolution of transitional BT projects and contribute to unlocking the land resources currently tied up in these projects.
Regarding the regulations outlined in the Draft, Mr. Quach Ngoc Tuan, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Investment, strongly agrees with these contents and believes that if approved by the National Assembly , it will resolve many obstacles currently encountered in the implementation of BT projects.
Because, in reality, Ho Chi Minh City currently has many BT (Build-Transfer) projects that have been stalled for many years without being resolved. Among them, the project to address tidal flooding in Ho Chi Minh City, taking into account climate change factors, Phase I, with an investment of nearly 10,000 billion VND, is particularly noteworthy.
This project is stalled due to the payment of land funds to the investor, leading to a suspension of construction since 2020. The payment issue remains unresolved, preventing the investor from completing the project.
 |
| The project to address tidal flooding in Ho Chi Minh City, taking into account climate change factors, has been halted in Phase I since 2020 due to unpaid land use fees for the Build-Transfer (BT) project. - Photo: TN |
In addition, Ho Chi Minh City also has 2.7 km of Ring Road 2, invested under the BT (Build-Transfer) model, which has been congested since 2027 and has not yet been paid to the investor.
Similarly, the Phan Dinh Phung Stadium project also faced difficulties in paying for the land to the investor. Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee decided to terminate the BT (Build-Transfer) investment model and switch to public investment.
Based on the difficulties that Ho Chi Minh City is facing, Mr. Quach Ngoc Tuan suggested that, for BT contracts paid in land, it should be stipulated that the selection of investors should only take place after the land is available, to avoid situations where an investor is selected but there is no land to pay them.
At the same time, it is necessary to specify the exact time for determining the price of land as a public asset to be used for payment in BT projects. Without clear regulations, investors and the government will have differing opinions, leading to the inability to implement the project.
Furthermore, Mr. Tuan also suggested that during the implementation of BT projects, if project costs increase due to reasons other than the investor's fault, it is necessary to clearly define how these additional costs will be paid, including the type of assets used for payment and the timing of payment.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/sua-luat-dau-tu-ppp-se-thao-go-diem-nghen-cho-du-an-bt-d224694.html
Comment (0)