PM asks for quickening Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway project

A section of Trung Luong - My Thuan expressway. (Photo: baodauthau.vn)

The Government Office recently issued the cabinet leader's call at a meeting held this week between permanent government members and stakeholders on unblocking obstacles in carrying out the project under build-operate-transfer (BOT) investment format.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport (MoT), other relevant ministries, the Tien Giang provincial People’s Committee, and investors were required to seek proactive solutions to alleviate the obstacles, in order to speed up the progress and make the expressway open to traffic by 2020.

Part of the state budget will be pumped into deploying the BOT project so as to shorten the duration of payback and toll collection.

PM Phuc agreed to shift the approval of a feasibility report for the project from the MoT to the Tien Giang provincial People’s Committee. Meanwhile, relevant ministries, sectors, and the State Bank of Vietnam were requested to co-operate with the committee in order to step up the progress.

The committee was assigned to guide enterprises on reviewing financial resources in consideration of the state budget, in line with legal regulations on management and use of public assets.

In addition, smooth coordination must take place between the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to map out a state budget scheme for the project before submitting it to the PM prior to March 20.

Enterprises involved in the progress have to put forth overall progress and execution measures for the project which have to receive unanimous support from the provincial committee and the MoT. The overall progress and execution measures must be reported to the government.

The expressway will be an extremely significant bridge connecting the Mekong Delta region to Ho Chi Minh City and other economic hubs across the southern region. The MoT has directed investors and stakeholders to carry out 96 per cent of the site clearance process.

However, the project has been suffering from delayed progress due to difficulties in capital mobilization, amendments to institutional and legislative regulations on the management and use of public assets, public private partnership - related policies, and the capacity of investors.