Based on which basis that Deputy Minister of Transport Ministry Nguyen Nhat said that only Chinese investors were interest in BOT North – South highway project; domestic investors were not qualified?
Expressed in session of National Assembly’s Economics Committee on April 27th, Deputy Minister of Transport Ministry (GTVT) Nguyen Nhat said: “The difficulty of 8 BOT projects currently is domestic private investors are not qualified to participate according to requirements, foreign investors did not show interest, only Chinese investors seemed to show interest …”?
Was it the truth that domestic private investors were not qualified?
In prequalification profile to find investors for North – South highway project (It was expected to be publicized on May 2019), Transport Ministry had built financial qualification score of investors, taking 60% of total score (Equivalent to 60 points), Experience qualification score of investor taking 30% of total score (30 points) and implementation method of investor taking 10% of total score (10 points). This regulation was built to eliminate investors with weak financial qualification.
Without a closer look it is not wrong. However, it is not true at all (Taking Trung Luong – My Thuan highway project (TL – MT) is in stagnant for all this time as an example)!
Firstly, anyone doing business had to depend on bank, domestic, foreign support or any enterprises. 20 requirements to loan of the bank currently were really difficult.
In TL – MT Highway project, joint venture of sponsoring banks had requested such requirements that were described by investors as “eliminating”, such as: investor had to hold reciprocal capital 30% (approximately 3,000 billion VND for this project values nearly 10,000 billion VND). A monetary amount, which was too “tremendous”. However, in reality, even though investors had contributed 2,000 billion VND, the banks were still stayed silent, and held their money tightly (it was the reason TL – MT project had died clinically more than a year) many other transport BOT projects were also “choked” for the same reason.
In addition to that, the project’s value is nearly 10,000 billion VND, input VAT amount taking 10%, sponsoring bank did not loan and investors were forced to … find financial source themselves. Why was this absurd issue existing? It was unexplainable!
There was another absurd issue that keeping the banks absolutely safe but create difficult for investors: given loans, when adverse occurred in project (!?) Sponsoring capital for the project, meaning to be in the same boat; if difficulties arise, we were supposed to jointly resolve, who can turn their back like that!
And moreover, this was also provision worth to be considered: investors shall take responsibility if costs occurred. If applied this provision, it should be applied immediately to Chinese investors in Cat Linh – Ha Dong overhead road project (Cat Linh – Ha Dong overhead railroad route’s length was 13.035 km; total initial investment amount of the project was 552 million USD – equivalent to 8,770 billion VND, and increasing to 891.92 million USD – equivalent to 18,792 billion VND; after 2 years behind the schedule, it was inflated to 339.1 million USD more – equivalent to 7,000 billion VND, inflated nearly 40%).
If domestic investors hardly qualified to participate North – South highway project and “only Chinese investors show interest” is too vague, baseless. Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong, Long Thanh – Dau Giay, Bac Giang – Lang Son, Ha Long – Van Don highway, …; modern road tunnels such as Deo Ca, Cu Mong and currently Hai Van 2 tunnel, who is it, if not Vietnamese as investors, organizing construction?
Not only that, construction investor of Deo Ca tunnel (Deo Ca Investment Joint Stock Company) was also exceeded schedule, reduced total investment amount from 15.600 billion VND to below 12.000 billion VND, thanked to that making a surplus nearly 4,000 billion VND to continue Cu Mong tunnel for our people to have a safe tunnel for transporting. Was there any public investor or Chinese contractor accomplish this achievement, not only it was behind the schedule and inflated cost to nearly trillions of VND, taking Cat Linh – Ha Dong railroad as an example?
Taking a single, simple example to see, domestic private investors were not completely unable to be qualified to implement North – South highway. They were only put in difficult situation, bound by strict, disadvantaged, and of course unfair regulations in game set by home unit but put home team in a difficult situation.
Frankly, Vietnam BOT transport investors were not really weak, perhaps, we had bound ourselves with our own rope!
According to DANG PHUONG/NLD
