My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway project has a length of 23km with a total investment of 4,758 billion VND, the starting point connecting My Thuan Bridge 2. So far, for many reasons, the Ministry of Transport (Transport) have not selected the investors yet although pre-qualification has been held since April 2018. Deploying this expressway will synchronize the route from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho and revive, unlock the development potential of the Mekong Delta.
Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway is being focused on construction, expected to open by the end of 2020. Photo: CTV
The government has drastically directed
Although the country is straining to face the COVID-19 pandemic but with the importance and urgency of the transportation system for the Mekong Delta region, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested the ministries and departments to focus on completing and putting to use the crucial infrastructure works, maximizing design capacity and socio-economic efficiency, including emphasis on My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway Project.
On March 8, the Prime Minister also directly inspected the construction site of Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway Project and directed the Ministry of Transport to promptly report and propose the Prime Minister soon have solution to implement My Thuan - Can Tho expressway project, urgently completing to connect the entire expressway from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho in 2022.
Currently, on the route from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho, besides the section Ho Chi Minh - Trung Luong has been put into operation, the other sections are Trung Luong - My Thuan being deployed, My Thuan 2 bridge and the My Thuan - Can Tho section are only in the process of preparation. Of which, My Thuan 2 Bridge is implemented with ODA loans and My Thuan - Can Tho Project has not yet selected investors.
According to experts and investors, the projects which are implemented under PPP method are currently facing difficulties in mobilizing capital from banks. This is a "bottleneck" which need specific and effective solutions. For example, Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway Project, a transport investment project receiving special attention from the Government, but it was not until recently that it has been approved the syndication loan of 4 banks.
Many experts are also concerned that, if the My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway Project does not have breakthroughs and feasible solutions, the arrangement of capital will have difficulties when the syndicated lending banks carries out the steps of appraisal, negotiation to sign contracts, disbursement,etc. This process will face similar trouble to Trung Luong - My Thuan Expressway Project such as procedural problems, time-prolonging,…and the schedule of My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway Project to connect Ho Chi Minh City to My Thuan hard to go as expected.
“The public investment projects will have many lengthy procedures, affecting the investment efficiency of the entire Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho Expressway. If switching to public investment form, it is important to remedy the shortcoming in disbursement and select capable contractors”, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Tran Chung - Chairman of Vietnam Association of Road System Investors (VARSI) stated.
Proposing to shorten the implementation time to half
Recently, Trung Luong - My Thuan BOT Joint Stock Company has sent a letter to the Prime Minister proposing a solution to implement this project to ensure the connection of Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho route on schedule.
Specifically, according to the company, My Thuan - Can Tho route accross Vinh Long and Dong Thap provinces and connects to the Trung Luong - My Thuan Project. Meanwhile, Trung Luong - My Thuan project has competent state agency is Tien Giang province, has reduced administrative procedures and made the coordination of Tien Giang province and investors running smoothly in the past time.
One of the noteworthy proposals of Trung Luong - My Thuan BOT Joint Stock Company is to "adjust and expand the project scope by adding My Thuan - Can Tho section to the project in which Tien Giang province is the competent state agency. Vinh Long and Dong Thap Provinces will in charge in site clearance in accordance with Clause 1, Article 32 of Decree No. 63/2018 / ND-CP, complying with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 61 of the Construction Law “when affecting because of natural disasters, environmental incidents ... or the occurrence of factors that bring about greater efficiency in terms of finance, socio-economy for the project, the project will be adjusted”. If the section of My Thuan - Can Tho is added in Trung Luong - My Thuan project, the total length of the route will be 74 km (Trung Luong - My Thuan is 51 km long and My Thuan - Can Tho is 23 km long).
Regarding the capital structure for the My Thuan - Can Tho expressway section, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dong - General Director of Trung Luong - My Thuan BOT Joint Stock Company, said that: If the state contributes 50% budget capital equivalent to about 2,400 billion dong, the project enterprise will try to arrange the rest with its partners investors, contractors, mobilize from equity, other legal sources resolving to complete the project in 2021. The proposals of BOT Trung Luong - My Thuan Joint Stock Company is in order to take advantage of available equipments and the smooth coordination of localities and investors will shorten the implement time đơn to 24 months instead of of 41 months as normal plan, completed in 2022, making an important contribution to the creation of new motivation and power for the development of the Mekong Delta.
HONG BAO
