Five pilot policy groups proposed for road infrastructure projects

Hanoi - Pilot policies for the construction of road traffic infrastructure were presented at the National Assembly on Friday, focusing on funding, management and construction materials.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that the development of key expressways such as Ha Noi-Hai Phong-Quang Ninh-Mong Cai, La Son-Tuy Loan and HCM City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay contributed to the country’s socio-economic development.

However, they also revealed shortcomings in the current regulation frameworks, which must be adjusted to utilise resources, accelerate construction progress and public investment disbursement in road transport, he said.

The draft resolution presented by Minister Dung includes five groups of policies, the first stipulating that the state capital in public-private partnerships (PPP) for road transport projects does not exceed 70 per cent of the total project investment.

Regarding national highway and expressway projects running through a locality, the second group of policies stated that the provincial-level People’s Committee capable of allocating funding from the local budget will lead the projects passing through their area. The decision will be approved by the Prime Minister (PM).

If a road project travels through multiple localities, the PM will decide on one provincial-level People’s Committee as the project leader, as per the third policy group.

Regarding investment capital, this province’s budget will also be used to support other localities for the project implementation.

Regarding mineral mining for common construction materials, in the fourth policy group, investors and contractors are required to conduct environmental impact assessments.

They are subject to supervision on mineral mining and use, as well as taxes, fees and environmental protection obligations as per the laws.

They are not required to carry out procedures to obtain the licence for mineral mining for common construction materials as part of the construction material surveys for road infrastructure projects.

The fifth policy group details special mechanisms for projects using increases in the 2022 state budget revenues.

The Government also proposes the principles and criteria for selecting pilot projects, which include a written proposal from the transport ministry and/or the People’s Committee of cities and provinces under the central administration; identified or expected sources of investment for project implementation; and a clear, specific location and project timeline.

The projects proposed must fall under one of the pilot policy groups in the draft resolution.

In case the project uses the local budget, a funding allocation commitment must be issued by the provincial-level People’s Council before authorities approve the projects to which these pilot policies are applicable.

Representing the appraisal unit of the draft, Head of the NA Committee on Economy Vu Hong Thanh recommended that thorough and comprehensive assessments of the policy impacts are necessary, especially in regard to the state budget revenues and expenditures and funding resources for policy implementation.

The committee also agrees on increasing the percentage of state capital in PPP projects, as road projects usually have high costs for land clearance, compensation and resettlement, which discourage foreign investments.

However, Thanh noted that this would not be a radical solution to the current shortcomings.

The Government needed to take comprehensive measures for investment protection to ensure the effectiveness of the policies proposed, he added.

Noting that local project management boards have differences in capacity, the Head of the NA economic committee said that a preliminary implementation evaluation is necessary for the policy group concerning road projects running through various localities.

The NA Committee on Economy also proposed further research and assessment on mineral mining for common construction materials to ensure the project schedule.

While international companies are increasingly interested in Vietnam’s transport infrastructure, there remain barriers to successful market entry.