On the afternoon of November 14, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport held a consultation conference on the pre-feasibility study report of 5 gateway BOT projects according to Resolution 98. The conference was attended by many investors and transport construction enterprises such as Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company, Deo Ca Group, Son Hai Group, etc.

According to Mr. Tran Quang Lam - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, the conference aims to collect opinions from experts and investors, as a basis for completing the pre-feasibility study report and submitting it to competent authorities in the fourth quarter of 2024. According to the plan, the projects will be bid to select investors in the third quarter of 2025.

3 elevated BOT projects

At the conference, the representative of the consulting unit said that the project to expand National Highway 13 (from Binh Trieu Bridge to the border of Binh Duong province) proposed two options: low-speed and high-speed. After the research process, the unit proposed the high-speed viaduct option. The total investment is nearly 20,000 billion VND.

For the project to expand National Highway 1 (from Kinh Duong Vuong Street to the border of Long An province), the consulting unit proposed to choose the low-level option because the construction is simple, the existing road still ensures smooth traffic during the construction process. The total investment is about 15,897 billion VND.

The investment project to build National Highway 22 (from An Suong intersection to Ring Road 3) is about 8.7km long, with a total investment of VND 8,810 billion (including interest). The consulting unit proposed to choose the low-cost option by widening the road surface and building overpasses at intersections because the cost is the lowest among the options.

The North-South axis road project (from Nguyen Van Linh intersection to Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway) has a total length of 8.6km, with a total investment of more than VND 8,483 billion. The consulting unit proposed to choose the elevated option using an offset overpass. The reason for not choosing the low-level option is because it will intersect with many traffic flows, many intersections must be arranged and traffic must be ensured for metro line 4 project along the route.

The BOT project of Binh Tien bridge and road (from Pham Van Chi to Nguyen Van Linh) with a total length of 3.66km, with a total investment of more than 6,863 billion VND, is also proposed to be elevated.

Investors worry about site clearance

According to the consulting unit, the principle of choosing fares for the 5 BOT projects is based on the actual distance traveled, with fee exemptions and reductions for residents living along the project route. The fare level will be flexible according to the principle that the higher the fare for elevated roads... The toll collection period for the projects is 15-20 years.

From the investor's perspective, Mr. Le Quynh Mai, Deputy General Director of Deo Ca Group, suggested that it is necessary to unify the soft criteria of the capital recovery plan for projects of about 20 years, and not to let the project life cycle be longer. Secondly, for transparency and fairness, projects need to collect fees by section (km) instead of by turn.

"In addition, the cost of land for most projects is very high, exceeding 50% of the total investment. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate and separate land clearance into a separate project carried out by a state agency. Because land clearance is always a difficult problem, it is difficult to attract investors," said Mr. Mai.

Sharing the same view on separating compensation for site clearance, Mr. Le Quoc Binh, General Director of Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company, added: In fact, in the past, many BOT projects were stuck in site clearance for a long time, causing great damage to investors. Therefore, the bidding documents need to specify that 90% of site clearance must be handed over before investors can start construction.

"In my opinion, there should be specific sanctions when parties do not fulfill their duties. Currently, the PPP Law does not clearly stipulate who will be responsible for the costs incurred if the State does not fulfill its commitments to investors...", Mr. Binh commented.

Responding to investors, Mr. Tran Quang Lam said that all 5 gateway BOT projects have been separated for site clearance into separate projects. After separating the projects, the city will carry out site clearance.