Vietnam Govt Okays $7.1M Australia-funded Project to Boost PPP Model

The Vietnamese government has approved a project to develop the public-private-partnership (PPP) model in Vietnam funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). The $7.1 million grant will help the Ministry of Transport select the second investors for Dau Giay-Phan Thiet expressway and support construction of Thanh Hoa-Bai Vot expressway under the PPP model. It also will help complete the legal framework to seek and attract more investors to carry out PPP projects in Vietnam, the Dau Tu newspaper reported on Dec 5. Vietnam needs up to $16 billion for transport infrastructure projects per year but can only afford half of the sum. The PPP format, if successfully applied, will reduce the burden on the state budget.The PPP format, which has been implemented in Vietnam on a trial basis over the past two years, is expected to generate between $70 billion-80 billion for Vietnam in the next 10 years.The country spends 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) on infrastructure development projects annually but its infrastructure remains weak. (Dau Tu – Investment Dec 5 p2)