Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has proposed the government allow it to carry out a VND14.8 trillion ($704 million) transport project under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) instead of using loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The ministry said that Vietnam plans to use loans for the project but the ADB asked the ministry to call co-sponsor for the project because it can not mobilize enough capital for the project. The project aims to build the 64-kilomer Bac Giang-Lang Son expressway and upgrade the Tan Dinh-Lang Son road, a section of National Highway 1. It is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2015 and is slated for completion within three years. The Bac Giang-Lang Son is part of the Hanoi-Lang Son Expressway, which is 146 km and is expected to be completed in 2020. Vietnam needs VND960 trillion for transport infrastructure projects in the 2014-2020 period but it has yet to figure out where to get VND680 trillion of the sum, the MoT said. It is calling for investment from many sources to ease the burden on the state budget. Public-private-partnership (PPP) is considered one of the most important channels to draw investment from the domestic and foreign private sectors to develop the country’s infrastructure. (http://dddn.com.vn [1] Aug 4, Lao Dong – Labor Aug 4 p3)
