Public-private partnership seen from the football field

My Dinh Stadium grass in the match between Vietnam and Malaysia.

At a recent conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh mentioned the story of My Dinh Stadium as well as some other projects such as Thong Nhat Park, and raised the issue of public-private partnership, saying that not only in the field of transportation, but public-private partnership needs to be expanded to the management of parks, headquarters, stadiums, guest houses or some other infrastructure. All levels and sectors need to think broadly.

The story related to the current events of the operation of My Dinh National Stadium as well as other cultural and sports projects can be considered the key to innovation in resource mobilization, management and operation of these types of projects.

The Prime Minister has always made clear his viewpoint that whatever the private sector does well and effectively, the State should let the private sector do. More specifically, the head of the Government also pointed out three models to promote public-private cooperation, namely: Public leadership and private governance; public investment, private management; private investment, public use. These are models that have been proven effective in practice.

Indeed, with My Dinh Stadium, if there is participation of private investors and society, the operation will achieve better results. Looking at countries around the world, most stadiums are assigned by the State to clubs or private individuals to manage and exploit. When granted the right, clubs or private individuals always have a plan to exploit the full capacity of the stadium effectively.

Many opinions say that trusting the private sector and expanding the participation of private enterprises in socio-economic fields is the most effective way to mobilize social resources. Resources that only depend on the budget are always difficult to obtain, private investment has many channels to mobilize and use capital effectively.

Of course, the right to manage and exploit must be bound by legal regulations. The problem is how to harmonize the interests of the State, businesses and people, "harmonizing interests, sharing risks", so that public-private cooperation can be sustainable.

We understand that when investing money, entrepreneurs or businesses always worry about how to best exploit revenue, cover costs and gradually recover capital because "money goes with the gut". But if we only pursue profits and forget about community benefits, private management will go off track. It is necessary to be clear and in harmony with the goal - in the common there is the private, only then will public-private cooperation bear fruit and be sustainable.

Returning to the story of My Dinh Stadium, it is necessary to soon study and implement a cooperation mechanism as suggested by the Prime Minister. A good mechanism will be like bright sunlight, helping the grass of My Dinh Stadium to soon become green again.