Government Inspectorate points out 5 shortcomings in BT and BOT projects

The Government Inspectorate has officially announced the conclusion of the inspection of compliance with legal regulations in the implementation of a number of investment projects in the form of build-transfer (BT) contracts and build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts in the fields of transport and environment at the Ministry of Transport.

The conclusion points out the advantages such as: Many BOT and BT projects have been implemented, contributing to solving difficulties in limited state capital, reducing public debt pressure, and significantly improving the service capacity of the national transport infrastructure system. The projects put into operation also contribute to expanding new, effective and suitable methods of managing and exploiting transport infrastructure in line with development trends; traffic participants have more options for safer and more convenient traffic conditions.

Hanoi - Hai Phong Expressway is invested from BOT capital.

Besides the above advantages, the Government Inspector also pointed out 5 shortcomings and violations in the implementation of this type of investment.

Firstly, the regulations on the development and publication of the list of projects calling for investment in the form of public-private partnerships have not been properly implemented; the publication after the approval of the project list, not at the right time in January every year, is not strict and has a negative impact on the results of investor selection.

Second, the decision on investment policy for some projects is still unreasonable in terms of overall balance and planning; approval of some investment contents and total investment is not in accordance with regulations, and there are still some deviations.

Third, the selection of investors, negotiation, signing and supervision of contract implementation by competent state agencies are still not strict; investors have incorrectly established and approved many volumes, norms and unit prices in project estimates.

Fourth, the settlement of project value determination is still unreasonable. Most of the projects that have completed the construction phase and have been put into operation and have collected fees are slow and have not been settled according to the contract time.

Fifth, the results of capital mobilization for BT and BOT projects did not meet the target of diversifying capital sources and economic sectors participating in investment; determining financial plans was inaccurate, especially the plan for collecting traffic fees.

Based on the conclusions of the above shortcomings and violations, the Government Inspectorate recommends that the Prime Minister direct the ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, Construction, and Transport to coordinate in reviewing the legal regulations on investment in the form of public-private partnerships that are still lacking or inconsistent in order to supplement and adjust or submit for supplementation and adjustment according to their authority.

The Government Inspectorate recommends that, based on the inspection conclusion, the Ministry of Transport proactively adjust and remedy all concluded contents under its responsibility; coordinate to comprehensively review project documents and contracts to supplement and adjust in accordance with regulations.

For investors, strictly implement regulations on construction investment, terms of signed project contracts, especially the preparation and approval of designs, estimates, and quality management in construction; overcome and strictly implement the conclusions and recommendations of inspection handling.

According to Hanoi Moi Newspaper