VietNamNet Bridge – The Ha Noi People's Committee has decided
to halt 24 infrastructure projects being constructed under the
Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and Build-Transfer (BT) models after reviewing all
developments of this kind in the city since last May.
The move follows the Prime
Minister's direction to tighten management and speed up such projects, aiming
to mobilise financial resources from the private sector and minimise land
misuse.
The city will now seek investors
to resume work on the suspended projects, but using a different model. The
current investment in the projects is over VND29 trillion (US$1.4 billion).
The halted projects include
embankment work along the Hong, Duong and Da rivers, worth about VND3 trillion
($144 million) and the development of an incinerator in Dong Anh District worth
VND502 billion ($24 million).
Meanwhile, the committee also
accepted the request to extend the implementation period for 11 other projects
further than the initial timeframe of 2015-20.
Deputy Chairman of the municipal
People's Committee Le Van Hoat said that projects were stopped or postponed
because many investors did not have the financial capacity to continue.
"There are problems in
BOT/BT project management, mostly because of changes to prices of land and
building materials combined with the economic slowdown," he said.
The review of BOT/BT developments
in the city took key criteria into consideration, such as the urgency and
feasibility of the projects, the financial ability of the investors and the
likelihood of successful land acquisitions.
As many as 64 projects reportedly
worth VND178 trillion ($8.5 billion) have been allowed to continue.
Concern over BOT/BT projects has
been rising for some time. The Ministry of Planning and Investment recently
confirmed that inspections had uncovered "traces" of financial
violations at developments including the Yen So waste water treatment factory
project in Hoang Mai District.
Meanwhile, the cost of some constructions
was found to have increased by hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dong on
projects including the new Ha Noi Museum.
Former deputy minister of Natural
Resources and Environment Dang Hung Vo added his concerns that BOT/BT contracts
could pose high risks to the environment due to the waste created.
Under these models, the private
sector spends their own money to build the infrastructure first, before
operating the finished projects for a pre-approved term and then transferring
responsibility to the State.
VietNamNet/VNS
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