Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the government would mobilize all efforts for the implementation of major transport projects in 2020.

These include the Eastern North-South expressway, Long Thanh International Airport, expansion of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, and feasibility study of North-South express railway project, Phuc said at the opening session of the National Assembly’s 8th plenary meeting on October 21.

For the Eastern North-South expressway project, the government targets to complete three sub-components financed by public investment funds in 2020, while accelerating the procurement process for the eight remaining sub-projects.

“The government would continue to improve legal frameworks for consistent development of transport infrastructure, urban development, creating conditions for private investors participating in projects under the form of public-private partnership (PPP),” Phuc stated.

In a separate report submitted to the National Assembly, the government revealed it would allocate VND111.69 trillion (US$4.77 billion) for the first phase of the construction of Long Thanh International Airport. During this  phase, the work items include a runway, a passenger terminal with handling capacity up to 25 million people and a cargo terminal for 1.2 million tons of goods annually, as well as other facilities.

For the Eastern North-South expressway project, a change in procurement method for eight sub-projects under the form of PPP would cause a three-month delay compared to original plans. The deadline for completion of preliminary evaluation of contractors is scheduled in February 2020 and bidding process is set to start in November 2020.

Meanwhile, Vu Hong Thanh, chairman of the National Assembly’s Economic Committee, mentioned a number of major transport projects suffering delay in implementation, for example the urban railway project in Hanoi, while the quality of others remains questionable.

Thanh said slow progress in addressing issues related to build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects has led to dissatisfaction of the public.

Thanh urged the government to speed up the disbursement rate of public investment funds. “A legal framework for PPP investment activities should be finalized soon to avoid corruption and violations in infrastructure development,” he said.