Proposal to expand Ho Chi Minh City expressway

Research on options for investors to pay land acquisition and clearance costs

The Ministry of Transport has just sent an official dispatch to the Government Office to seek comments on the investment plan to expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh section of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway project.

A section of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh expressway.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport agreed that the investment scope proposed by the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises and VEC is from the Ring Road 2 intersection to the intersection with Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway (from Km 4+000 to Km 25+920).

The Ministry of Transport also agreed on the investment scale proposed by the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises and VEC: the section from Ring Road 2 to Ring Road 3 has a scale of 8 lanes; the section from Ring Road 3 to the intersection with Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway has a scale of 10 lanes, the new Long Thanh Bridge has the same scale as the current bridge.

"The investment scale proposed above is consistent with the approved road network planning," the Ministry of Transport commented.

Regarding the form of investment, the Ministry of Transport supports the plan for VEC to mobilize 100% of capital to carry out expansion investment and organize operations, collect tolls to recover capital for the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh section according to the Investment Law as appropriate.

In particular, the proposal to use the central budget/local budget to carry out site clearance is not in accordance with the Investment Law (investors must pay site clearance costs).

"In case of using State budget capital for site clearance, the project will have to follow procedures according to the Law on Public Investment and will encounter many difficulties. The State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises and VEC need to study the use of VEC's mobilized capital to carry out site clearance," the Ministry of Transport proposed.

Regarding the financial mechanism for the expansion of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh Expressway, the Ministry of Transport believes that it is necessary to consider and allow VEC to defer and postpone the payment of principal and interest of the project bonds that the Ministry of Finance has paid, as proposed by the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises.

In addition, to mobilize commercial loans of VND9,400 billion, VEC needs to soon complete procedures to submit to competent authorities for consideration and decision to increase charter capital accordingly.

Considering that in the context that the Ministry of Transport's public investment capital for the 2021-2025 period no longer exists, if the public investment capital for the 2026-2030 period is used for investment, it will be impossible to complete the project to meet the exploitation schedule of Long Thanh International Airport, the Ministry of Transport also supports the investment plan to expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh section proposed by the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises.

Nearly 15,000 billion VND invested in expansion

Previously, the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises (Capital Management Committee) reported to the Government leaders on the investment plan to expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh section of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway project.

According to the proposed plan, the project scope will expand the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh section over a total length of nearly 22km.

Starting point at Km 4+000 (Ring Road 2 intersection) in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City.

End point at Km 25+920 (Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway intersection) in Long Thanh district, Dong Nai province.

In terms of scale, the section from Ring Road 2 intersection to Ring Road 3 intersection (Km 4+00 to Km 8+770) is invested with 8 lanes according to the plan.

The section from the Ring Road 3 intersection to the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau expressway intersection (Km 8+770 to Km 25+920) will invest in 10 lanes according to the plan.

Long Thanh Bridge invests in building a new bridge unit with a scale similar to the current bridge, organizing traffic exploitation with a scale of 10 lanes (no emergency lanes are arranged in advance, combined with traffic organization on each side with 5 lanes, 3.5m wide).

With the above plan, the total investment of the project is about more than 14,955 billion VND (including interest during construction period).

Of which, equity is more than 5,555 billion VND (37%), commercial loan is 9,400 billion VND (63%).

Ensure resources for project implementation, proposed construction investment items for State-owned enterprises (VEC) to mobilize 100% of capital for implementation and organize exploitation management, collect fees to recover capital (implement investment plans according to the Investment Law).

The GPMB project (over 900 billion VND) will use the central budget/local budget (HCMC, Dong Nai), and the Prime Minister is recommended to separate it into an independent project, and assign it to the locality to implement in the form of public investment.

According to the Capital Management Committee, VEC is currently balancing/arranging more than VND 7,547 billion from legal capital sources of enterprises to replace public investment capital to implement the remaining items of the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway construction investment project.

Therefore, to ensure the ability to mobilize equity capital for project investment, based on VEC's proposal, the Capital Management Committee recommends that competent authorities consider and allow VEC to defer and postpone the payment of principal and interest related to the bonds that the Ministry of Finance has advanced to repay.

In case the Prime Minister approves the postponement and postponement of principal and interest payments related to the bonds that the Ministry of Finance has paid off, the cumulative after-tax cash flow of the 5 projects will always be positive (the lowest positive level in 2026 is 669 billion VND), VEC is expected to allocate about 5,555 billion VND to invest in expanding the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh project according to the proposed plan.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/de-xuat-mo-rong-cao-toc-tphcm-long-thanh-len-8-10-lan-xe-bo-gtvt-noi-gi-192240822194203527.htm