New bill expected to promote PPP investment activities

According to the ministry, PPP investment activities are currently regulated by Decree 15/2015/ND-CP on PPP investment and Decree 30/2015/ND-CP guiding the implementation of some articles of the Law on Bidding, as well as several other documents.

However, so far, few projects are under the jurisdiction of the two decrees, as most of them are still in a planning period or were completed under old legal frameworks.

Inspection and audit results on build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) projects showed that most projects applied limited tendering in choosing investors, leading to low competitiveness and a lack of transparency. Meanwhile, the announcement of projects and list of projects has yet to be implemented in an open manner.

At the same time, the supervision of projects’ implementation has been ineffective, leading to low quality construction works and many other problems.

Pham Quang Dung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tasco Company, said investors expect a legal corridor for PPP investment activities, adding that the law will facilitate the flow of investment into infrastructure system.

Vu Quynh Le, Deputy Director of the MPI’s Bidding Management Department, said if the ministry receives approval from the Government, the draft law will be submitted to the National Assembly in 2020 or 2021.

She said that the bill should specify risks in the implementation of PPP on the principle of piding risks to the party that has the strongest capacity in handling them.

According to the MPI, the bill aims to deal with major issues, including enhancing investment efficiency, investment process and procedures, investment attraction measures and legacy of PPP contracts.

New policies included in the bill are expected to change mindsets in PPP implementation. Accordingly, the most feasible projects will be prioritised for PPP, while the choosing of investors for PPP projects will be more transparent.

Le said that the bill will help build an investment environment for PPP investment with a quality legal framework.

Investment process and procedures will also made to suit characteristics of PPP projects, contract forms and different scales and management levels, prioritising the reduction of administrative procedures and decentralisation.

The draft law is hoped to create a fair playground for State-owned and private enterprises and harmonised interest between the State and investors, while introducing a coherent, transparent, smooth and attractive legal corridor for investment to engage in long-term and risky PPP projects.