Mr. Dung has just drawn conclusions after a meeting on public order and security at some BOT tollbooths.
According to Mr. Dung, mobilizing social resource through models such as BOT is the right policy of the party and the state. It has created a new look for traffic infrastructure in road and airway fields. Projects have promoted their efficiency contributing in improving the economy’s competitive ability.
Still, construction and operation of some BOT stations have showed some problems from investment preparation phase to technical design establishment, assessment and approval, and determination of total investment capital determination and toll level.
Most investors have been nominated and some investors’ ability is limited. There are problems in capital mobilization, construction time of a work is long, quality of some projects do not meet requirements, work exploitation and operation are unreasonable causing public objections.
Explaining reasons for the above problems, Mr. Dung said that the legal system for Public Private Partnership (PPP) and BOT contracts is asynchronous. State management in BOT form investment field has been inadequate, inexperienced and inefficient. Planning of tollbooths has been unscientific.
To solve the issues, the Government has required relevant agencies to continue review, supplement and improve the legal system, solve problems in a timely manner and permit pilot implementation of nonstop tollbooths.
Ministries, agencies and localities have focused on solving problems involving construction, management and exploitation of traffic BOT projects by reviewing works to draw the balance sheet of all projects to redetermine toll collection time, re-examine locations of toll station system and suitably rearrange some stations.
He required the Ministry of Transport to review, adjust and supplement national, regional and local strategies, plans to develop traffic infrastructure in fields covering roadway, railway, waterway and airway in specific phases to continue investing, managing and efficiently running traffic BOT projects, ensure traffic safety and security in provinces.
The ministry should give priority to projects largely significant to socioeconomic development including North-South Expressway; improve construction policies including PPP form, mechanisms to raise funds from credit institutions for traffic development and investment policies with state budget to reduce toll collection time of projects.
He required to rightly and sufficiently calculate total investment capital of projects to choose investors, determine toll level and collection time and arrange tollbooths.
The Ministry of Transport should strengthen cooperation with other ministries and provinces to improve investment efficiency, reduce loss and waste, well manage traffic works, toll collection and control toll levels.
Specifically, the ministry should sufficiently supply information about traffic works and BOT projects, point out good things and problems, clearly state its point of view about different public opinions about investment capital, tollbooth locations and toll levels.
The ministry should also take the initiative in getting opinions from scientists from research institutes, universities, professional associations to have scientific and practical foundations to build traffic works under BOT form.
In addition, he prompted implementation of non stop toll collection at stations nationwide and put in place tollbooths.
The Ministry of Finance has been asked to work with the Ministry of Transport to study and issue norms to place road toll stations including the distance between two stations.
The Ministry of Public Security should coordinate with authorized agencies under the Ministry of Transport and provinces to strictly handle those taking advantage of BOT toll problems to cause public disorder at toll stations to prevent traffic jam and ensure social safety and order.
