It provides an opportunity to address bottlenecks and mobilize investment resources to complete infrastructure in the city.
HCMC is also currently making efforts to solve difficulties and complete institutions to attract investment for a series of projects in various sectors.
Urgent demand
Ben Thanh Theater located in the city center in District 1was built over 20 years ago. It serves as a venue for cultural events. Many items of the theater have been seriously degraded with cracks in walls, roof leakage, and damaged seats.
Director of Ben Thanh Theater, Phan Ngoc Thao said that the current infrastructure of the theater does not meet requirements and large-scale events despite upgrades, such as low capacity air conditioner, and outdated sound and lighting system. Therefore, it needs to be repaired and upgraded to meet the units’ demand for using the theater as soon as possible
Meanwhile, the construction project of Rach Chiec National Sports Complex in Thu Duc City was launched in 1994. According to the plan, the sports complex has many Olympic-standard sports facilities, including a capacity of 50,000 seats, and a multi-purpose sports stadium to serve major international tournaments.
At the beginning of 2024, the HCMC Department of Culture and Sports announced a list of 23 public-private partnership (PPP) cultural and sports projects, including 16 projects situated in the Rach Chiec National Sports Complex and Ben Thanh Theater.
Recently, Thu Duc City in HCMC has also announced 11 projects in the fields of education, culture, and sports to call for PPP investment with a total capital of VND2.053 billion (US$80.6 million).
Nguyen Duc Manh, a resident of Thu Duc City said that the city is expected to be developed into a highly interactive innovative urban area in HCMC. However, Thu Duc City has seen little change, apart from some transportation infrastructure projects being implemented. Therefore, the successful implementation of PPP projects would improve the city's image and the quality of life, living, and learning conditions of residents.
Investors have proposed a form of PPP contracts with flexible and appropriate regulations featuring benefits between the state and the business sector.
Three out of 11 PPP projects in the areas of education, culture, and sports have been approved by the HCMC People's Council. These projects with clear legal status and clean land funds do not take much time to carry out site clearance work, Director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Center of Thu Duc City Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nga said.
Shortening investment procedures
HCMC is currently examining the implementation of 40 PPP projects in the fields of healthcare, education and training, culture and sports, including 23 projects that have been approved by the HCMC People's Council with a total estimated cost of VND22,400 billion.
The People's Council of the city has also issued a resolution stipulating the scale of minimum investment amount for projects. The minimum amount of money invested in the projects managed and operated by the city costs VND45 billion and above. The smallest amount of capital for culture and sports facilities managed and operated by districts and Thu Duc City to serve the public will be VND10 billion and above.
However, there are many obstacles and difficulties in implementing projects due to problems in investment procedures, including investment procedures for PPP projects and other legal regulations. In addition, it takes at least three months to complete the procedure for a project while investors want to shorten the time needed for the procedures to start operations and business activities as soon as possible.
Dr. Tran Du Lich, Head of the advisory council for implementing the National Assembly's Resolution 98 said that HCMC is striving to implement mechanisms and policies of Resolution 98 in carrying out 54 PPP projects, including 41 projects in the fields of culture, sports, and healthcare; 5 BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) traffic projects; and eight others in the sectors of education and sports in Thu Duc City. Currently, HCMC is striving to complete its institutional framework to form projects with good legal foundations to attract investors.
According to Deputy Director of the HCMC Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) Cao Thi Phi Van, HCMC is building a project implementation process intending to speed up the PPP investment process faster than public investment.
