Cargo being handled at Cat Lai Port in HCM City’s District 2 (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Ho Chi Minh City should draft a master plan to develop its logistics sector, said Pham Thanh Kien, Director of the municipal Department of Trade and Industry. Speaking at a conference held to discuss the development of the industry from now through 2025 recently, he said the city should learn from experiences in other countries and to develop the industry into one of its major sectors. HCM City should be developed into a logistics hub for the region, and the cost of logistics in Vietnam should be reduced to 16 percent of the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) by 2025, he said. Ho Thi Thu Hoa, Head of the Vietnam Logistics Research and Development Institute (VLI), said researchers for a project to develop the city’s logistics industry have carried out fact-finding tours of eight locations where the city’s logistics centres would come up. They include the Dong … [Read more...] about HCM City to build eight new logistic centres
Public private partnerships ontario
North-South Expressway: domestic investors fear foreign competition
Vu Duc Nhan, deputy CEO of transport firm Phuong Thanh Tranconsin Jsc, told VnExpress that the Ministry of Transport requires an investor to have an owner’s equity of 20 percent of the cost of a North-South Expressway project. This means that if a project costs VND5 trillion ($215 million), an investor needs to have VND1 trillion ($43 million) in owner’s equity. The investor also needs to have experience in a similar project in scale, he added. "Very few Vietnamese companies have that money. Only some have recently invested in major national highways." A tightened credit policy on build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects is adding to the burden, Nhan said. Banks are charging an annual interest rate of 11 percent, higher than the 7.8 percent the Ministry of Transport estimated earlier when calling for investors. Many BOT projects are struggling to collect enough tolls due to lower traffic than estimated, making investors reluctant to take on expressway projects, he … [Read more...] about North-South Expressway: domestic investors fear foreign competition
Vietnam, Finland co-host event on risk management in water supply
Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A seminar co-hosted by Vietnam and Finland in the framework of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) High-level Political Forum has spotlighted the importance of access to safe water and smooth water supply especially in urban areas. The July 9 event drew the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Construction’s Technical Infrastructure Agency, Finland’s Poyry company and Aalto University, the World Health Organisation, and many representatives from UN members. The Water Safety Plan (WSP), developed by Finland to reduce risks in water supply, has been piloted in Hai Phong and Da Nang cities, and Dong Nai province. The useful tool for ensuring safe drinking water has been adjusted to suit Vietnamese water plants and the country’s regulations. Many experts described this as a vivid illustration for the sounding public-private partnership with Finland in the research on water … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Finland co-host event on risk management in water supply
Government approves Tuyen Quang-Phu Tho expressway project
The map shows the Tuyen Quang-Phu Tho Expressway (blue line). The expressway will be built after three years of delay (Photo: vnexpress.net) Hanoi (VNA) - The Government has approved the construction of an expressway connecting the northern provinces of Tuyen Quang and Phu Tho under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) format after three years of delays. The expressway with 40.2km long, including 11km of road will be built in Tuyen Quang province and the rest in Phu Tho province. It will start in Tuyen Quang province's Tuyen Quang city and end at Phu Tho province's Phu Tho township. The expressway will link with the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway. The four-lane road is designed with the speed of 80kph. The project is implemented under the public-private partnership model with a total investment of more than 3.2 trillion VND (138 million USD). It is expected to meet the increasing transport demand and reduce traffic congestion on the National Highway No. 2, shorten travelling time between … [Read more...] about Government approves Tuyen Quang-Phu Tho expressway project
Transnational expressway investor selection to take until August 2020
The three additional months are needed to carry out new preliminary evaluations of investors before they can bid for the public-private partnership (PPP) work, according to a recent report the government made to the National Assembly. Next year, the evaluations are expected to be completed by February, the contractor identified by August, and the tendering process completed by November, the report said. In September the Ministry of Transport decided not to invite foreign bids for the eight sections of the expressway to be built under the PPP model, saying only a few qualified and this could lead to a low level of competition. Sixty investors, half of them Chinese, submitted expressions of interest for the eight sections, but for four of them no investor met all the requirements, while for the rest only one to three did so, the ministry said in a statement. It then decided to invite fresh tenders with lowered criteria for the North-South Expressway from local investors, to "ensure … [Read more...] about Transnational expressway investor selection to take until August 2020