Ho Chi Minh City proposes PM to bring breakthrough to key projects

According to Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the disbursement of public investment has seen positive signs.

Specifically, as of July 15, VND18.8 trillion ($817.39 million) of public investment capital has been disbursed in the city, reaching 45.18 per cent of the assigned plan, higher in both value and disbursement rate than in the same period last year, Phong announced at the meeting between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City on July 20.

Ho Chi Minh City proposed the PM to add Central Square Park and a riverside park to the planning of Thu Thiem New Urban Area

Phong emphasised that under the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ho Chi Minh City has determined that the disbursement of public investment is the most significant task of 2020 because it will be key to economic recovery under the new normal conditions.

"The committee will focus on pushing the disbursement of public investment capital, trying to reach 95 per cent of the annual figure by the end of the year,” Phong said.

The leader of Ho Chi Minh City has also proposed the prime minister to review and solve many obstacles to push up public investment disbursement and accelerate the city's economic recovery post-COVID-19.

It is also focusing on implementing many solutions to accelerate the progress of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects.

Ho Chi Minh City is now home to 166 PPP projects which are implementing investment procedures with the total estimated investment of VND324.7 trillion ($14.1 billion).

In addition, the city is also calling for investment in more than 290 PPP projects in all fields such as transportation, environment, healthcare, culture, and education with a total estimated investment of VND910.4 trillion ($39.6 billion).

"For key PPP projects, the city has been organising regular meetings to review their progress and solve difficulties in implementation," Phong said.

Key projects mentioned were the construction of Metro Line No.1 from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien and Metro Line No.2 from Ben Thanh to Tham Luong.

Phong also stressed that PPP projects in Ho Chi Minh City are facing difficulties in mobilising land funds to return to the investors after they build public facilities.

So far, key transport projects in Ho Chi Minh City are coming along slowly. For instance, only 18 per cent of Ring Road No.2 has been completed while Ring Road No.4 has not even been started yet.

In Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2, the People's Committee asked for the PM's permission to add four more bridges, new channels and a central lake to the construction plan. The PM was also requested to pave the way for investors to build two key projects of the area – the Central Square Park and the riverside park.

“These are important public facilities to host major cultural and political events in the city. The city, therefore, asks for guidance from the PM and related bodies to be able to build them as soon as possible,” Phong added.