Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry ofPlanning and Investment (MPI) has proposed building a draft law on investmentin public-private partnership (PPP) models, including BOT(build-operate-transfer) form, which is expected to become a legal foundationfor all PPP investment activities.

According to the ministry, PPP investment activitiesare currently regulated by Decree 15/2015/ND-CP on PPP investment and Decree30/2015/ND-CP guiding the implementation of some articles of the Law onBidding, as well as several other documents.

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

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

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

Pham Quang Dung, Chairman of the Board ofDirectors of Tasco Company, said investors expect a legal corridor for PPPinvestment activities, adding that the law will facilitate the flow of investmentinto infrastructure system.

Vu Quynh Le, Deputy Director of the MPI’sBidding Management Department, said if the ministry receives approval from theGovernment, the draft law will be submitted to the National Assembly in 2020 or2021.

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

According to the MPI, the bill aims to dealwith major issues, including enhancing investment efficiency, investmentprocess and procedures, investment attraction measures and legacy of PPPcontracts.

New policies included in the bill are expectedto change mindsets in PPP implementation. Accordingly, the most feasibleprojects will be prioritised for PPP, while the choosing of investors for PPPprojects will be more transparent.

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

Investment process and procedures will alsomade to suit characteristics of PPP projects, contract forms and differentscales and management levels, prioritising the reduction of administrativeprocedures and decentralisation.

The draft law is hoped to create a fairplayground for State-owned and private enterprises and harmonised interestbetween the State and investors, while introducing a coherent, transparent,smooth and attractive legal corridor for investment to engage in long-term andrisky PPP projects.-VNA