According to local media, the construction cost of one kilometer of expressway here in Vietnam is three times higher than in other countries. Many infrastructure projects had been delayed for various reasons, with slow site clearance as the main cause, Kimura responded to the Daily’s question at a news briefing held by the ADB in Hanoi on Tuesday to publicize its Asian Development Outlook 2014 report.
Earlier, the nation suffered high inflation, so construction costs soared due to delays of one to two years. That was why investment costs of infrastructure projects in Vietnam were higher than elsewhere in the world, Kimura explained.
For instance, the investment capital for Nhon-Hanoi Station urban railroad project funded by France, the ADB and European Investment Bank is predicted at nearly 1.3 billion euros, a strong rise from the previous projection of 783 million euros.
Nguyen The Thao, chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, used to get mad at the management unit of the project over the long delay.
Victoria Kwakwa, country director of the World Bank (WB) in Vietnam, also shared the view at a recent interview with the Daily. In a recent study, Tran Dinh Thien, director of the Vietnam Economics Institute, asserted the higher construction costs of many road and bridge projects in Vietnam and other countries.
Thien said the construction cost of a kilometer of expressway was US$5.8 million in the U.S. in 2002, US$3.7 million in China between 2003 and 2006 and US$5.5 million in Indonesia in 2007. Meanwhile, the HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway cost US$9.9 million a kilometer in 2010, the HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay US$18.3 million and the Ben Luc-Long Thanh US$28.2 million.
Recently, the State Audit of Vietnam uncovered that the cost of the 56-kilometer Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Expressway was VND5 trillion higher than originally estimated, up from VND3.7 trillion in 2004 to VND8.9 trillion in 2010.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the total investment of traffic projects has rocketed by an average 180% against the initial approval over the past years.
Funding for the first phase of the Ho Chi Minh Highway soared 292% while that for the HCMC-Trung Luong, Cau Gie-Ninh Binh, Quan Lo-Phung Hiep and Nam Song Hau projects were up 50-80%.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s infrastructure quality is poorer than most of the other Southeast Asian nations. Between 2011 and 2020, Vietnam needs around US$170 billion for technical infrastructure for electricity, water supply, drainage and traffic, Kimura said.
In general, ODA projects have been facing risks due to corruption in auctions and procurement contracts. “We are aware of the problem and there should be a protection mechanism for partners to follow the ADB’s policies. The ADB and the Vietnamese Government would act to secure transparency for ODA projects…,” he added.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
