Lan Nhi
Cars run on the section of HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway opened to traffic - PHOTO: LE ANH
VEC general director Mai Anh Tuan made the proposal at a meeting on the restructuring plan at the ministry’s headquarters last week. The plan also includes selling the five largest expressway projects it invests and manages.
At the end of last year, the ministry requested VEC to prepare plans for equitization and establishment of joint stock companies, and transfer of the right to collect tolls at its expressway projects to investors to recover State capital after equitization.
In order to fulfill those tasks, VEC suggested the ministry allow it to raise chartered capital by 21.7 times to VND22.16 trillion, the highest rise in chartered capital at a State-owned enterprise.
An official of the ministry said VEC needs to have plans for financial restructuring and project management after the corporation goes public.
VEC was set up as a State-run firm with chartered capital of over VND1 trillion to invest in the projects assigned by the State. The corporation so far has borrowed much capital to invest in a number of projects with support from the State, including VND54 trillion mobilized from bond sales and loans of both domestic and foreign credit institutions.
The VND54 trillion accounts for 43% of the total investments in the five expressway projects. Besides, the State has provided the corporation with more than VND20 trillion mainly to help it clear the sites for the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh, HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay, Noi Bai-Lao Cai, Danang-Quang Ngai and Ben Luc-Long Thanh expressways.
Therefore, VEC has to increase its capital by adding the State capital to its chartered capital before equitization. By doing that way, the State can get back part of the funding for the corporation after it is equitized and its projects are sold.
The transport ministry told VEC to quickly establish five joint stock companies to manage the five expressway projects and complete its restructuring plan in the first quarter this year and equitization this year.
Tuan said VEC had restructured the funding of the five expressway projects, with Cau Gie-Ninh Binh, HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay and Noi Bai-Lao Cai projects opened to traffic. The corporation has got the nod from the Government to sell these expressways but it has yet to find any buyers for the projects.
The five expressways have a combined length of 540 kilometers and cost a total of VND125 trillion. VEC intends to sell these projects to raise capital for other projects assigned by the Government.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
