Corruption prevention in BOT projects put high on the agenda

At the online seminar held by the People's Public Security Newspaper on September 07, many outstanding issues related to "Corruption prevention in BOT projects" were discussed.

Regarding this issue, Nguyen Van Bac, Chairman of Board of Directors and General Director of Tan Viet Bac Company said that "Enterprises will not execute BOT projects in case of losses because no one wants losses."

However, there exist risks for enterprises in the bidding process and the implementation of BOT projects due to the change in prices of construction materials, Bac added.

From the same point of view, Nguyen Duc Kien, Deputy Chairman of the Economic Committee of the National Assembly said that currently, the phase I (improvement of existing pavement) of Phap Van - Cau Gie section has been completed and the Phase II (widening of two additional lanes on both sides) undergoing construction.

This is the first BOT station with conflicts among project investors. The management agency found that some departments and units of investors have deliberately failed to comply with the regulations on reporting the numbers of vehicles passing by the station.

“Based on our report, it is reasonable for investors to collect fees for the improved sections but it is unreasonable to collect fees similar to ones specified to the newly-constructed sections. The counting of vehicle numbers conducted by the investors must also comply with the Ministry of Transport’s regulations on centralized management,“ said Kien.

Kien also noted that on Phap Van – Ninh Binh expressway, Phap Van - Cau Gie section has higher traffic flow than the Cau Gie - Cao Bo section. Therefore, investors take advantage of this difference to create the "vagueness".

However, this fault has been detected and processed. Data on all BOT stations has been carefully audited and publicized by the State Audit. This is the basis for calculating the fee collection duration.

In order to ensure the interest harmony among the State, investors and people, the investors should be ceded the management rights by the State. Besides, to set out the reasonable fees, the investors should consider both profits and plans of other projects, Kien noted.

In addition, Deputy Chairman also emphasized that "investors will not execute BOT projects which are unprofitable", adding that "there a need to have an objective view on the investors’ fee collection".