At the conference, BIDV announced donation of VND 50 billions for building 10 civil bridges, committed to loan to operating contractors in 2 or 3 years with priority interest of under 5% in a form of advance loan and budget refund later, making the contractors convenient to complete a goal mentioned in Project of building suspension and civil bridges ensuring traffic security in 28 mountainous provinces in the North, Centre and Central Highlands.

BIDV and Tasco JSC. also signed with a joint venture between Civil engineering construction corporation No.4 JSC. (Cienco4) – Corporation No.319 and Truong Thinh group JSC. an framework agreement about charging fees without stopping for inspection of cart load at some toll stations on national highways No.1.

​On November 6th 2014, Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) cooperated with Ministry of Transport (MT) in organization of a conference on review and evaluation of projects of enhancing national highways No.1 and No.14 in a form of BOT, and signature of a cooperative agreement about automatic charging fees without stopping and inspection of cart load at toll stations on national highway No.1.

The conference consists Mr. Dinh La Thang’s – Member of Politburo, Minister of Transport with his direction, and representatives of investors of the BOT project of enhancing national highways No.1 and No.14.

On the background of that the State’s budget for development of infrastructure is critical, Ministry of Transport was proactive to run projects of transport infrastructure in many different ways. For the projects of enhancing national highways No.1 and No.14, there are 23 sub-projects operated in BOT form with total of VND 56,855 billions. The conference is to review and evaluate implementation of the projects, and progress rate, quality, ability of finishing the projects; to discuss on difficulties, problems and persistence for solutions and speeding up progress rate of implementation of the projects in line with the plan.

There are now 23 BOT sub-projects of national highways No.1 and No.14, that are implemented and loaned by credit institutions with total of VND 38,662 billions. Basically, progress rate of projects of national highways No.1 and No.14 meets the general progress rate approved by the Ministry. Assuredly most the projects will be finished in 2015. As a bank with good experience in loan of projects of building infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure, BIDV is a pioneering bank to cooperate with the Ministry of Transport in loan to BOT projects, that can be seen via signature between BIDV and the Ministry of Transport on January 22nd 2013 of a cooperative agreement about implementation of a Programme of enhancing national highway No.1 in a part from Hanoi to Can Tho. BIDV will credit with VND 30,000 billions to the programme, including a credit of VND 20,000 billions, bond investment of VND 5,000 billions, and backup of VND 5,000 billions.

Up to now, BIDV approved to loan to 12 BOT projects of enhancing No.1 and No.14 national highways, in which BIDV signed credit contracts for 11 projects with loan commitment total of VND 17,362 billions, counting 45% committed total of VND 38,662 billions from credit institutions. Meanwhile BIDV is verifying another project. Counting loan to projects including BOT project that is being verified and two other BOT projects of Viet Tri and My Loi bridges that BIDV plans to loan to, BIDV committed to loan of VND 20,765 billions out of total of VND 26,095 billions. BIDV is the biggest bank for loan, counting 50% total of projects and loan.

As being planned, on December 31st 2014, BIDV will disburse cumulatively VND 10,104 billions (counting 60% total of committed money). On June 30th 2015, cumulative disbursement will be VND 14,154 billions (counting 81% total of committed value); On December 31st 2015, cumulative disbursement will be of VND 16,251 billions (counting 94% the commitment); the left of VND 1,111 billions will be disbursed in the first of the first quarter of 2016.

In his speech at the conference, Mr. Tran Bac Ha – the chairman of Board of Directors of BIDV affirmed that “BIDV commits to continuously provide all capital in time to BOT projects of national highways No.1 and No.14, to cooperate with the Ministry of Transport and investors to solve difficulties and problems in loan process for implementation by progress rate.”

Drastic direction of Ministry of Transport, and effective and harmonious cooperation between the sides and local authorities where the projects are implemented, most the projects are now implemented generally in line with the plan for opening entirely to traffic at the end of 2015. Thanks to the good cooperation between Ministry of Transport, other ministries and offices with their support, local authorities, and BIDV with its loan supply and capital arrangement, the investors speeded up progress rate, saved money and finished some construction work for earlier use that solves traffic problems on priority national highways.

Specifically (i) some projects finished moving ahead the plan for use (such as BOT sub-projects of the South of Ben Thuy bridge – Ha Tinh by-pass completed and was utilized from January 19th 2014, moving ahead the progress rate of 7 months). Besides, there are 3 other sub-projects that attempt to finish before the planned progress rate for 6 or 8 months (BOT project of national highways No. 14 in Gia Lai province planned to be done in June 2015; BOT sub-project in the area from Vung Ang to the North of Dong Hoi city planned to be completed in April 2015; BOT sub-project in Binh Thuan province planned to be completed in June 2015); (ii) Many projects saved money in relations to the total of allocation: As implementing projects in line with the progress rate,  05 projects saved VND 100-200 billions per project from: land clearance, project investment, engineering cost, contributing to total expected saving about VND 800 – 1000 billions for all the 5 projects.

Although BIDV is active, proactive in cooperation with and support projects, there are still difficulties and problems in the implementation. At the conference, BIDV also gave some recommendations to the Ministry of Transport for soon solving. Specifically BIDV suggested the Ministry to reinforce inspection and supervision of quality of construction, and to ensure traffic security of all projects; to supervise and speed up investors to spend their all resources on implementation of the projects in line with the progress rate, quality standards and saving money; to supervise and speed up local authorities in land clearance of civil areas, moving technical infrastructural facilities and tensely handing over all land to the investors for ensuring the committed progress rate; to consider allowing the investor to charge fee for some sub-projects in national highways No.1 and No.14 that expect to be finished before deadline of the progress rate or to be opened to traffic.

At the conference, BIDV and Tasco JSC. signed with a joint venture between Civil engineering construction corporation No.4 JSC. (Cienco4) – Corporation No.319 and Truong Thinh group JSC. an framework agreement about charging fees without stopping for inspection of cart load at some toll stations on national highway No.1. With purposes of shortening traffic time, reducing traffic jam at toll stations, increasing capacity of traffic security administration, using effectiveness of roads and cart load administration, the Ministry of Transport decided to modernize charging fees, to use automatic technology of charging fees without stopping via banks for all vehicles on all national highways and expressways. Firstly there will implement to automatically charge fees without stopping on national highways No.1 and No.14 right after that the two highways finish the expansion. Accordingly, there will be an company working as an key point of charging fees for BOT investor on national highways No. 1, then vehicles on both national highways No.1 and No.14 are allowed to run without stopping for manual payment of traffic fees.  BIDV and Tasco JSC. are responsible for developing a central operating system, mounting facilities, preserving and maintaining the automatic system of charging fees without stopping, system of inspecting cart load at toll stations in line with a design file approved by the Ministry of Transport; for charging fees and operating the system; providing and developing e-Tag card in line with technological standard of charging fees that is selected by the Ministry; implementing activities of communication, publicity and announcement to vehicle owners about the system of charging fees without stopping and inspection of cart load as well as instruction of using e-Tag card,...

At the conference, BIDV announced donation of VND 50 billions for building 10 civil bridges. BIDV also committed to loan to operating contractors in 2 or 3 years with priority interest of under 5% in a form of advance loan and budget refund later, making the contractors convenient to complete a goal mentioned in Project of building suspension and civil bridges ensuring traffic security in 28 mountainous provinces in the North, Centre and Central Highlands.