A view of the extension of Le Van Luong street in the urban district of Thanh Xuan, southwest of Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Government Inspectorate (GI) has released findingsof egregious wrongdoing in the implementation of a number of BT(Build-Transfer) and BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) infrastructure and environmentalprojects in Hanoi.
The GI recommended holding Hanoi authorities accountable for the faults. The GIsaid all BT projects were behind schedule and had entailed significant costoverruns. It said contractors were “not sufficiently capable of mobilisingcapital” and also blamed a “failure to disburse budget in accordance with setschedule.”
Seven BT projects caused massive loss – the construction of Yen So wastewatertreatment plant, Le Van Luong Road extension, southern main road of Ha Tay, astreet connecting Le Duc Tho and Xuan Phuong new urban area, a road surroundingChu Van An memorial site, and Hanoi–Hung Yen interprovincial road.
Regarding the main southern road of Ha Tay, nearly all parties involved – thePeople’s Committee, Department of Finance, Department of Transport, and theinvestor – were found to be at fault and violating the BT contract terms.
The GI also reported that the investor has misappropriated large amounts ofState budget. The state-owned Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No.5(CIENCO5) – responsible for the project – was asked to “immediately” pay back 1.428trillion VND (62.8 million USD) to the State budget - 902 billion VND ininterest expenses and 510 billion VND for the difference between land use costsand the actual costs of the BT project.
Regarding the Chu Van An memorial site and Hanoi–Hung Yen Road and Long Bien districtintersection, the GI is asking to cut 100 billion VND (4.4 million USD) fromthe balance sheets of these projects.
With projects currently behind schedule, GI is proposing that the HanoiPeople’s Committee order competent agencies to review the capabilities ofinvestors and to decide whether they can continue.
Yen So wastewater treatment plant’s construction began without approval by theMinistry of Construction’s or Hanoi Department of Science and Technology. Moreimportantly, the quality of post-treatment water “did not satisfy thecontract’s terms,” the GI report says.
Most of the infrastructure projects are being carried out within the frameworkof the "trading land for infrastructure" programme. The programme, implementedin various cities and provinces, enables investors to carry out infrastructureprojects and get paid with State land.
However, there was no clearly defined protocol to valuate the land, whicheasily led to corruption and loss. By 2004 the Government decided to put a stopto this mechanism, replacing it with a bidding requirement. However, the Law onLand 2013 continues to provide legal status to the BT (Build-Transfer) model,which is basically the same as the "trading land for infrastructure"mechanism according to many experts.-VNA
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