Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Three component projects of the North-South Expresswaymaster plan are expected to be shifted from the private-public partnershipmodel to the public investment model.

TheMai Son – Highway 45 Expressway, Highway 45 – Nghi Son Expressway and Phan Thiet– Dau Giay section are to be changed.

Initially,a total of eight sections out of 11 sections of the expressway were meant to beinvested in a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The Ministry of Transportcalled on foreign and domestic investors to submit documents of interest in theproject.

However,last September, the Government decided that only domestic companies will beentitled to construct the North-South Expressway.

Afterruling out foreign contractors, the Ministry of Transport shortlisted 32 of the93 bids received by the North-South Expressway management board.

The ministry called for shifting the investmentmodel for these three projects as they are on the urgent list and needed to bebrought into operation soon.

The total investment for the three projects is 33.6trillion VND (1.4 billion USD). The initial result for bidding for thethree projects are available, but if the National Assembly approves therequest by the transport ministry, the results will be cancelled.

A transport expert who wanted to stay anonymous saidthe move will help accelerate the speed of the projects due to the natureof public investment.

If the PPP model was used for these projects, someproblems might arise and cause the projects to slow down, he said. Forinstance, if public bidding failed to select a competent contractor, or ifthe projects are not attractive enough to investors, the transport ministrywill have to seek another investment model.

LeDuc Tho, Deputy General Director of the Civil Engineering ConstructionCorporation No 4 (Cienco4), said the possibility of attracting investorsfor projects on Mai Son – Highway 45 section and Highway 45- Nghi Son sectionwas low.

Thesesections have a low density of traffic, and the payback period would be longand payback possibility rather low, Tho said.

TheNorth-South Expressway covers 2,109km, extending from the northern mountainousprovince of Lang Son to the southernmost province of Ca Mau.

Ithas 11 sub-projects, with three set to be funded by the State budget. Oncecompleted, it is expected to become a backbone connecting theentire country.

Anumber of sections covering 601km are already under construction./.