Public-private partnership important for HCM City’s development, say experts

Public-private partnership (PPP) is considered among the optimal solutions to facilitate capital mobilisation for investment in infrastructure and services, boosting Ho Chi Minh City’s development, heard an international workshop on March 27.

Politburo member and Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan speaks at the event. (Photo: VGP)
Politburo member and Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan speaks at the event. (Photo: VGP)

Experts gathered at the seminar held by the HCM City People's Committee and the World Bank in Vietnam to exchange international experience in mobilising social capital and promoting PPP in selected sectors in the southern economic hub.

Delegates focused on sharing experiences on PPP and private capital mobilisation strategy. In particular, they discussed investment privatisation on three fields of solid waste treatment, wastewater treatment and flood control; the health sector; and education.

It is expected that the city needs a total social investment capital of about over VND1.8 quadrillion (US$77.4 billion) during the 2016-2020 period (an average increase of 8.4% annually), an increase of 53.3% compared to the 2011-2015 period. Of which, the investment capital from the State sector is expected to account for VND376.2 trillion, leading to the need for investment capital from outside the State sector for the city’s socio-economic development.

Speaking at the seminar, Politburo member and Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan emphasised that the city needs capital for socio-economic development, in which the PPP is among the available channels to mobilise capital.

In the implementation of PPP models, the concerned agencies and units need to pay attention to beneficiaries, as well as affected objects (people with their land recovered to implement the projects), Nhan suggested.

He also noted that in order to effectively implement PPP projects, the city's authorities should proactively propose specific groups and areas to call for investment.