A expressway project of VEC. VEC is being asked to develop plans for debt payments and increasing charter capital to improve financial capacity to implement expressway projects. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Đức Phớc on Tuesday worked with Việt Nam Expressway Corporation (VEC) on solutions to improve the highway developer’s financial capacity in order to implement expressway projects.

The Deputy PM said that VEC can borrow the capital sourced from the Government’s bonds to implement the HCM City – Long Thành Expressway expansion project, which is estimated to need a total investment of more than VNĐ16 trillion (US$630.5 million).

He also asked VEC to develop plans for debt payments and increasing charter capital to improve financial capacity to implement expressway projects. The Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC) must evaluate the plans and propose to the Government by the end of December.

With regard to the CMSC’s proposal of increasing VEC’s charter capital from VNĐ1.115 trillion to more than VNĐ38 trillion by the end of 2026, Phớc said that this must be put on table at the National Assembly’s upcoming meeting.

The Deputy PM also asked VEC to arrange capital to repay the debt worth VNĐ5.499 trillion owned to the Government although the company expected an extension of debt payment to allocate the capital for the development of expressway projects.

VEC’s statistics showed that regarding the debt worth VNĐ5.334 trillion in bonds paid by the Ministry of Finance on behalf of VEC for two projects including Cầu Giẽ – Ninh Bình and Nội Bài – Lào Cai expressways, VEC has paid the principal of VNĐ2.567 trillion. The remaining debt was VNĐ2.766 trillion with an accumulated interest of around VNĐ5.5 trillion.

Phớc asked the Ministry of Finance to re-evaluate the debt payment proposal of VEC to verify the payables.

Founded in 2004, VEC has put into operation 490km across four expressways, accounting for 27 per cent of the total length of highways in the country and has in development 540km of five expressways worth a total of VNĐ108 trillion. — VNS