District 1 in downtown HCM City. VNS File Photo

HCM CITY HCM City is seeking other sources of funds for major infrastructure works to ease the pressure on the public treasury.

Speaking at a recent conference on socio-economic development Nguyễn Thành Phong, Chairman of the city People’s Committee, instructed the Department of Planning and Investment to help mobilise funds from private sources for infrastructure.

The city plans to soon start construction of another waste treatment plant using incineration technology to treat 4,000 tonnes of waste a day.

It will ensure that 50 per cent of solid household waste is treated using clean technologies.

The figures released by the department show the city needs VNĐ326 trillion (US$14 billion) for infrastructure in 2016-20, but can only raise 52 per cent of that amount.

It means authorities need to find non-public sources to bridge the huge gap, but despite efforts to attract PPP investment, the actual mobilisation remains far below the requirement. 

Trần Anh Tuấn, deputy director of the department, told the conference that to maintain its economic competitiveness, the city would require further investment in infrastructure, especially in areas like transport, health, education, and environment.

Like other major cities around the world, depending solely on public investment cannot meet its huge infrastructure and other development needs, according to Tuấn.

Investment in PPP mode requires competitiveness and transparency, and projects should benefit both the city and the private investors.

According to the department, since 2000 the city has signed contracts worth nearly VNĐ70 trillion (US$3 billion) for 22 PPP projects, including 16 in the transport sector and three in infrastructure.

It has plans for another 130 worth nearly VNĐ381 trillion.

The Departments of Finance and Planning and Investment were told to finalise the new cost of the metro line No 1 between Bến Thành Market in District 1 and Suối Tiên Tourism Park in District 9 for ratification by the Government.

The city has advanced VNĐ5 trillion (over $216 million) for the work, and the money has yet to be refunded.

Phong instructed the Department of Construction to take measures to ensure construction works are carried out in an orderly fashion and to sanction violations of laws and regulations.

The Department of Planning and Architecture has been instructed to organise a conference on the protection of landscapes around the Sài Gòn River and the city’s canal networks.                        

At the event, Lê Thị Huỳnh Mai, director of the Department of Planning and Investment, said in the first eight months of this year retail sales were worth over VNĐ747 trillion, up by 11.8 per cent year-on-year.

The city’s exports had risen by 8.9 per cent to US$27.2 billion, she said.

According to the Department of Industry and Trade, exports to Taiwan rose by 134.5 per cent, the Philippines by 78.1 per cent, Hong Kong by 20.5 per cent, and mainland China by 18.1 per cent.

In the first eight months the city authorities licensed 28,465 enterprises and firms with total capital of over VNĐ456 trillion. VNS