HCMC Several French companies specializing in railway development have expressed interest in HCMCs metro line projects.
Speaking at a meeting between the citys leaders and the visiting French business mission on Thursday, Richard Fostier, president and CEO of Colas Rail Asia Sdn Bhd, said his company could offer solutions for reducing costs of metro line construction. He also sought to learn which investment portfolio and bidding packages his firm could take part in.
Colas Rail has developed many tramways in France and is currently joining a light rail expansion project in Malaysia, he said.
Gilles Péqueux, senior vice president for international business development of Frances tramway developer Egis, also showed interest in the metro projects that the HCMC government is calling for investment in.
Colas Rail and Egis are members of the French business delegation in railway and urban rail solutions that is paying a visit to Vietnam to look for investment opportunities. The delegation consists of some 20 enterprises operating in the fields of healthcare, infrastructure, transport and energy, with several of them already active in Vietnam.
The mission represents the Movement of the French Enterprises International (MEDEF International), with over 700,000 members being French business owners worldwide. The delegation has visited Cambodia and Hanoi before coming to HCMC.
According to Nguyen Van Quoc, deputy director of the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways, French enterprises can participate in a tender to build 9.5 km of underground track, nine stations, and an elevated section of Metro Line 2. The bidding package is worth US$400 million.
These investors can also join in a package to install an 11-kilometer section of the same metro line.
Since the German government will supply trains for the Metro Line 2 project, French enterprises can only construct underground works and supply tracks. Public bidding will be opened in the middle of this year.
Moreover, French investors can get involved in metro lines 3 and 6 under the format of build-operate-transfer (BOT) or public-private partnership (PPP), said HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan at the meeting.
The city plans to develop six metro routes with a total length of 120 kilometers. Routes 1, 2 and 5 will be financed by official development assistance (ODA) capital.
Particularly, Metro Line 1 will receive ODA from Japan.Metro Line 2 will be funded with US$300 million by Germany plus additional capital by several banks such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Spain will provide Metro Line 5 with 500 million euros. Earlier, the Spanish government allowed six Spanish firms to join the Metro Line 5 project, but they later pulled out of the project due to financial constraints.
Therefore, the metro project is now lacking 180 million euros. The city has petitioned the Government to call for investors in this project, said Chairman Quan
Meanwhile, a Thai investor is studying the possibility of developing the Metro Line 4 under BOT format. The municipal authority is still calling for investment in the remaining metro routes.
The project on developing an urban railway in Hanoi was approved to receive USD1.1 million in support from the Asia Development Bank (ADB).
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has approved of the technical support plan to strengthen sustainable urban transport from ADB.
Previously, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, State Bank of Vietnam, Ministry of Finance, Transport and Construction gave their opinions and agreed on the technical support plan proposed by the ADB. The urban railway development plan will get USD1.1 million, USD1 million of which is in non-refundable aid.
Hai directed Hanoi authorities to co-ordinate other departments to assist with finalisation procedures. The State Bank of Vietnam will sign the contract with the ADB to receive the funds.
The urban railway plan no.3 connect Nhon to Hanoi Station, with USD1 billion in investment, started in September 2010. The line is expected to be 12.5 kilometres long, with 8.5 kilometres on land (from Nhon to Thu Le Park) and 4 kilometres underground (from Thu Le Park to Hanoi Station). Four of the stations will below ground, with the rest situated on the surface.
According to the current schedule, it is set to be put into operation in 2015. The train will run at a maximum speed of 80 km per hour and service five districts, including Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Dong Da and Hoan Kiem.
นครโฮจิมินห์ต้องการการลงทุนจากต่างประเทศ ในโครงการระบบโครงสร้างพื้นฐาน 14 โครงการ มูลค่าหลายพันล้านดอลล่าร์สหรัฐ รวมทั้งรถไฟฟ้า สายที่ 6 และทางรถไฟยกระดับ 3 สาย
HCMC calls for foreign investment in transport projects
Talk Vietnam On June 24, 2012 at 4:10 pm (GMT+7)
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is finalizing a list of 14 key infrastructure projects suitable for foreign investment, worth billions of US dollars.
The projects will transform the city into a modern transport hub and will include the citys first electric tram route, its second and third monorail track, the development of its urban railway (Line No 6), three new elevated railway tracks and the expansion of National Highway 22.
Foreign investors will be collated between 2011 and 2015.
Those interested will be invited to invest in two different models: BOT (build-operate-transfer) or PPP (public-private partnership).
It is estimated that the development of the citys traffic infrastructure requires a total investment of VND46.8 trillion by the year 2012.
The southern hub is attempting to mobilize capital from various sources independent of the State budget.
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