Announcing the capital mechanism for the Cam Lo - Lao Bao Expressway Project of VND 8,803 billion

Clarifying investment rates

The Ministry of Finance has just issued Official Dispatch No. 13274/BTC-KTDP to Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc regarding support for state capital to participate in the Cam Lo - Lao Bao Expressway PPP Project (Quang Tri).

This is the second time in less than a month that the Ministry of Finance has issued a document clarifying this important content so that the Project has a basis for the competent authority to approve the investment policy.

Previously, on August 13, in Official Dispatch No. 7537/VPCP-KTTH, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc requested the Ministry of Finance to urgently preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and the People's Committee of Quang Tri province to report on the results of the assigned tasks on the appraisal of the total investment of the Project, based on the approved design and propose specific support capital levels from the central budget; complete the dossier and report to competent authorities according to regulations.

In Official Dispatch No. 13274, the leader of the Ministry of Finance said that for PPP projects using state capital, the appraisal of total investment, capital sources and capital balancing capacity must comply with the provisions of the Law on Public Investment. Article 47 of the Law on Public Investment 2024 stipulates that total investment is a content in the project's Feasibility Study Report.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the Cam Lo - Lao Bao Expressway Project has been approved in principle by the Government to assign the People's Committee of Quang Tri province to continue to be the competent authority to implement it under the PPP method.

“Currently, according to the report of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province, the Project is in the stage of preparing a pre-feasibility study report. Therefore, according to regulations, at this step, only a preliminary total investment is prepared,” the document stated.

The Ministry of Finance said that in Official Dispatch No. 11475/BTC-KTDP dated July 29, 2025, the Ministry has compiled the opinions of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province and the Ministry of Construction, clarifying the content of the preliminary total investment of the Project.

Specifically, the Ministry of Construction affirmed that the investment capital of the Project is about 204 billion VND/km, similar to projects of similar scale. The cost items in the preliminary total investment are consistent with Decision No. 409/QD-BXD dated April 11, 2025 of the Ministry of Construction and Circular No. 11/2021/TT-BXD dated August 31, 2021.

Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee is the competent state agency to implement and is responsible before the law and the Prime Minister for the preliminary value of the total investment.

In the step of preparing the Feasibility Study Report, the Ministry of Finance requested the People's Committee of Quang Tri province to direct relevant agencies to calculate the total investment level to ensure compliance with current regulations.

“Therefore, to accurately calculate the total investment, the Ministry of Finance recommends that the Deputy Prime Minister assign the Ministry of Construction to give opinions and guide the People's Committee of Quang Tri province to appraise the total investment at the stage of preparing the Feasibility Study Report,” Official Dispatch 13274 requested.

Identify sources of budget support

In Official Dispatch No. 653/UBND-TH dated August 26, 2025 sent to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Construction, the People's Committee of Quang Tri province requested to promptly consider and report to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc to approve the arrangement of about VND 8,803 billion from the central budget outside the medium-term public investment capital plan for the period 2026-2030 to directly support the Project, ensuring implementation progress before 2030.

Mr. Tran Phong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province, said that this is a very important budget to ensure financial feasibility as well as increase attractiveness to private investors.

The Ministry of Finance also cited Article 14 of the PPP Law, which states that one of the conditions for selecting and preparing a pre-feasibility study report for a PPP project is: "having the ability to arrange state capital in case the project needs to use state capital...".

Due to the lack of capital sources and capital balancing capabilities, the Cam Lo - Lao Bao Expressway Project has not yet had its investment policy approved.

However, the Project has been added by the Prime Minister to the list of important national projects, key to the transport sector in Decision No. 1673/QD-TTg dated August 6, 2025. "Therefore, it is recommended that the Deputy Prime Minister assign the Ministry of Construction to preside over and coordinate with the People's Committee of Quang Tri province to propose the state capital portion in the medium-term public investment plan for 2026-2030, ensuring compliance with regulations, savings and efficiency," the leader of the Ministry of Finance stated his opinion.

According to experts, the Cam Lo - Lao Bao Expressway not only plays a role in solving the overload of National Highway 9, but is also a vital route connecting the East - West Economic Corridor, from the seaports of Central Vietnam to Laos and Thailand. This is an important international trade axis, promoting the development of border gate economy, logistics and supporting industries.

In addition, the early implementation of the project will create a driving force for development in the Central Highlands region, which still has many difficulties in infrastructure. A modern highway will help reduce transportation costs, shorten travel time, and at the same time enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods when participating in the regional market.

Quang Tri provincial leaders noted that without timely support from the state budget, the project would hardly attract private investors due to the large investment capital and long payback period. The allocation of public capital is meant to be "seed capital", sharing risks, thereby encouraging the private sector to participate more strongly in infrastructure projects under the PPP form.nInformation on the capital mechanism of the Cam Lo - Lao Bao Expressway Project

Source: https://baodautu.vn/thong-co-che-von-du-an-cao-toc-cam-lo---lao-bao-8803-ty-dong-d378847.html