Prince Andrew: UK businesses keen to support Vietnam in PPP

The prince gave this statement of support at a conference on public-private partnership (PPP) in Hanoi on October 11.

Delegates at the conference discussed issues such as legal framework for PPP, how to avoid disputes implementing PPP, chances for PPP development in Vietnam from the European point of view and doing business in Vietnam from the UK businesses’ perspective.

The Prince said that the UK is a strategic partner to Vietnam. He hoped relations will become more meaningful and effective in bringing mutual benefit to both countries.

PPP is the cooperation model in which public projects are funded and implemented by the private sectors. Today, more than 100 countries have applied the PPP in all kinds of projects such as design, building, funding and operation. However, in industrialised countries, PPP also allows the transfer of public services to the private sector as part of the state’s policy.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Dang Huy Dong, said he hoped the business community, including those from the UK, will join in Vietnam’s PPP to help develop infrastructure. Vietnam is committed to making its public purchase system more transparent and improving law amendments in its tenders to create a fair chance for investors doing business with Vietnam.

As a middle-income country, Vietnam is seeking investment and cooperation opportunities for economic development. The Vietnamese government noticed the fast growth of PPP and set targets for the country to become an industrialised nation by 2020. Therefore, Vietnam needs to attract an investment capital of US$60-70 billion from the private sector to upgrade infrastructure.

UK economic experts said Vietnam should seek experience and resources from countries in the world when implementing the PPP model.

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