Over the past year, the Integra LEAP III team has been instrumental in supporting USAID/Vietnam in guiding and advising the Government of Vietnam, Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the National Assembly (NA), and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on the policy and legal constraints to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). This work, led by a locally-based Integra team, has included the implementation of over 15 different sub-activities, some of which are highlighted and presented in chronological order below.
– Developed six PPP case studies on PPP projects in power, water supply, and healthcare to highlight the regulatory challenges and practices in Vietnam to inform the development of the draft PPP Law.
– The LEAP III team and VCCI held a workshop on May 15, 2019, which was attended by Chairman Vu Tien Loc of VCCI and the USAID Mission Director to explore the roles and responsibilities of the private and public sector in implementing PPPs.
– The team provided technical assistance to the National Assembly and MPI during drafting sessions and feedback on the draft PPP Law. A technical workshop was also held July 9-10, 2019 to allow MPI, the Office of the Government, and various ministries to review the draft PPP Law before it was submitted. The NA and MPI both expressed their appreciation for the support, requesting two technical workshops to seek additional input from the private sector.
– Provided support to the National Committee on PPPs, including the recommendation to establish a PPP Forum for the business community and GVN to discuss key PPP issues. The LEAP III team also presented a Breakout PPP session at the National Conference on Sustainable Development on September 12, 2019.
– Provided support to MPI in developing and implementing a communications strategy and support policy advocacy to key groups such as members of the NA and the PPP Committee.
– Developed the VCCI PPP Green Book and organized a roundtable discussion on April 28, 2020 to discuss financing and budgets for PPPs, and challenges.
– Developed six briefing papers to synthesize policy issues and international best practices on the topics of BT contracts, PPP sectors, PPP models, state capital, state audits, and risk sharing mechanisms.
– Organized eleven business groups and institutions such as Amcham, Eurocham, and the Asia Development Bank to share their position papers with the VCCI’s PPP Committee, which were then summarized into a matrix by LEAP III and shared with the NA and MPI to help develop the PPP Law.
– Hosted remote workshops to help debate key issues within the draft PPP Law and build consensus within and between the GVN and the private sector. The first roundtable was held April 16, 2020 on the topic of risk sharing and was attended by policymakers, industry professionals, advisors, and the press to improve understanding and publicize the issue. Together they discussed why risk sharing is important to make PPPs viable and bankable, the types of risk facing investors, and international experience in dealing with fiscal risk. The event was also publicized in at last two different articles and national media outlets, praised by the Vice Speaker as a productive and informative use of time to inform the PPP Law.
– Conducted a second workshop in May 2020 to cover the topic of foreign investment, and provided simultaneous translation to further increase participation in the event.
Moving forward, LEAP III will continue to support USAID/Vietnam and the GVN to ensure the institutional and enabling environments facilitate the successful implementation of the PPP law. This will include an institutional capacity assessment, continued support to the PPP Committee, and support in developing regulations for implementing the law. The team will also conduct a political economy analysis of the PPP environment to provide a mapping of stakeholders and help inform future USAID programming.