One more year of Aus4Transport: the partnership continues being strong and the Program is moving forward
IN BRIEF
Another year has passed and Aus4Transport is proudly celebrating 4 years of operations, which presents a great opportunity to examine the overall progress and achievements of the Program reached so far, especially over the last few months.
Despite a very challenging year, in which Aus4Transport, like so many other programs, has struggled to cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, all of the Program’s stakeholders have put in a tremendous effort to overcome restrictions and find innovative ways to continue moving forward. The Program currently has 14 on-going activities, and 7 more are under preparation that will soon be submitted for approval.
The Aus4Transport team has been operating at full speed, working in close cooperation with all partners and stakeholders, allowing the Program to keep up with the planned timeline and to accomplish all the activities’ workplans. Aus4Transport would like to send a big thank you to all the professionals that have made it possible and continue to do so every day!
KNOW MORE…
The AUD30 million Australian grant investment program that is supporting the development of Vietnam’s transport sector started in 2018, and aims to improve the sector’s capacity to design and develop high quality projects and bring them to market faster. Aus4Transport has been consistently supporting the Government of Vietnam, through funding and through technical assistance, and functioning as a true partnership between the two governments by serving both countries’ strategic priorities through joint implementation.
The Program has come a long way since it began, and is now supporting 4 major activities, valued at AUD10.5 million, that facilitate project development (Stream A), and 10 more activities that strengthen transport capacities and address bottlenecks in project development and financing (Stream B).
Stream A
A very significant milestone of this last year has been the completion of the Detailed Design and Documentation for the Central Highlands Connectivity Improvement Project (CHCIP – DDD), for which physical works have already started on 5 out of 8 packages. At the same time, 11 packages have now been finalised for the other major Stream A activity, the Detailed Design and Documentation for the Northern Mountain Provinces Transport Connectivity Project (NMPTCP-DDD), with construction starting on one of the priority packages after a highly anticipated ground-breaking ceremony in Lai Chau on 27 December 2021. Another big step forward was the finalisation and approval of the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Plan for the NMPTCP, which included a specific plan for civil works contractors that was incorporated into the bidding and contracting documentation.
In addition, another Stream A activity – updating the Feasibility Study and the Environmental and Social Assessment Instruments for the Southern Region Waterways and Transport Logistics Corridor Project – (SWLC-FS-ESAI) – was approved and launched by Aus4Transport in late 2021. Since then, contracts have been signed, both teams mobilised, and the first draft documents have been submitted for revision. The ESAI documents have been updated in accordance with the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and Environmental and Social Standards (ESS). The first draft of documents have been submitted to the World Bank for review and appraisal, and disclosed on the World Bank and PMUW website.
Stream B
Stream B activities continue to grow in number and scope, with 4 new activities starting in the last 6 months: the Axle Load Control Program Design (ALCP), a Road Safety Awareness Campaign Design (RSAC), the Replacement Afforestation Plan and Public Awareness Campaign on Forest Protection (RAP&PACOFP), and the Management Information System for Railway Infrastructure (VNRA-MIS).
As well as launching the new activities, a lot of work has gone into the ongoing activities, with, Environmental and Social Benefits and Costs of Transport Infrastructure Projects (ESIA) and the Transport Project Management Information Systems (TPMIS) in their final stages and are expected to be fully completed by the end of Q1 or beginning of Q2 2022. Meanwhile, for the Capacity Building on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion and Sustainable Project Management in the Transport Sector (GESI) activity, the first training was conducted in November after long delays due to COVID-19 . The team working on the activity Capacity Building for Transport Authorities to Enhance Inclusive Accessible Transportation (ATS) have been busily preparing the material for the delivery of training in the provinces, scheduled to take place between March and May this year.
The three current activities supporting the NMPTCP – DDD: Design of a Road Safety Awareness Campaign (NMPTCP-RSAC), Design of an Axle Load Control Program (NMPTCP-ALCP) and Development of a Replacement Afforestation Plan and Public Awareness Campaign on Forest Protection (NMPTCP- RAP&PACOFP) have completed their field surveys and consultations and submitted the first draft documents to be reviewed by the province authorities and MOT.
All of the Program’s activities have been significantly impacted by COVID-19 travel and work restrictions with delays experienced in Program governance, surveys, field trips, face-to-face meetings, public consultations, training and workshops. But these challenges have been managed collaboratively by all Program stakeholders, ensuring that activities are able to continue and keep on building and strengthening the partnership between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Australia. Aus4Transport thanks all of our partners for their firm commitment and looks forward to many more successful birthdays to come.
