Water, energy,transport and digital infrastructure are key sectors that are immediatepriorities, he said.
Sustainedavailability of clean water, for example, is a concern in the Mekong Basin, hesaid, adding that financing opportunities exist in water managementinfrastructure.
The Vietnamesegovernment targets all residents in urban areas to have access to 120 litres ofclean water per person per day by 2025, according to Sapru.
“Nearly 3.3 billion USDfor infrastructure improvement and 6.9 billion USD for urban waste watertreatment plants will be required,” he said. “Financing for water resourcemanagement is insufficient. High levels of government subsidies are required,which increases the cost of such projects and reduces financingopportunities."
In the transportsector, 29 rail projects are in the pipeline. Roads are the dominant means forfreight transport, but there is limited capacity in the country, as well as alack of sustainable financing for such projects, according to the CEO.
Ports are mainlyowned and operated by the Government, with port expansions in the north andsouth being promoted.
He said theGovernment could encourage private financing of ports by providing supportinfrastructure.
“We need to thinkbeyond traditional financing for such sustainable infrastructure investment.Clear and consistent policy and regulations are critical to enabling investmentinfrastructure,” he added.
Dr Ngo Viet Nam Son, Presidentof NgoViet Architects & Planners, said the Government should call onprivate investment in the development of smart cities.
Speaking about theconstruction sector, Philippe Richart, general director of INSEE Vietnam, said:“The industry along the entire value chain has vast potential for improvingproductivity and efficiency thanks to digitalisation and new constructiontechniques.”
Construction is a keyindustry around the world and a growing and dynamic sector, especially in Asia.Around 10 trillion USD a year is spent on buildings or infrastructure which arethe backbone of the global economy.
However, while othersectors have undergone tremendous changes over the last few decades, throughimproved process and product innovations, productivity in construction hasbarely increased at all. This not only represents a lost opportunity for theindustry but also a cost for the world economy, according to a press releasefrom organiser INSEE Vietnam.
The LargeInfrastructure Project Conference 2019 “Rethinking Construction” was organisedby INSEE Vietnam, an affiliate of Jardines, in partnership with SIKA, DOKA andLILAMA, and in association with the Vietnam Institute of Building Materials,Vietnam Green Building Council, the British Business Association and the HongKong Business Association.
At the conference,government authorities, representatives of construction industries, developers,designers, contractors and suppliers shared new ideas about how to build bettercities./.