UK, Vietnam strengthen partnership dialogue   Lord Mayor of London Alderman Fiona Woolf on October 7 said at a dialogue in Hanoi that the UK plans to assist Vietnam in developing infrastructure by implementing the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.  She stressed the PPP model is developing in a dynamic way and Vietnam is facing huge challenges funding the cost of infrastructure. She underlined the international community and the City of London – the world’s leading financial centre are also seeking new models to provide capital sources in a long-term and sustainable manner.   At the dialogue, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said the PPP  model is attractive to Vietnam. Minister Vinh said in recent times, the Vietnam Government and Ministry of Planning and investment (MPI) have made significant reforms on public investment to facilitate private investment in Vietnam. He emphasized a PPP decree is on the agenda to be submitted to the government soon, which he hopes will open up a new channel to attract more investment capital. Stanley Boots, an international consulting expert for the MPI said Vietnam needs some US$17 billion per year to meet the demand for infrastructure construction in the 2010-2020 period, half of which will be mobilized from the private economic sector.  However, to fulfill the target, Vietnam has to deal with shortcomings such as complicated legal framework and lack of social unanimity. The MPI has devised solutions for dealing with the shortage of capital sources since 2008. In 2009, the MPI also issued a decree to allow the implementation of some PPP pilot projects and made remarkable reforms in the 2011-2012 period.   The contents of the new PPP decree are in accordance with Vietnam’s situation and international norms on PPP. Accordingly, the decree should muster a high consensus on the existing legal documents and resolve issues on loans and investors’ demands as well as strengthening capacity of the concerned parties. At the dialogue, head of the MPI's Bidding Management Department, Le Van Tang also  updated information on projects calling for investment under the PPP model in the time head. VOV