WNAM MONITORING: Việt Nam is expecting to start a North-South high-speed railway project, which spans over 1,500km, in partnership with China in 2026-27, according to Minister of Transport Nguyễn Văn Thắng.
During a visit to China from June 24-27 for the 15th World Economic Forum in Dalian, China, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính also attended a conference on the two countries’ cooperation in transport infrastructure.
He met with leaders of several major Chinese railway corporations, including Sun Rongkun, chairman of the Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co Ltd (CRRC), and Lou Qiliang, chairman and director general of the China Railway Signal Information Corporation (CRSC).
According to Thắng, the capital needed for Việt Nam’s transportation development until 2045 is huge. The planned 41 expressway routes with a total length of 9,014km require about US$26.09 billion, more than half of which will be mobilised from enterprise capital.
The Ministry of Transport estimated that the national railway network and urban railways in Hà Nội and HCM City require around $208.7 billion.
Việt Nam plans to upgrade and renovate seven existing railway lines with a total length of 2,440km, and build 9 new railway lines with a total length of over 2,600km, including the 175km HCMC-Cần Thơ line and the 1,545km North-South high-speed railway line.
There is also a plan to build 14 urban railway lines in HCM City (6 lines) and Hà Nội (8 lines).
The huge capital needed for those transportation projects is a challenge for the Vietnamese Government, but according to the minister, this is also an investment opportunity for both Vietnamese and Chinese enterprises.
Chairman Sun of the CRRC said his company could meet the demand for building urban railways in Hà Nội and HCM City.
Việt Nam currently has over 2,000km of railways with more than 300 stations, but in recent years their operation has not been truly effective.
PM Chính emphasised the importance of investing in developing railways in Việt Nam, in which investment in urban railways is considered urgent.
With experience in the construction of thousands of kilometres of high-speed railways and metro lines, the PowerChina Group declared its readiness to join Vietnamese partners in realising the goal of building 5,000km of expressways by 2030.
