On the morning of November 13, authorized by the Prime Minister, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang presented a document approving the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project.
Regarding the project investment objective, Minister Nguyen Van Thang said that the construction of the high-speed railway aims to meet transportation needs, contribute to restructuring the transportation market share on the North-South corridor in an optimal and sustainable manner, creating the premise and driving force for socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security.
This railway line starts in Hanoi (Ngoc Hoi station) and ends in Ho Chi Minh City (Thu Thiem station), passing through 20 provinces and cities; the length of the line is about 1,541 km. Construct a new double-track railway line, 1,435 mm gauge, electrified, designed speed 350 km/h, load capacity 22.5 tons/axle; transport passengers, meet dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary.
Regarding technology, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang said that the railway runs on rails, using distributed power train technology for passenger trains and centralized power for freight trains. Applying technical standards to ensure a design speed of 350 km/h.
The Minister of Transport also emphasized that the project route was studied and selected as “the shortest possible”, ensuring compliance with national sector planning, regional planning and local planning. At the same time, it is necessary to limit going through environmentally sensitive areas, relic sites, scenic spots, and defense land; reduce the volume of land clearance, avoid densely populated areas; ensure connectivity between East-West corridors and international railway routes. The total land use demand of the project is approximately 10,827 hectares, with a resettled population of approximately 120,836 people.
According to the Government's proposal, the total preliminary investment is about 1,713,548 billion VND (about 67.34 billion USD). It is expected that the state budget will be allocated in the medium-term public investment plans to complete the project by 2035, with capital allocated for about 12 years (from 2025 to 2037), averaging about 5.6 billion USD per year, equivalent to about 1.3% of GDP in 2023, about 1% of GDP in 2027 (when the project starts). "The implementation process will mobilize diverse legal capital sources for investment," said Minister Nguyen Van Thang.
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