TPO - On the afternoon of November 30, the National Assembly voted to approve the draft Resolution on the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis, with over 92% of delegates in favor. The total investment for the project is 1.7 million billion VND, equivalent to 67 billion USD.
TPO - On the afternoon of November 30, the National Assembly voted to approve the draft Resolution on the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis, with over 92% of delegates in favor. The total investment for the project is 1.7 million billion VND, equivalent to 67 billion USD.
Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City section will start construction in 2027
Reporting on the explanation and acceptance of the investment scale, Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that there were opinions suggesting to add the project scope from Lang Son to Ca Mau Cape and to divide the implementation into phases; suggesting to connect the project to the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway line to ensure synchronization.
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National Assembly deputies vote to pass the resolution on the afternoon of November 30. Photo: Nhu Y |
Regarding this, the National Assembly Standing Committee explained that according to the railway network planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, it has determined to develop new railway lines from Lang Son to Can Tho, including 3 sections: Lang Son (Dong Dang) - Hanoi, Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City and Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho, to connect dynamic regions, urban areas, major economic centers and ensure national defense and security on the North - South economic corridor.
According to the approved Resolution: The total preliminary investment of the project is 1,713,548 billion VND; the implementation progress, the feasibility study report will be prepared from 2025, striving to basically complete the project by 2035.
Because the railway sections from Lang Son to Can Tho have different transportation needs, the technical standards and types of railways are also different and are researched and invested in according to independent projects, suitable for the transportation needs of each section and the ability to mobilize resources.
Of which, the Lang Son - Hanoi section, 156 km long, is a standard railway, with detailed planning being studied and expected to be invested before 2030.
The Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City section, 1,541 km long, is a high-speed railway, striving to start construction in 2027.
Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho section, 174 km long, is a standard railway, being prepared for investment, expected to be implemented before 2030.
In the first 4 years, revenue only covered operating and maintenance costs.
Regarding economic efficiency, Mr. Vu Hong Thanh said that some opinions suggested carefully evaluating financial efficiency, especially the ability to recover capital, the ability to repay capital and subsidies for the Project during operation and exploitation.
The National Assembly Standing Committee said that the Government has calculated the huge direct and indirect economic benefits but cannot calculate the project's revenue and financial efficiency.
“Similar to the model of countries around the world, railway projects bring great efficiency to the economy, however, the revenue calculated to recover capital for the project mainly comes from transportation revenue, commercial exploitation to balance operating costs, vehicle maintenance, infrastructure maintenance and infrastructure fee payment to the state,” said Mr. Thanh.
Accordingly, in the first 4 years of operation, revenue can only cover the cost of operating and maintaining vehicles. Therefore, the state needs to support a part of the economic capital allocated to the railway system as it is now to maintain the infrastructure.
According to Mr. Thanh, many opinions suggested supplementing a more complete assessment of capital sources and the ability to balance capital and allocate capital for each stage of the project to ensure feasibility and efficiency; suggested supplementing a thorough assessment of the impact of project investment on state budget deficit, public debt and the budget's ability to repay debt in the medium and long term.
In addition, there are also opinions that the project goes through 3 medium-term periods, so the total investment approved for each period should only be calculated in that period, the capital implemented in each period should be calculated in that medium-term period and should not be transferred from the previous medium-term period to the next medium-term period.
Regarding this, the National Assembly Standing Committee said that the project will last for 3 medium-term periods, the ability to balance capital, and arrange capital to implement the project, specifically:
Phase 2021 - 2025: capital demand for the project is about 538 billion VND (used for investment preparation) has been balanced in the medium-term public investment plan of the Ministry of Transport;
Meanwhile, in the 2026 - 2030 period, capital demand is about VND 841,707 billion and in the 2031 - 2035 period, capital demand is about VND 871,302 billion.
According to the 2019 Law on Public Investment, currently the assessment of the ability to balance capital sources can only be carried out according to the 5-year medium-term public investment plan, the part transferred to the next phase cannot exceed 20% of the public investment plan of the previous phase. The project lasts for 3 medium-term periods, so there is no regulation on determining the ability to balance capital.
“Therefore, the draft resolution stipulates that the project is allocated capital through medium-term public investment planning periods, the capital level allocated for each medium-term period is consistent with the project implementation progress and does not have to conduct an appraisal of the capital balance capacity according to the provisions of the Law on Public Investment,” Mr. Vu Hong Thanh informed.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/chot-67-ty-usd-lam-duong-sat-toc-do-cao-bac-nam-post1696278.tpo
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