French businesses want to cooperate in building high-speed railway

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh received and worked with French Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarot on promoting cooperation in the field of transport between the two sides - Photo: GT Newspaper

On March 21, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh received and worked with French Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarot on promoting cooperation in the field of transport between the two sides.

Many French businesses want to cooperate in building high-speed railways

French Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarot said that transportation is one of the priority and important areas that Vietnam and France have promoted together for many years, including cooperation in railways, maritime, aviation and urban transport.

According to Minister Philippe Tabarot, many French enterprises want to cooperate, share experiences and promote their technological strengths in the field of high-speed railways. This afternoon, a Vietnam-France seminar on high-speed railways will also be held at the French Embassy. Minister Philippe Tabarot said that he will join the working delegation to visit the elevated section of the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station urban railway line, which will be put into operation tomorrow.

In the maritime sector, French container shipping company CMA CGM is actively operating in the Vietnamese market and has a number of development projects in Hai Phong city.

Regarding aviation, the two sides have had cooperation agreements between the French General Directorate of Civil Aviation and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam; between Airbus and Vietnamese airlines.

Close cooperation in the aviation sector

Minister Tran Hong Minh emphasized that Vietnam and France established diplomatic relations in 1973. By 2024, the two countries had upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership during the official visit to France by General Secretary and President To Lam from October 6-7, 2024, making France the first country in the EU to have a comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam.

Over the past 50 years, the two sides have promoted comprehensive cooperation and maintained regular dialogue mechanisms in all fields, including transportation.

In the aviation sector, there are currently two airlines regularly operating the Vietnam-France market, namely Vietnam Airlines and Air France. In 2024, the total number of flights will reach 1,440,000, an increase of 4.1% compared to 2023.

Airbus is currently the largest aircraft supplier to Vietnamese airlines, with 79 aircraft for Vietnam Airlines and 94 aircraft for Vietjet Air. The two sides are also working together to evaluate the fleet modernization plan until 2030, with a vision to 2035.

Recently, the French company ADPi won the bid to consult on the review of the detailed planning of Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc and Con Dao airports for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050. At the same time, ADPi is also the unit that prepared the detailed planning of Noi Bai airport for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, funded by the French Government, with a total value of nearly 570,000 euros.

In addition, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and the French General Directorate of Civil Aviation also signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement in 2018. Accordingly, the French side has continuously supported the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to improve its capacity in the field of aviation safety supervision and flight operations management.

According to the Minister, Vietnam is focusing on implementing the project to build Long Thanh International Airport with a total capacity of up to 100 million passengers/year. Once completed, this will be the largest airport in Vietnam in the future, becoming an international aviation gateway for French aviation businesses to consider and connect to access the market of 100 million people in Vietnam.

On this occasion, the Minister suggested that the two sides continue to increase support and share experiences in state management of aviation, while creating favorable conditions for aviation enterprises of the two countries to operate more effectively and successfully in the future. At the same time, support training to improve the capacity of airport safety supervisors, training in flight operations management, and technical support for assessing the index of runway classification.

In the railway sector, the two countries have also coordinated to complete a number of projects such as the Hanoi – Vinh railway signal information system implemented by Alstom Group and Vietnamese partners; the Yen Vien – Lao Cai railway renovation and upgrade project co-funded by the Asian Development Bank and France. Currently, the two sides are coordinating to implement the Nhon – Hanoi Railway Station urban railway project, which has put into operation the elevated section from Nhon to Thu Le.

Regarding French non-refundable aid, the Minister expressed his delight at the news that the French Treasury and AFD had agreed to provide 800,000 Euros in non-refundable aid to establish a pre-feasibility study to modernize the Hanoi - Hai Phong railway line and a proposal for a technical assistance program worth 850,000 Euros in non-refundable aid for the Ministry of Construction in the railway sector implemented by the French National Railway Corporation (SNCF).

Informing the French side, Minister Tran Hong Minh said that on November 30, 2024, the Vietnamese National Assembly approved the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis with a large scale and demand for capital and resources; a long-range scope, applying modern technology and techniques, integrating many specialties. Therefore, the Minister highly appreciated the French side's proposal to organize the Vietnam-France Workshop on high-speed railway.

In the maritime sector, Minister Tran Hong Minh highly appreciated the largest French container shipping company, CMA CGM, for providing international shipping services in Vietnam and welcomed capable and experienced businesses and shipping lines to continue investing in developing seaport infrastructure in Vietnam.

On this occasion, the Minister suggested that the two sides coordinate and review the signed maritime agreement to further strengthen cooperation as well as add new areas of maritime technology, green development, and environmental protection to suit current practical needs.

PT