By 2025, complete approval of the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project and start construction before 2030 with priority routes being Hanoi - Vinh and Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang.
Urgent route
The development of the North-South high-speed railway has been heating up on forums recently. A country nearly 2,000 km long, but up to now, the old railway system that is hundreds of years behind does not create motivation for development.
In early October 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed Decision 1143 to establish the Steering Committee for the development and implementation of the Project on investment policy for high-speed railways on the North-South axis and important national railway projects.
The Ministry of Transport (MOT) plans to build two priority sections from now until 2030, namely Hanoi - Vinh and Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City, and complete the entire route by 2050.
The Ministry of Transport has sent invitations to 9 experts and scientists in the fields of transport, construction, economics, finance, railway transport exploitation, and locomotives and rolling stock to join the Advisory Group. The list includes Prof. Dr. Tran Chung, Nguyen Ngoc Dong, former Deputy Minister of Transport (transport expert); Prof. Dr. La Ngoc Khue, former Deputy Minister of Transport (transport expert); Dr. Nguyen Van Phuc, former Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee (economic expert); Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, former Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (economic expert); Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, member of the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council (financial expert), etc.
Previously, in March 2023, the Politburo concluded that by 2025, the approval of the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project would be completed and construction would begin before 2030. Accordingly, the Hanoi - Vinh and Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang sections will be prioritized to begin construction in the 2026-2030 period; striving to complete the entire North-South high-speed railway route before 2045.
The Government has directed the Ministry to develop a project on investment policy for the high-speed railway on the North-South axis to submit to competent authorities for consideration and approval, expected in 2023, striving to submit to the National Assembly for approval of the investment policy in 2025.
There are two options for consideration.
Option 1: Build a North-South railway with double track, 1,435 mm gauge, 1,545 km long, operating speed of 320 km/h, only running passenger trains; combine with renovating existing railways to transport goods. The total estimated investment for this option is about 58.71 billion USD.
Option 2: Build a new North-South railway line, double track, 1,435 mm gauge, combining passenger and freight train operations; maximum passenger train speed is 180 km/h, maximum freight train speed is 120 km/h. Total project investment under this option is about 64.9 billion USD.
In terms of technology, the Chairman of the Association of Investors and Transport Construction, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Chung also supports the plan to build a high-speed railway line using the most modern technology to achieve a train speed of over 300 km/h. Because high-speed railway technology over 300 km/h is high technology, requiring special and complicated techniques. If investing in a railway system with a speed of only 200 - 250 km/h, later on, if we want to upgrade to over 300 km/h, we will have to start over, which will be much more expensive.
Strategically, the construction of a 350 km/h high-speed railway (HSR) with a vision of 50-100 years from now is completely reasonable. The current practical context also allows this option to be feasible.
So it can be seen that choosing which option is not only purely economic but also based on that to see the vision and breakthrough in thinking. We often say that the later countries must choose new breakthrough technology, so at this time, choosing which option will demonstrate the vision and development thinking.
Choosing a contractor also requires self-improvement
To do that, learning from the countries that have gone before is extremely necessary. Recently, the Ministry of Transport organized an interdisciplinary working group to study the experiences in 4 countries with developed high-speed railway systems, including: China, Spain, Japan, Germany. Experience from the trip will be updated, supplemented and completed to report to the Government for consideration and submission to the Politburo. Among the above countries, China has the largest high-speed railway network in the world, Spain has the largest railway network in Europe and ranks 2nd in the world. These are the 2 countries receiving technology transfer while Japan and Germany are the 2 countries mastering high-speed railway technology.
Who to choose and who to go with to carry out the project is also a big question that needs to be answered.
Recently, in a meeting with Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung on October 19, representatives of China Harbour Construction Corporation (CHEC) and China Communications Construction Corporation (CCCC) expressed their desire to build the North-South high-speed railway. Talking to Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, Mr. Bach Ngoc Chien said that in the coming time, the group wishes to participate in major infrastructure development programs and projects in Vietnam such as: developing the North-South high-speed railway; investing and constructing the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong expressway expansion projects, Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai, Dong Dang - Tra Linh and wind power development projects...
However, when choosing any contractor, we must first look back at our own capacity from the experience of infrastructure projects that have increased costs, dragged on, and wasted resources. Delays in site clearance are always the cause of many cases of contract penalties. If we do not delay site clearance, contractors certainly cannot use those excuses to increase capital. On the contrary, when they do not perform the contract properly, we have the right to fine them.
One way to make the project fast and competitive is to choose many good contractors. The railway line is long, so it should be divided into many projects to choose many contractors, of course, on the basis of a single technology for the whole line. That way, we can take advantage of advanced technology and save time. After all, fast progress and short construction time are also economic efficiency.
So whether it is effective or not, fast or slow depends on us, the responsible people. Hopefully there will be breakthroughs in policies to implement the project, creating momentum for national development.
Nguyen Dang Tan
Vietnamnet.vn
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