On the afternoon of October 1, the Ministry of Transport informed about the project to invest in the North-South high-speed railway.
Borrowing from any country will be binding.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy assessed that this is a special, large-scale and unprecedented project. The project has received special attention from the Party and the State. The research process has lasted 18 years, from 2006 to present.
According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Danh Huy, this project has 3 issues: Resources, speed, and transport function (passenger only or combined with cargo transport) that have received much attention.
Answering the question about the use of mobilized capital to implement the project, in case of having to borrow foreign capital, will there be any obligations with the lenders? Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy affirmed: "According to the Law on Public Investment, we use 100% of the budget capital to do it."
Mr. Huy explained that according to the State Budget Law, budget capital has many sources such as surplus revenue and expenditure balance, and insufficient revenue can be used to issue domestic bonds (government or foreign bonds).
"With the spirit of independence, self-reliance, self-reliance and self-reliance, the Politburo decided not to depend on foreign countries, because borrowing from any country would be binding.
We determine that public investment uses domestic capital sources. The Government will have a plan to mobilize domestic capital sources and, depending on the balance, can issue domestic bonds.
In the case of foreign loans, there must be incentives, few constraints and the biggest condition is to transfer technology to Vietnam," Mr. Huy informed.
Regarding concerns that the introduction of high-speed railways that prioritize passenger transport will directly compete with the aviation industry, Mr. Huy said that we are currently trying to maintain flights of less than 500km (which are often unprofitable). Airlines are using profits from long flights to offset losses from short flights.
Therefore, for passenger transport, short distance (under 150km) is dominated by road, medium distance (150 - 800km) high-speed rail is completely dominant, long distance (over 800km) market share mainly belongs to aviation and partly to high-speed rail.
Therefore, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said that high-speed railway will contribute to restructuring the market share of all types of transport in a sustainable manner. High-speed railway will not reduce the role of air transport but these two types of transport will complement each other.
Speaking to VietNamNet reporters on the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Vu Hong Phuong, Director of the Railway Project Management Board (Ministry of Transport) said that according to the research proposal, the project will use public investment capital.
According to the direction of the Party and the Government, the project needs to be started soon and completed before 2035. The Ministry of Transport, with the spirit of "only talking about doing, not retreating, overcoming the sun, overcoming the rain" to implement the direction of the Government, is determined to start the project in 2027 and complete it before 2035.
Total investment of more than 67 billion USD, capital arrangement in about 12 years
According to the proposed research consultant, the North-South high-speed railway has a design speed of 350km/h, a length of about 1,541km, double track, 1,435mm gauge, and electrification.
The route will start from Ngoc Hoi station (Hanoi), pass through 20 provinces and cities and end at Thu Thiem station (HCMC), directly connecting two special-class urban areas with a population of up to about 10 million people, 17 class 1 urban areas with a population of 500,000 people or more, not to mention smaller urban areas.
Along the entire route, there are 23 passenger stations with an average distance of 50 - 70km, 5 freight stations connected to freight hubs, serving well national defense logistics when needed.
The total investment of the project is about more than 67 billion USD, expected to use state budget capital allocated in the medium-term public investment plan. The capital allocation period is about 12 years, each year on average about 5.6 billion USD.
The project preparation process has studied two investment options. First , the investment option for the entire route, basically completed in 2035. Of which, the Hanoi - Vinh and Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City sections will start construction in 2027, the Vinh - Nha Trang section will start construction in 2028, and construction will be completed in 2035.
Second , the investment plan is divided into two phases, basically completing the entire route by 2040. Of which, the Hanoi - Vinh and Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City sections will start construction in 2027 and complete construction in 2030; the Vinh - Nha Trang section will start construction in 2030 and complete construction in 2040.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the evaluation of the options shows that the investment option for the entire route has the advantage of promoting efficiency and attracting all passengers traveling on all sections as soon as it is put into operation.
Regarding the North-South high-speed railway ticket prices, according to the Ministry of Transport, there will be 3 levels to suit people's ability to pay, needs and different levels of comfort.
Specifically, the North-South high-speed railway ticket price is expected to be 75% of the average price of low-cost and economy air tickets. This level is based on the reference price of average tickets of Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet.
Thus, on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route, first class tickets are about 6.9 million; second class is 2.9 million and third class is 1.7 million VND.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/duong-sat-toc-do-cao-bac-nam-hon-67-ty-usd-khong-phu-thuoc-von-vay-nuoc-ngoai-2327844.html
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