Determined to build the railway industry

On the evening of March 29, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the Steering Committee for key projects and important national railway projects, chaired the first meeting of the Steering Committee.

Attending the meeting were Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh, Minister, Head of the Government Office Tran Van Son, leaders of ministries, branches, agencies, localities, and members of the Steering Committee.

In a short period of time (November 2024 and February 2025), the National Assembly issued 3 Resolutions to implement railway projects, including: Resolution on investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project; Resolution on investment policy for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project; Resolution on piloting a number of specific and special mechanisms and policies to develop the urban railway network system in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

New railway infrastructure construction projects and works have a very large scale and total investment, requiring high technical requirements, especially the high-speed railway being deployed for the first time in Vietnam.

The Prime Minister issued Decision No. 609/QD-TTg dated March 15, 2025 establishing the Steering Committee for important national railway projects and works and Decision No. 24/QD-BCĐĐSQG dated March 17, 2025 promulgating the regulations on organization and operation of the Steering Committee.

The list of works and projects includes: (i) High-speed railway project on the North-South axis; (ii) Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong, Hanoi - Lang Son, Mong Cai - Ha Long (Quang Ninh) railway lines and (iii) urban railway projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The North-South high-speed railway project, approved by the National Assembly in Resolution No. 172/2024/QH15, has a total length of 1,541 km from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, with a design speed of 350 km/h. The total preliminary investment is VND 1,713,548 billion (about USD 67.34 billion). The implementation period is from 2025-2035.

Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway, 1,435 mm gauge, passenger and cargo transport; total main line length is about 390.9 km, branch line 27.9 km; total investment 8.369 billion USD; phase 1 invests in single track, site clearance is carried out on double track scale. Implementation period from 2025-2030.

The Hanoi – Lang Son railway connects the capital Hanoi with the provinces of Bac Ninh, Bac Giang and Lang Son, and international transport links with China; total length is about 156 km.

The Hai Phong - Ha Long - Mong Cai railway connects Hai Phong city with Quang Ninh province; connects international transport with China; the total length of the route is about 187 km.

According to Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15 dated February 19, 2025 of the National Assembly, Hanoi city plans to build 15 urban railway lines; Ho Chi Minh city plans to build 10 urban railway lines.

Formation of large corporations in the railway industry

In his concluding remarks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the importance of investing in railway projects and developing the railway industry.

The Prime Minister stated that to achieve the set goals, we must have the mindset to overcome our own limits, break free from the beaten path, promote the spirit of self-reliance, self-reliance, and national pride.

"We are determined to build the railway industry, master the technology, produce carriages and locomotives, and develop the railway industrial ecosystem. Respecting time, intelligence and making timely decisions are the decisive factors for success. This is also an opportunity for our country and our people to have more motivation and inspiration to rise up and develop," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Railway Corporation Dang Sy Manh speaks at the meeting

Directing solutions, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Education and Training to develop a project to train human resources, both domestically and abroad, with specific plans, programs and training targets for each level and major, to form and develop railway faculties at universities; especially to train chief engineers.

Along with that, forming and establishing large corporations, including private corporations, related to the railway industry, if exceeding authority, must report to competent authorities to decide and amend related regulations.

The third solution is to mobilize and diversify resources, including state capital, loans, issuance of project bonds, public-private partnerships, TOD exploitation, etc., while at the same time strictly managing to avoid loss and waste.

The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Construction develop appropriate technical standards; apply modern technology and transfer advanced techniques.

Regarding mechanisms, policies, problems that need to be resolved, and necessary policies, the Ministry of Construction will preside over and work with relevant agencies to review and report to the National Assembly at the upcoming session.

Assigning a number of tasks, the Prime Minister requested a unified understanding of the importance of railway projects; focusing on removing difficulties, speeding up the progress of projects, especially in site clearance in the direction of separating into separate projects, when there is a route, assigning localities to clear the site, calling for investment in stations, first of all the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong project.

Requiring increased inter-sectoral coordination and increased responsibility, the Prime Minister emphasized that determination must be very high, efforts must be great, actions must be drastic, and work must be focused and key, and each task must be completed and each task must be completed. Tasks and work must ensure 6 "clarities"; "clear people, clear work, clear progress, clear results, clear responsibilities, clear authority" as a basis for monitoring and review. Resolutely and strictly handle cases of delay and lack of responsibility, and promptly commend collectives and individuals who have excellently completed their tasks, and encourage innovation and creativity.

The Prime Minister also directed that people and businesses be the center, projects must aim to serve the people, improve service quality, reduce congestion, protect the environment and develop sustainably.

Prime Minister calls for unified awareness of the importance of railway projects

The Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Justice shall develop and promulgate legal documents to guide specific and special mechanisms and policies approved by the National Assembly. If any mechanisms or policies are missing, they shall be submitted to the National Assembly for general application to projects.

The Ministry of Construction urgently collects comments from ministries and agencies to complete and submit to the Government for promulgation the Government's Resolutions implementing Resolution No. 172/2024/QH15 and Resolution No. 187/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly. The Ministry of Construction presides over and coordinates with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to develop and submit to the Government a draft Resolution to implement Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will develop a Decree regulating the temporary use and return of forests to carry out temporary construction works serving the project, to be completed in September 2025.

The Ministry of Construction develops a Decree stipulating criteria for selecting state-owned organizations and enterprises assigned tasks or Vietnamese organizations and enterprises ordered to provide railway industrial goods and services.

The Ministry of Construction drafts a Prime Minister's Decision regulating the list of railway industrial services and goods assigned to state-owned organizations and enterprises or ordered by Vietnamese organizations and enterprises.

The Ministry of Construction has developed a guiding Decree allowing investors to simultaneously prepare, appraise and approve Feasibility Study Reports, construction designs after basic designs, bidding documents and request documents.

Regarding railway industry development projects, the Prime Minister noted the need to study and refer to international lessons and experiences.

Localities urgently develop detailed plans, proactively allocate local budgets to carry out compensation, support and resettlement work; and deploy the construction of resettlement areas for the Project based on the preliminary design documents in the Pre-Feasibility Study Report approved by the National Assembly.

Regarding specific projects, for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project, the Ministry of Finance urgently submitted to the Prime Minister the establishment of a State Appraisal Council. The Prime Minister agreed to start the bidding package for the construction of the new Lao Cai station infrastructure and start the resettlement areas of the Project in 2025. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, based on the pre-feasibility study report of the Project, worked with the Chinese side to negotiate the Agreement. At the same time, promote the Hanoi - Lang Son and Hai Phong - Ha Long - Mong Cai railway projects.

Regarding the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis, the Prime Minister requested to try to start construction in December 2026. The Ministry of Justice has given its opinion on applying the simplified procedures in construction, issuing the Decree on the overall design in early April 2025; at the same time, ministries and branches have promptly given their opinions after the Ministry of Construction asked for opinions on the draft Decree.

Regarding the urban railway projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Prime Minister requested the People's Committees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to review the implementation of urban railway projects in their localities. The Ministry of Finance will soon give its opinion on stopping the use of ODA capital and foreign preferential loans for the project and adjusting the capital source for the urban railway project in Ho Chi Minh City, Line 2, Ben Thanh - Tham Luong section.

Source: https://vr.com.vn/tin-tuc--su-kien/thu-tuong-quyet-tam-xay-dung-bang-duoc-nganh-cong-nghiep-duong-sat.html