At least two national railway lines will be invested in earlier than the schedule set out in the Railway Network Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, thereby making railways an important "playground" for domestic businesses and investors.
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| Construction of Khe Net railway tunnel (Quang Binh province). Photo : AM |
Early activation of investment roadmap
The Vietnam Railway Authority has just issued Document No. 2307/TTr-CĐSVN requesting the Ministry of Transport to review and report to competent authorities for approval of adjustments to the Railway Network Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.
Previously, based on the proposal of the Ministry of Transport, the Railway Network Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 1769/QD-TTg dated October 19, 2021. Accordingly, by 2030, 9 new railway lines with a total length of 2,362 km will be planned.
In Document No. 2307/TTr-CĐSVN, the Vietnam Railway Authority clearly stated the reasons why the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, must be adjusted and updated just 3 years after its promulgation.
Mr. Tran Thien Canh, Director of Vietnam Railway Authority, said that the railway network planning was first established in the absence of a national master plan, national land use plan, national marine spatial plan; national sectoral plans of other fields (industry, tourism, urban and rural areas, etc.), regional plans, and provincial plans were all just beginning to be established or were selecting consultants.
At the time of planning (2020), the overall orientation framework for socio-economic development, national defense, security, environmental protection at the national, international, inter-regional levels and the expected division of regions, economic corridors, and growth poles were not yet available. Therefore, forecasting the points of transportation demand generation, orienting the corridors, and dividing the market share of the transportation corridors was only relative and not highly accurate.
Up to now, the basic national sectoral plans have been approved by the Prime Minister with many development orientations affecting the railway network planning at different levels, especially the planning of some sectors and fields such as energy, minerals, tourism, electricity... related to the production, consumption, and transportation of specific products such as coal, gasoline, LNG, minerals... have greatly impacted the forecast of railway transport demand.
In addition, in February 2023, the Politburo issued Conclusion No. 49-KL/TW on the Orientation for the Development of Vietnam's Railway Transport to 2030, with a vision to 2045. The Politburo also passed a resolution on 6 socio-economic regions and 3 localities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Khanh Hoa).
In early 2023, the National Assembly passed Resolution No. 81/2023/QH15 on the National Master Plan; the Prime Minister approved national sectoral plans and provincial/municipal plans, which affected the railway network planning.
“In the new context mentioned above, it is necessary to adjust the railway network planning to ensure compliance with the national master plan, synchronous coordination between national sectoral plans, and ensure the implementation of the country's development orientations,” said the leader of the Vietnam Railway Authority.
It should be added that the first important highlight in Document No. 2307/TTr-CĐSVN is the proposal by the specialized state management agency of the railway sector to adjust the length of the North-South high-speed railway mentioned in Decision No. 1769/QD-TTg from 1,545 km to 1,541 km.
This adjustment, according to the Vietnam Railway Authority, is to update the content of the National Master Plan on the orientation to strive to build a number of North-South high-speed railway sections, as well as to synchronize with the Project on Investment Policy for the construction of high-speed railway on the North-South axis that has just been approved by competent authorities.
The second highlight is that the Vietnam Railway Authority proposed to adjust the investment progress from after 2030 to before 2030 for two railway lines: Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong (1,435 mm gauge) and Thap Cham - Da Lat.
Specifically, the new Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway (gauge 1,435 mm) will mainly transport long-distance passengers, international transit, and import-export goods, international transit (due to the same railway gauge, it can go deep into mainland China).
The Thap Cham – Da Lat railway will be restored on the old railway that has been out of operation for a long time with a length of 84 km, single track, 1,000 mm gauge. This railway will contribute to the development of key tourist areas on the route, such as Da Lat City, Phan Rang – Thap Cham City and attract investment, creating momentum for socio-economic development of Ninh Thuan and Lam Dong provinces.
New transition
Currently, both railway lines that have just been pushed for investment earlier than the schedule outlined in Decision No. 1769/QD-TTg are capable of mobilizing resources for early investment consideration.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport is accelerating the progress of the preparation of the Pre-Feasibility Study Report for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong Railway Project, approximately 380 km long, 1,435 mm gauge, electrified, with a total estimated investment of approximately 11.6 billion USD. The investment policy is expected to be completed in 2025, and investment will be implemented before 2030.
In addition, the Ministry of Transport is also proposing to the competent authority to allow the use of non-refundable aid from the Government of the People's Republic of China worth about 500 billion VND to prepare a Feasibility Study Report for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong Railway Project. This is the basis for this project to be able to start the selection of construction contractors in the second half of 2025.
Regarding the Thap Cham - Da Lat railway line, the Ministry of Transport and the Vietnam Railway Authority have received a proposal to invest in the Project under the PPP method from Bach Dang Hotel Trading and Service Joint Stock Company.
This project has a total investment of up to 24,902 billion VND, a payback period of 30 years, including 2 components. Of which, the component with the larger volume is the restoration of the section from Thap Cham station to Trai Mat station with a length of 76.8 km, including the restoration and construction of 64 new bridges, 5 tunnels, 11 stations, and the construction of the entire railway superstructure.
The second component is to upgrade the section from Trai Mat station to Da Lat station - the section currently in operation with a length of 6.7 km, including the restoration and preservation of Da Lat and Trai Mat stations.
According to Mr. Tran Chung, former Director of the State Appraisal Department of Construction Works, if the two above-mentioned railway lines are implemented as planned, it will open up a large market for railway infrastructure construction for domestic railway construction and mechanical contractors after many years of stagnation.
In addition, these will be useful "training grounds" for infrastructure enterprises that are only familiar with building bridges and roads to accumulate experience in constructing railway works to move towards high-speed railway lines on the North-South axis and urban railway lines in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
It should be added that if we include the upgrading of the Thong Nhat railway line, the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway line, three railway lines connecting to China, and the construction of 580 km of urban railways in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the period 2025 - 2035, with a total investment of nearly 150 billion USD, will become the "decade" of railways, following the boom in expressway development that started from 2020 to present.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, General Director of Deo Ca Group, in addition to highway projects, investment in railway infrastructure is identified as a new direction for Deo Ca in the next 5-10 years.
Specifically, Deo Ca Group joined hands with IL Sung Construction Company Limited to bid and won the bid for Package XL01 to construct 2 railway tunnels of the Khe Net Pass Railway Improvement Project (Quang Binh) on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City railway line, with a winning bid price of VND 554.594 billion. The main goal is to accumulate experience and capacity to anticipate upcoming railway projects.
In addition, to anticipate high-speed railway and urban railway projects, in 2023, Deo Ca has cooperated with universities to recruit and train high-quality human resources in the railway industry.
“Along with urgently training railway personnel, we have cooperated with experienced units from China, Japan, Korea, etc., to learn technology, prepare modern equipment for construction, and strengthen organizational capacity for bidding,” said Mr. Vinh.
– North-South high-speed railway line (from Ngoc Hoi station to Thu Thiem station), about 1,545 km long.
– Yen Vien – Pha Lai – Ha Long – Cai Lan route (from Yen Vien Bac station to Cai Lan station), 129 km long.
– The Eastern beltway of Hanoi (Ngoc Hoi – Lac Dao – Bac Hong), about 59 km long; convert Ngoc Hoi – Yen Vien, Gia Lam – Lac Dao sections into urban railways in accordance with the construction schedule of urban railway line No. 1 – Hanoi and the Eastern beltway railway.
– Hanoi – Hai Phong route (part of Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway), parallel to Hanoi – Hai Phong expressway (to Nam Hai Phong station), connecting Hai Phong international gateway seaport with Dinh Vu, Nam Do Son and Lach Huyen port areas; approximately 102 km long.
– Vung Ang – Tan Ap – Mu Gia route (from Vung Ang port to the Vietnam – Laos border at Mu Gia pass), about 103 km long.
– Bien Hoa – Vung Tau route (from Trang Bom station to Vung Tau station), about 84 km long.
– Ho Chi Minh City – Can Tho route (from An Binh station to Cai Rang station), about 174 km long.
– Ho Chi Minh City – Loc Ninh route (from Di An station to the Vietnam – Cambodia border rail connection point at Hoa Lu Border Gate), about 128 km long.
– Thu Thiem – Long Thanh route (from Thu Thiem station to Long Thanh International Airport station), only serves passengers, about 38 km long.
The national railway network by 2050 is planned to include 25 routes, with a length of 6,354 km. The total capital requirement by 2030 is about VND 240,000 billion, using state budget capital, non-budget capital and other legal capital sources.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/rong-cua-cho-nha-thau-du-an-ha-tang-duong-sat-d228254.html
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