Appraisal of Feasibility Study Report of High-speed Railway Project

The Minister of Planning and Investment, Chairman of the State Appraisal Council, chaired a meeting to appraise the Feasibility Study Report of the North-South High-Speed ​​Railway Project. The meeting was attended by members of the State Appraisal Council, representatives of the Ministry of Transport and relevant agencies.

After listening to the report of the representative of the Ministry of Transport, the appraisal result report of the appraisal consulting consortium of the University of Transport Consulting and Construction Company Limited - Evo mc Company Limited - Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited - Hung Phu Construction and Trading Consulting Joint Stock Company (Assessment consultant), the appraisal result report of the interdisciplinary appraisal expert team, the State Appraisal Council discussed and came to a number of conclusions.

The Project Profile has been finalized with several important changes.

During the appraisal of the Project Feasibility Study Report, the Ministry of Transport has prepared a Project on investment policy for the construction of the North-South High-Speed ​​Railway Project, reported to the Government Party Committee to submit to the Politburo and the Central Executive Committee for approval of the Project investment policy, before the State Appraisal Council completed the appraisal as with other important national projects and the Politburo and the Central Executive Committee have agreed on the Project investment policy with the major contents of the Project. This is the orientation for the appraisal of the Project Feasibility Study Report.

On October 4, 2024, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (Standing Agency of the State Appraisal Council) received the Project dossier, in which the completed Project dossier fundamentally changed compared to the previously submitted content, which was reviewed and commented on by the State Appraisal Council and the Consulting Consultant with specific contents: (i) Forecast results of transportation demand (increased demand for passenger transportation); (ii) Transportation method (switching from passenger transportation to both passenger and cargo transportation); (iii) Axle load (increased from 17 tons/axle to 22.5 tons/axle); (iv) Total investment (increased from 58 billion USD to 67.34 billion USD); (v) Change in management and operation model; (vi) Investment method (switching from PPP investment to public investment); (vii) Investment progress (reduced by 10 years); (viii) Add special mechanisms...

The Ministry of Transport is requested to take full responsibility for the content and accuracy of the data in the Project dossier and the contents of the Project submitted to the Politburo and the 13th Party Central Committee. The report of the Review Consultant is highly appreciated; the appraisal report of the Interdisciplinary Appraisal Expert Group has fully reflected the content and quality. The members of the State Appraisal Council all agree with the Appraisal Result Report drafted by the Interdisciplinary Appraisal Expert Group.

Completion of Project Feasibility Study Report

To ensure the progress and quality of the Project Feasibility Study Report, the State Appraisal Council requests the Ministry of Transport to carefully study the Appraisal Results Report of the Expert Group, the Appraisal Report of the Appraisal Consultant, the opinions of the Council members, the appraisal opinions of the relevant Ministries and branches, to fully absorb and promptly complete the Project Feasibility Study Report. In particular, it is important to focus on the following contents: Regarding transport demand forecast (carefully review the transport demand forecast data to ensure reliability and suitability, similar to projects in the world); Regarding the main technical solutions (including: Clearly explaining the route direction, station location, and operating speed - explaining in detail the technical requirements of the route with a design speed of 350 km/h in the operation of container freight trains, and the scale of the station (need to calculate the station area to meet the requirements of auxiliary operations, the minimum area according to international practice; in addition, consider not determining the maximum scale of the station according to the opinions of some localities); Regarding the investment plan and efficiency of the Project (including clarifying the parameters and socio-economic efficiency and financial efficiency of the Project, especially the data for calculating financial efficiency); Regarding capital sources, capital balancing ability (clarifying the mobilization plan and capital balancing ability for the Project to ensure feasibility and compliance with legal regulations); Regarding special policy mechanisms.

In addition, the State Appraisal Council proposed to clarify other contents such as: Overall review of data stated in the Project Feasibility Study Report; clarify and enhance the ability to localize and master high-speed railway technology; continue to research and evaluate the advantages of public investment compared to other forms; Clarify the feasibility of implementing the Project according to schedule, Project implementation time...

Next deployment plan

The Ministry of Transport is assigned to urgently complete the Project Document on the basis of explanation, receiving maximum comments and sending it to the Ministry of Planning and Investment before 12:00 on October 16, 2024. The Standing Body of the Council is assigned to complete the draft Appraisal Results Report on the basis of the additional and completed explanation documents of the Ministry of Transport and send it to the Council members for voting on October 16, 2024.

Request the members of the State Appraisal Council to urgently study, vote and send to the Ministry of Planning and Investment before 12:00 on October 17. Based on the Council's voting opinion, assign the Standing Body of the Council to complete the Council's Appraisal Results Report, submit it to the Council Chairman for signature and submission to the Government on October 17, 2024.

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