Prime Minister welcomes Hai Phong's contribution of nearly VND11,000 billion to the railway project connecting China

(NLDO) - The Prime Minister welcomed Hai Phong City's contribution of 11,000 billion VND to the railway project that is about to be implemented and suggested striving to raise it to 15,000 billion VND, which would be even better.

On February 21, speaking at the Government conference with localities to implement the conclusions of the Central Committee, the Resolutions of the National Assembly and the Government on economic growth, Chairman of the Hai Phong People's Committee Nguyen Van Tung said that as reported to the Prime Minister, Hai Phong City committed to contributing 11,000 billion VND to implement the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project.

Chairman of Hai Phong City People's Committee Nguyen Van Tung speaks at Hai Phong City bridge. Photo: Nhat Bac

Of this, VND6,000 billion will be used for site clearance and more than VND5,000 billion will be invested in building a branch section connecting directly to the seaport. Hai Phong City proposed that the Ministry of Transport consider the option of simultaneous construction from both ends of the route, i.e. from Lao Cai and Hai Phong, to shorten the construction time and put the project into operation soon.

After listening to the speech of Hai Phong City leaders, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed Hai Phong's contribution of 11,000 billion VND for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway line. The Prime Minister suggested that if the city strives to increase it to 15,000 billion VND, it would be even better.

Regarding promoting the city's economic growth in general, Mr. Nguyen Van Tung said that in the process of implementing key tasks, Hai Phong City has made efforts to resolve tasks smoothly, ensuring no congestion, especially in the work of arranging and streamlining the administrative apparatus. Thanks to that, the city's management and operation efficiency continues to be improved.

For 10 consecutive years, Hai Phong City has maintained a double-digit growth rate, with an average of 12.35% per year. In 2024, the City fulfilled its commitment to the Government, achieving a growth rate of 11.01%.

For 2025, the Government assigned a growth target of 12.5%, Mr. Nguyen Van Tung said Hai Phong is committed to striving to achieve this target, and may even grow at a higher rate.

It is forecasted that Hai Phong City's GRDP in the first quarter of 2025 will reach about 12%, higher than the average of previous years, when the first quarter usually only reached about 10%.

Regarding the economic development plan for the period 2026 - 2030, according to Mr. Tung, the growth rate of Hai Phong City is expected to be 14%/year compared to the previous period. However, implementing the direction of the Central Government, the locality is building a development plan with the target of an average GRDP growth of 15.6% in the period 2026 - 2030.

With those growth targets, Mr. Nguyen Van Tung said that the Prime Minister's recent approval of the city's Southern Coastal Economic Zone with a scale of 13,000 hectares will make an important contribution to achieving the target. "This is a key project, contributing to expanding the space for industrial development and attracting investment in the coming time," Mr. Tung emphasized.

At the conference, the leaders of Hai Phong City People's Committee also made a number of recommendations to the Government. According to Mr. Tung, the city currently has two ports operating stably. It is expected that by March this year, the city will inaugurate four more large ports with a total investment of up to 16,000 billion VND.

In addition, the Prime Minister has approved the development plan for the next terminals, specifically terminals 7 and 8. Currently, relevant units are urgently preparing to start this project as soon as possible.

Therefore, to ensure synchronous connection between the seaport system and transport infrastructure, Hai Phong City recommends that the Prime Minister consider, soon study and approve from wharf 9 to wharf 12. "This will contribute to improving cargo transportation capacity, optimizing logistics costs and promoting the development of Hai Phong" - Mr. Nguyen Van Tung suggested.

At the 9th extraordinary session, the National Assembly approved the investment policy for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project, worth VND203,231 billion (nearly USD8.4 billion).

This project starts at the rail connection point across the border between the new Lao Cai station and Ha Khau Bac station (China); ends at Lach Huyen wharf area (Hai Phong city), passes through 9 provinces and cities and has a main line length of about 391 km; 3 branch lines of about 28 km

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thu-tuong-hoan-nghenh-hai-phong-gop-gan-11000-ti-dong-cho-du-an-duong-sat-noi-trung-quoc-196250221125918151.htm