Submitting investment policy for high-speed railway project

On the morning of November 13, continuing the 8th Session, the National Assembly listened to the Submission and Verification Report on the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis.

Increase connectivity, open up new development space

Presenting the Report, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang said that in the past time, the Central Executive Committee and the Politburo have had many conclusions on the investment policy of the High-Speed ​​Railway Project (HSR) on the North-South axis. In particular, at the 10th Conference of the 13th Party Central Executive Committee, the investment policy for the entire route was agreed upon and relevant agencies were assigned to complete the dossier to submit to the 15th National Assembly at the 8th Session for consideration and decision on the policy, some specific mechanisms and policies to mobilize resources and investment procedures for the project.

Minister Nguyen Van Thang stated that the project investment will realize the Party's policies and orientations; Resolutions and Conclusions of the Politburo and implement plans approved by competent authorities to create an important premise to turn our country into a developed, high-income country.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang presented the Proposal.

The investment project is consistent with the policies, strategies and socio-economic development plans approved by the Party, National Assembly and Government; consistent with the national master plan, railway network development plan, plans of relevant sectors, regions and localities.

The project will help strengthen regional connectivity, growth poles, create spillover momentum, open up new economic development space; restructure urban areas, distribute population, shift economic structure; increase economic competitiveness; ensure transportation demand on the North-South corridor, meet socio-economic development requirements; restructure the transportation market share in accordance with the advantages of each mode; create premises and motivation for the development of railway industry and supporting industries; develop sustainable, modern, and friendly modes of transportation, contributing to reducing traffic accidents, environmental pollution, responding to climate change and contributing to ensuring national defense and security.

The high-speed railway line starts in Hanoi (Ngoc Hoi station) and ends in Ho Chi Minh City (Thu Thiem station), passing through 20 provinces and cities; the route length is about 1,541 km.

In terms of investment scale, the Project will build a new double-track railway line, 1,435 mm gauge, electrified, designed speed 350 km/h, load capacity 22.5 tons/axle; transport passengers, meet dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary. In terms of technology, the railway runs on rails, using distributed power train technology for passenger trains, centralized power for freight trains; signal information is equivalent to the system currently used in developed countries operating high-speed railways.

Carefully consider capital sources and capital balance capabilities

Presenting the Appraisal Report, Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that the Project meets the criteria of important national projects under the authority of the National Assembly to decide on investment policies and basically meets the requirements for documents as prescribed by the Law on Public Investment.

Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh presented the Audit Report.

Regarding the scope, scale of investment and preliminary design, the project is basically consistent with the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, so the Economic Committee basically agrees with the Government's proposal; It is recommended that in the feasibility study step, the Government direct relevant agencies to carefully review and select the optimal option to connect the HSR route with the national railway network, urban railway, other transport systems and with the regional and international railway network.

Regarding the socio-economic and financial efficiency of the Project, the Economic Committee proposed to clarify the calculation bases for the forecast of the Project's transport demand, when in fact, the forecast of transport demand of many BOT transport projects in the past has had a large difference compared to reality, leading to inefficiency in financial plans. The report of the State Appraisal Council stated that the revenue and revenue growth of the Project are forecasted to be high, posing many potential risks. Therefore, the Chairman of the Economic Committee proposed to carefully review to properly assess the actual financial efficiency of the Project and the possibility that the state budget will have to compensate for future losses for transport business activities on the high-speed railway.

Regarding specific mechanisms and policies, especially the implementation of investment in the Project, the Chairman of the Economic Committee said that the Project plays an important role, has a long-term strategic nature, has a deep and wide impact on all aspects of our country's socio-economic development, is very large in scale, requires complex technical technology, and is being implemented for the first time in Vietnam.

Therefore, to ensure the feasibility and effectiveness of the Project, it is necessary to allow the application of some specific and special mechanisms and policies. The Government proposed 19 groups of specific and special mechanisms and policies that are different from current legal regulations, but suggested supplementing a more complete and thorough impact assessment to find appropriate solutions to limit and overcome negative impacts.

Basically, the proposed mechanisms and policies are necessary, some of which have been approved by the National Assembly in the past. However, it is recommended to continue reviewing and adjusting the mechanisms and policies to ensure suitability and effectiveness. Specifically, the development of the medium-term public investment plan for each period is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Public Investment. The determination of the capital allocation level for each medium-term period of the Project needs to be calculated, clearly defined and included in the overall medium-term public investment plan as well as in the national 5-year financial plan and the public debt borrowing and repayment plan for each period.

Therefore, some delegates said that the medium-term capital arrangement of the Project and the adjustment of the medium-term public investment plan should be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and decision. Regarding the adjustment of the annual public investment plan, the Economic Committee said that there should be a specific policy assigning the Prime Minister to decide on the adjustment of the annual central budget capital plan between ministries, central agencies and localities to arrange capital for the Project.

In addition, determining the source of capital and the ability to balance capital is one of the important conditions in the process of appraising and deciding on the investment policy of a public investment project. The project is expected to use a very large amount of capital, so it needs to be carefully and cautiously considered to ensure the balance of the country's common resources as well as to ensure the feasibility of capital sources for project implementation, while ensuring compliance with the provisions of Clause 7, Article 8 of Regulation No. 189-QD/TW of the Politburo.

Therefore, some opinions suggest implementing according to the provisions of the Law on Public Investment on the content of capital appraisal and capital balancing ability. In case the Government reports more clearly, specifically, and with high feasibility on the above mentioned issues and is permitted by competent authorities, it can be considered and decided upon with the consensus of the National Assembly.

According to the scheduled program of the 8th Session, the National Assembly will discuss this content in the hall on November 20 and vote to approve the Resolution on investment policy for the Dong Nai Railway Project on November 30.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/trinh-chu-truong-dau-tu-du-an-duong-sat-toc-do-cao-157748.html