Continuing the 8th session, on the morning of November 13, the National Assembly listened to the presentation and review report on the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis.
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| The National Assembly Chairman, Vice Chairmen and National Assembly deputies watched a video clip explaining the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis. |
Strengthening regional connectivity, creating spillover momentum, opening up new economic 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 which, at the 10th Conference of the 13th Party Central Executive Committee, the investment policy for the entire route, speed of 350km/h, 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 to approve the policy, some specific mechanisms and policies to mobilize resources and investment procedures for the project.
The pre-feasibility study report of the Project assessed the domestic and international context and the development of railway infrastructure, and clearly stated the reason why the North-South high-speed railway line was not approved by the National Assembly in 2010 due to concerns about the speed, exploitation plan, and investment resources in the context of the low economic scale in 2010 (GDP was 147 billion USD), and high public debt (56.6% of GDP). With the increasing demand for transportation, the economic scale in 2023 will reach 430 billion USD, nearly 3 times higher than in 2010; public debt is low at about 37% of GDP; it is expected that by the time of construction in 2027, the economic scale will reach 564 billion USD, so investment resources are no longer a major obstacle.
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| Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang presented the Report. |
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 for turning our country into a developed, high-income country; strengthen regional and growth pole connectivity, create spillover momentum, open up new economic development space; restructure urban areas, distribute population, shift economic structure; increase economic competitiveness; ensure transportation needs on the North-South corridor, meet socio-economic development requirements; restructure the transportation market share in accordance with the advantages of each mode; create the premise and driving force for the development of the 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.
Regarding investment objectives, the Minister said that the construction of the high-speed railway aims to meet transportation needs, contribute to restructuring the transportation market share on the North-South corridor in an optimal and sustainable manner, creating the premise and driving force for socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security.
Accordingly, the Government proposed to build a new double-track railway line, 1,435 mm gauge, electrified, designed speed 350 km/h, load capacity 22.5 tons/axle; main line length about 1,541 km with 23 passenger stations, 5 freight stations.
The North-South high-speed railway serves passenger transport, meets dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary. The route in the proposal has been agreed upon by 20/20 provinces and cities with high-speed railway routes passing through. Specifically, it passes through Hanoi, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City.
Regarding the station construction, the project proposes to arrange 23 passenger stations and 5 freight stations. The Ministry of Transport said that the principle of selecting stations is to be consistent with current conditions and local development planning, especially in locations with large enough transportation demand.
Each province arranges 1 station to access the central urban area, urban planning area with development potential, ensuring good connectivity with the national transport system, especially the national railway system and public transport.
Regarding the project implementation progress, it is expected to submit the investment policy to the National Assembly for approval in the fourth quarter of 2024; complete the preparation and approval of the Feasibility Study Report and Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) in 2025-2026; carry out site clearance, bid to select contractors, start the project in 2027 and strive to basically complete the entire route by 2035.
The total preliminary investment of the project is about 1.7 quadrillion VND (about 67.34 billion USD), the project investment rate is about 43.7 million USD/km. To successfully implement and complete the entire project as scheduled, the project proposes 19 specific and special policies.
Preliminary calculations show that in the first 4 years of operation, the state needs to support part of the infrastructure maintenance costs with economic career capital similar to the current national railway system; the payback period is about 33.61 years.
It is necessary to continue reviewing specific and special mechanisms and policies.
Presenting the review report, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that the Committee agreed on the necessity of investing in the Project with the political and legal bases and reasons stated in the Submission.
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| Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh presented the Audit Report. |
In terms of scope, investment scale 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.
The Economic Committee recommends that in the feasibility study step, the Government direct relevant agencies to carefully review and select the optimal option to connect the high-speed railway line with the national railway network, urban railways, other transport systems and with regional and international railway networks.
At the same time, clarify the calculation basis for the forecast of transport demand of the Project, when in fact, the forecast of transport demand of many BOT transport projects has had a large difference compared to reality, leading to ineffectiveness in financial plans and the need to adjust the project contract. Regarding the total investment of 67.34 billion USD of the project, the Economic Committee said that the Government's submission and accompanying documents have not clearly shown the investment phases and the expected specific capital in each phase.
Regarding public debt safety, the Economic Committee said that the submission and accompanying documents confirmed that the three criteria of public debt, government debt and foreign debt of the country are within the allowable limit. However, the Economic Committee said that the two important criteria are the average state budget deficit and direct debt payment, which are expected to increase at a fairly high level.
Many opinions say that our country's budget in the past and in the coming years will still be in deficit, with public investment capital mainly coming from loans. Therefore, the overall budget balance needs to be carefully calculated to ensure macroeconomic stability.
Regarding this, the Economic Committee commented that in the context of recent years, debt repayment and public debt balance have tended to increase, the Government's direct debt repayment obligation in 2025 is about 24% of the State budget revenue, close to the allowable ceiling (25%).
Therefore, it is recommended that the Government specifically assess the impact of project investment on the State budget deficit, public debt, and the State budget's ability to repay debt in the medium and long term; strictly adhere to the principles of public debt safety indicators to ensure national financial security, and not put pressure on debt repayment in the following stages.
Regarding the specific mechanisms and policies, especially for implementing 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 the socio-economic situation of our country and 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 a number of 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. Therefore, it is recommended to supplement a more complete and thorough impact assessment to have appropriate solutions to limit and overcome negative impacts and report and seek opinions from competent authorities on the content of specific and special mechanisms and policies. Basically, the proposed mechanisms and policies are necessary, in which some mechanisms and policies 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./.
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