Hanoi (VNA)💮 – The North - South high-speed railway project aims to meet transportation demand, help restructure the transportation market along the North - South corridor, create momentum for socioeconomic development, and ensure national defence and security.

Work to start on Hanoi - Vinh, Nha Trang - HCM City sections

In a pre-feasibility study report on the North - South high-speed railway project, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) said it, together with other ministries, have studied high-speed railway models in other countries. Based on this, they proposed that the route should be 1,541km long with double tracks and be electrified to a designed speed of 350km per hour. The 23 passenger stations will be about 67km away from each other, and the route will also feature five cargo stations. The tracks will run through 20 provinces and cities, starting at Ngoc Hoi station in Hanoi and end at Thu Thiem station in Ho Chi Minh City. The MoT noted the speed of 350km/h is suitable for the 800km long route that passes through many cities with high population density like the North - South corridor of Vietnam. The advisory body estimated that a route with a speed of 350km/h is likely to attract about 12.5% more passengers than the one running at 250km/h. Meanwhile, investment in the 350km/h line is some 8 - 9% higher than that of the 250km/h one. However, if a 250km/h railway is built, it will be unfeasible and inefficient to upgrade to the 350km/h infrastructure in the future.

The MoT plans to submit the investment proposal to the National Assembly for approval at the October session. After that, bidding will be carried out to select an international advisory body with a pre-feasibility study report to be conducted in 2025 – 2026. Site clearance, contractor selection, and work on the sub-projects of the Hanoi - Vinh and Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City sections will be launched in late 2027. Meanwhile, the sub-projects of the Vinh - Nha Trang section will start in 2028 - 2029. The entire route is expected to be completed in 2035.

About 43.69 million USD needed for each km of high-speed railway

After reviewing investment and technology plans of existing high-speed railways in the world, the advisory unit estimated total investment for this project stands at around 67.34 billion USD. About 60% of the route will run on bridges, 10% through tunnels, and 30% on land, with about 43.69 million USD needed for each km.

The MoT called the investment “medium level”, compared to similar routes worldwide as of 2024. These examples include the Nuremberg - Ingolstadt route (Germany) operating at 300km/h and invested with 60.5 million USD/km, LGV Sud Europe-Atlantique (France) 300km/h and 45.2 million USD/km, Osong - Mokpo (the Republic of Korea) 305km/h and 53.6 million USD/km, Beijing - Shanghai (China) 350km/h and 33.1 million USD/km, and Jakarta - Bandung (Indonesia) 350km/h and 52 million USD/km. The MoT said that in the feasibility study compilation period, after gaining detailed survey data and design, it will order the advisory unit to continue calculating to make a precise investment estimation and ensure the sum matches the project’s technology and scale.

Funding from state budget plays main role

Regarding the financing for the project, the MoT proposed it should be mobilised from the central budget’s funds earmarked for medium term, Government bonds, contributions by localities, low-cost and less-binding capital mobilisation sources, along with annual revenue increases and spending cuts. The state budget for this project is expected to be allocated in about 12 years, equivalent to 5.6 billion USD annually. Funding for the railway is equal to 24.5% of the annual medium-term public investment in the 2021 - 2025 period. The rate will be reduced to some 16.2% in the 2026 - 2030 period if the medium-term public investment rate is kept at 5.5 - 5.7% of GDP like at present.

The pre-feasibility study report proposed public investment be applied for this project while during the project implementation and operations, investment from other sources be invited for developing service and commercial areas at stations and purchasing vehicles when necessary. To successfully carry out and put the entire project into use as scheduled, the MoT suggested giving groups of mechanisms and policies be implemented. These include ensuring feasibility and speeding up progress, mobilising investment resources, training manpower, developing industry, and decentralising investment./.