North-South high-speed railway to drive economic growth: official
Constructing a high-speed railway from the North to the South will create momentum for economic growth, according to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong.
Illustrative image of Vietnam's future high-speed railway using Chat GPT application.
Hanoi (VNA) – Constructing a high-speed railway from the North to the South will create momentum for economic growth, according to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong.
The North-South high-speed railway project is the largest of its kind to date, with an estimated investment capital of approximately 67.34 billion USD, he said, noting this level of investment will impact economic growth throughout the construction process. According to preliminary assessments, if this amount is disbursed from now to 2035, the country's GDP will increase by approximately 0.97 percentage points.
Phuong held that the project will have direct impacts on 7-8 economic sectors, including construction; support industries, particularly those supplying construction materials; services; and urban development. It also features urban areas attached to each station, serving as a catalyst for economic growth and urbanisation.
The project is also poised to drive growth in the transportation sector, aiming to modernise the transportation system and enhance revenue, productivity, and service capacity.
Phuong stated that once operational, it will significantly influence socio-economic growth and enhance the competitiveness of the economy. Notably, it will reduce logistics costs, and make a substantial contribution to the development of industries and businesses that rely on this railway.
In the project's pre-feasibility study, the Ministry of Transport proposed a 1,541-km high-speed railway with a designed speed of 350 km/h. The 1,435-mm gauge-line dual-track will be electrified.
Traversing 20 provinces and cities from Ngoc Hoi station in Hanoi to Thu Thiem station in Ho Chi Minh City, the line will include 23 passenger and five cargo stations at key freight hubs.
💛 Preliminary estimates indicate that the project will require approximately 180,000 workers for construction, 13,880 operation staff, 700 management personnel, and around 1,200 consulting engineers./.
With the development of the high-speed North-South railway project, the focus has turned to training a local workforce to minimise dependence on foreign expertise in express rail operations.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on October 5 order specific and special mechanisms be devised for the North - South high-speed railway project so that procedures are streamlined and construction duration shortened.
The Government Office on September 30 issued a document detailing Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha’s conclusions drawn from a meeting regarding the North-South high-speed rail investment project.
A key change in the draft decree is a provision requiring bank transfers for gold transactions valued at 20 million VND (765 USD) and above, to enhance transparency and verify customer identities.
In the first four months of 2025, trade turnover between Vietnam and Cambodia surpassed 3 billion USD, marking a 7% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
On June 19 alone, a total of 2,005 trucks completed customs clearance at Lang Son’s border gates — the highest single-day figure ever recorded in the province. Of these, 634 carried exports and 1,371 imports.
The OECD Economic Surveys: Vietnam 2025 report focuses on analysing the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals, the impact of international integration on attracting foreign investment and trade, and the country’s prospects for developing a low-carbon economy.
Antoine Colin, Senior Vice President for Global Supply Chain Digital Transformation & Resilience at HP Inc., affirmed HP’s strategic commitment to building a supply chain and ecosystem in Vietnam and the region.
Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Trade Promotion Agency Bui Quang Hung emphasised that logistics has evolved from a technical function into a core capability for Vietnamese exporters to maintain their competitive advantage in the US market.
A trade official has suggested companies work closely with shipping lines, airlines, and freight forwarders to monitor routes, transit times, and potential surcharges while exploring broader cargo insurance to cover risks like war and terrorism.
In addition to institutional reform, the agency is also rolling out key solution groups to combat counterfeit goods, imitations, and intellectual property infringements in the digital environment.
The event, co-organised by the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK and TT Meridian, a local importer of Vietnamese fresh produce, aims to build a national lychee brand and encourage broader recognition of Vietnamese fruits in a competitive, high-end market.
The industry's performance has been powered by bold investments in modern production lines, enabling Vietnamese firms to produce complicated products which were exclusive to advanced economies.
Outcomes of ABAC III will shape ABAC’s final policy recommendations to be submitted to the ABAC-APEC leaders’ dialogue, scheduled to take place in the Republic of Korea this November.
This is the second year the magazine has released the ranking, which is based on total revenue and key financial indicators of enterprises from seven countries in the region: Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Cambodia.
At the summit, publishing, tech, and media sectors will discuss emerging trends, business models, and sustainable solutions for digital publishing development in Vietnam.
This year’s “Vietnam Goods Week” marks a significant milestone as it is being held simultaneously for the first time in four locations across Asia: Japan, Hong Kong (China), Cambodia, and Malaysia, from June 19 - 22.
According to NordCham Vietnam Chairman Thue Quist Thomasen, the Vietnamese Government’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses to contribute to green and sustainable growth.
The analysis from an investment perspective shows that the economy’s growth has been heavily capital‑driven, yet efficiency remains low as reflected by Vietnam’s Incremental Capital-Output Ratio (ICOR) being significantly higher than global and regional averages. This underscores the imperative to enhance capital‑use efficiency.
