Finance Minister speaks about key proposal for national railway.

Large investment capital, long payback period, high risk.

On the morning of November 11th, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang presented the draft Law on Investment (amended). Regarding the railway sector, according to the Minister of Finance, on October 16th, the Government submitted a proposal to the National Assembly to supplement the draft Law on Investment (replacement) to amend some provisions of the Railway Law.

Based on that, the draft law proposes amending and supplementing several articles of the Railway Law No. 95/2025/QH15. Accordingly, for national and local railway lines, investors may extend the project's operating period in accordance with the law on investment.

If the investor does not propose an extension of the project's operating period, the investor shall transfer all assets generated from the project to the State after the project's operating period expires, and the State shall compensate the investor in accordance with the law.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang. Photo: Nhu Y.

The reason for the amendments and additions is to further address difficulties and obstacles, and to refine policy options for projects of special scale and nature, with regulations on operating time and feasible and effective capital recovery potential, ensuring compliance with the spirit of Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW and Resolution No. 198/2025/QH15.

Representing the verification agency, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Committee stated that the committee recognizes that the Party and State have adopted a policy on the necessity of issuing appropriate mechanisms, policies, and solutions to remove obstacles and accelerate the investment process for national and urban railway lines.

In addition, there is a need for preferential policies to encourage the private sector to participate alongside the State in strategic areas, key national-level scientific research projects and tasks (such as high-speed rail, urban rail...).

National and urban railway projects typically involve large investments, long payback periods, and high risks. Therefore, strong mechanisms and policies are needed to increase the attractiveness of investment projects and attract private sector investment in this crucial area, aiming to build national and urban railway infrastructure that will serve as a vital driving force for the country's socio-economic development.

Stop projects that are not being implemented correctly.

The draft adds regulations on suspending the operation of investment projects in cases where the investor fails to comply with the approved investment policy and investment registration certificate, and there is a written notice from the investment registration authority stating that the investor has not complied with the approved investment policy and investment registration certificate.

In addition, this amendment also stipulates the termination of investment projects in cases where the economic organization has been dissolved but has not ceased operations, or has not transferred ownership of the investment project in accordance with the law…

According to the Minister of Finance, this amendment aims to ensure a legal basis for suspending or terminating investment projects, preventing situations where projects are delayed for too long without the state agency being able to terminate them.

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai proposed continuing to review and ensure the full institutionalization of the Party's guidelines and policies on reforming thinking in lawmaking, developing the private economy, breakthroughs in science and technology development, international integration, and foreign investment cooperation; reducing and simplifying procedures in investment and business, creating favorable conditions for people and businesses.

The review committee also noted the need to ensure consistency and uniformity in policy with the draft laws being submitted to the National Assembly at the 10th session.

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