Need for breakthrough mechanism for urban railway development

In the 2031 - 2035 period, it is expected to complete 301km of metro including lines 1, 2A extending to Xuan Mai, lines 4, 6, 7, 8 and lines connecting satellite cities. The capital investment demand for metro construction in this period is about 22.5 billion USD. In the 2036 - 2045 period, more than 200km of metro lines and sections adjusted and supplemented according to the approved Capital Planning and the adjusted Capital Master Planning with a total capital demand of about 18.2 billion USD.

Thus, in the 2024 - 2030 and 2031 - 2035 periods alone, the city is expected to complete up to 10 metro lines with a total length of nearly 400km. According to many experts, this target is considered a huge challenge because in reality, the urban railway projects implemented in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City all took 10 - 15 years to complete and the amount of investment capital that had to be adjusted also increased significantly.

Specifically, the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station metro project started in 2010 and was scheduled to be completed in 2016 with a total investment of over VND18,000 billion, but after many adjustments, the total investment amounted to VND30,000 billion, an increase of 67%. Despite the increase in capital, it will not be completed until 2029. Or as for the Cat Linh - Ha Dong line, which started in 2011 with a total investment of nearly VND9,000 billion, and was expected to be completed in more than 3 years, it took 10 years to officially operate. With 12 missed deadlines, the capital increased by 300 million USD, bringing the total investment capital of the project to over VND18,000 billion, nearly double the original plan.

Similarly, in Ho Chi Minh City, Line 1 Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien was deployed in 2012, with a total capital of over 17,000 billion VND. According to the plan, it would be completed in 2018, but it took 6 years to be operational until 2024, and the capital increased to nearly 44,000 billion VND, an increase of over 150%.

There have been many reasons, both objective and subjective, given to explain why metro projects implemented in recent times have been over budget and behind schedule. However, it must be said frankly that the main and foremost reason is the responsibility of the authorities, especially in research, planning, partner selection, investment, design, consulting, construction, appraisal, budgeting, management, bidding organization, etc.

In large cities, especially Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, public transport plays an increasingly important role, in which the urban railway system is considered the backbone of the transport infrastructure network. Therefore, the requirement when implementing this Project is to have a breakthrough mechanism and policy; have a new mindset, a new "tailored" and superior legal framework to solve the problems of planning, site clearance, land acquisition as well as capital mobilization; investment procedures and procedures; technical and technological standards and regulations; organizational and management models, human resources.

Otherwise, the objectives of the Project will not be achieved. Or if implemented, it is very easy to follow the "mistakes" of previous projects. Even as Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Duong Duc Tuan once emphasized, when looking at the entire investment process, the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station and Cat Linh - Ha Dong metro lines will take 10 - 15 years. In case of building 10 metro lines as in the Project, one line at a time, it will take 100 years to complete.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/chinh-sach-va-cuoc-song/can-co-che-dot-pha-ve-phat-trien-duong-sat-do-thi-i385098/