Need to invest autonomously in high-speed railways

The National Assembly Standing Committee has agreed to submit to the National Assembly for consideration the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project at the 8th session.

Speaking with Giao Thong Newspaper, delegate Hoang Van Cuong, Finance and Budget Committee, said that autonomy in construction investment as well as technology transfer will determine the success of the project.

National Assembly Delegate Hoang Van Cuong.

Mastery is the key

Despite the total investment of more than 67 billion USD, many experts and National Assembly members have affirmed that resources are no longer a major obstacle. In addition to the budget capital, how should the mobilization of other resources be calculated?

World experience shows that initial railway investment projects hardly bring high profits, and many routes even fail to recover capital. Therefore, the basic investment must be public investment.

On the other hand, the benefit of investing in high-speed railways is to create new development space, thereby promoting the development of many other fields, not simply generating revenue from ticket sales.

However, in my opinion, it is still possible to make a profit from the investment in exploitation and operation.

For example, the process of investing in train cars and operating trains does not necessarily require the State to participate, but private investors can participate.

Experience in many countries shows that the process of investing in train cars is not just the responsibility of one company. Sometimes on a route, there are 2-3 companies investing in running trains and competing with each other.

Or like investing in railways, if we have a good mechanism and can mobilize domestic manufacturers, they will be willing to provide capital for investment. When the enterprises finish production, the State will continue to complete it.

That means, during the construction and operation process, it is necessary to call on businesses to invest in service and commercial areas at stations, and invest in additional vehicles when needed?

That's right. For every dollar spent, we must calculate how to use it most effectively.

With the same capital investment, if we import from abroad, all the benefits will go to foreign investors. If there is a mechanism for domestic enterprises to produce, domestic investors will benefit. That is a feasible way to mobilize resources, if there is a specific and attractive mechanism.

According to you, how does the experience of implementing large infrastructure projects in recent times help in investing in high-speed railway projects on the North-South axis?

If we look at the Cat Linh - Ha Dong urban railway, Nhon - Hanoi station or Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien, we can clearly see the lesson that when we are not autonomous in the construction investment process, almost completely outsourcing to foreign contractors, then of course, we cannot control the progress and total investment capital.

Meanwhile, if we look at the 500KW line 3 project, we can deploy it at lightning speed, no one thought it could be that fast. So why is it so fast? That is because domestic investors do it themselves, we can decide for ourselves.

With the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis, whether we can strive to complete it as planned or not depends entirely on whether we are in control or not.

If we don’t take charge, it’s very difficult. Because during the implementation process, we get stuck with all sorts of things. If we get stuck just a little bit, the investor stops and doesn’t continue, then everything changes immediately.

Therefore, I think the deciding factor for the success or failure of high-speed railways lies in whether we can master the technology and the investment and construction process.

Video presentation providing information to delegates

On November 7, presenting a report on adjusting the agenda of the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh said that the National Assembly Standing Committee proposed that the National Assembly allow adjusting the agenda of the session for some contents.

Along with many other contents, the meeting program added a video clip showing the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis to provide more information for National Assembly deputies to discuss this content.

It is expected that on November 13, the National Assembly will hear the Government's report on the policy of the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis.

Previously, on November 6, the National Assembly Standing Committee agreed to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and decision on the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project at the 8th session.

In his concluding remarks, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh requested the Government to continue reviewing and preliminarily calculating the total project investment and preliminary design options, ensuring efficiency and savings, and supplementing presentations of comparative options, as a basis for selecting the project route according to the Government's proposal.

Regarding the capital to complete the project, the total investment capital of the project is particularly large. Therefore, to ensure feasibility and ensure national financial security, a more careful assessment is needed.

The National Assembly Standing Committee agreed that there should be outstanding policies, especially for the project. However, to ensure feasibility and increase persuasiveness, it is recommended that the Government review the 19 policies and provide more specific explanations.

Need a strong business as a focal point

It is natural to prioritize domestic enterprises, but we have no experience in implementing high-speed railways. If Vietnamese enterprises participate, what steps will they take, sir?

Look, we don't have the technology to manufacture cars yet, but why have Vinfast's electric cars become products that are not only sold domestically but also exported abroad, competing with major brands?

According to the document approving the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project, the high-speed railway will pass through 20 provinces and cities with a length of about 1,541km and a design speed of 350km/h (illustrative photo).

Through that, we can see that we need to boldly invest to receive technology transfer.

The point here is that foreign investors must transfer technology, not just sell products.

Next, we will transfer that technology to a strong domestic corporation to represent us in receiving the transfer, investing, and producing.

But if so, clearly domestic investors cannot do it alone, but need to call on smaller businesses to participate?

That’s right. Each enterprise participates in one stage. Thus, we have a pillar enterprise that acts as the backbone for the development of the railway industry and pulls other enterprises to join the chain.

For example, in the production of train cars, a seat manufacturing enterprise can also participate. If it is a foreign enterprise, they are willing to bring it from their country and we will not have the opportunity.

Vietnam has enough strong corporations with enough potential. The problem is whether we dare to place orders or not, whether we dare to give them work or not? I think that once there is a market, there is no reason why domestic corporations should not dare to stand up.

Sustainable, modern means of transport

The auditing agency has agreed with the design speed plan of 350km/h. What is your opinion on the goal of transporting passengers and goods when necessary?

We need to calculate very carefully, we should not build this high-speed railway to compete with aviation but should consider it as a method to supplement, create a synchronous and complete transportation system. In other words, develop a sustainable and modern transportation method.

The working delegation of the National Assembly's Economic Committee and relevant units surveyed the site of the high-speed railway in Khanh Hoa province on November 2.

For example, if I need to go from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City quickly, I will take the air. But if I want to go from Nam Dinh to Ha Tinh, and I want to go quickly, I can take the high-speed rail. Thus, the rail will complement the air transport system.

As for freight transport, we must find a way to solve the logistics bottleneck. Currently, Vietnam's logistics costs account for a very high proportion, up to 16.8-17% of GDP.

Meanwhile, along the North-South economic corridor, there is potential for development everywhere. But why do investors only focus on investing in big cities and not pay attention to areas with a lot of labor? Because the cost of transporting goods, raw materials and products in those places is high.

Looking more broadly, attracting investors to remote areas with rich potential but lacking accessibility will attract less investment here, reducing population concentration in large cities.

Need local initiative

The project will go through 20 provinces and cities, opening up huge development opportunities. In your opinion, what preparations do localities need to make to seize this opportunity?

Localities must first participate in site clearance and need to prepare the site, prepare development space, and well-connected space.

At the same time, it is necessary to review planning, prepare plans, calculate incentive mechanisms and policies to attract investors and promote one's potential advantages.

As a delegate from Hanoi, where the starting point is Ngoc Hoi station, what do you personally think Hanoi needs to prepare, besides site preparation?

To take advantage of the high-speed railway, Hanoi must also make many changes. According to the plan, Ngoc Hoi station is a train station, whose main task is to set up trains to send out and clear incoming trains. In addition, the station also does other jobs such as loading and unloading goods.

But in the world, high-speed rail can connect to run through the center. The urban rail system and high-speed rail are not different, only the signal system and train power are different.

If Hanoi prepares well, connecting the high-speed railway with the national railway system and the urban railway system, then passengers going from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi can not only get off at Ngoc Hoi but also get off at Hang Co station.

If we cannot connect, we will waste the opportunity. Because if it only takes 5 hours for customers to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi but it takes several hours to go from Ngoc Hoi station to the center by other means, it will be difficult to attract them.

Second, we have high expectations for the railway industry. Therefore, Ngoc Hoi station is identified as a train station, a place for repair and replacement of technical equipment. So we can turn the southern area of ​​Hanoi into a railway industry center.

Thank you!

National Assembly Delegate Quan Minh Cuong (Deputy Secretary of Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee):

Clearing the land with the highest determination

We need to look at the urban railway projects in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi as lessons to draw experience in implementing the North-South high-speed railway project. The progress of this project absolutely cannot be delayed like this.

To do this, from a local perspective, the site clearance work must be carried out urgently with the highest determination. In Dong Dai province, the Long Thanh airport project clearing more than 5,000 hectares of land can be done quickly, so with this project spread across many provinces, more than 10,000 hectares may not be too difficult.

Regarding the preparation of conditions and plans for development, Dong Nai must adjust the traffic network planning to connect railway stations with other types of transportation such as aviation, road, waterway, specifically Long Thanh airport and expressways.

This will increase connectivity with Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast, Southwest and Central Highlands provinces, thereby attracting more domestic and foreign investors.

National Assembly Delegate Le Hoang Anh (Standing Member of the Finance and Budget Committee):

Special projects require special mechanisms

The North-South high-speed railway is a huge project; in our history of public investment, there has never been a project as large as this.

However, this is a technologically complex project, requiring high-quality human resources for construction and operation. Therefore, the investment preparation process must be done carefully.

Many factors that determine the total investment may change in the future. Therefore, arranging capital for the project is also an issue that needs utmost attention.

Currently, the Government is submitting 19 specific policies for the project. This is necessary, there must be a specific, special mechanism to implement it. Once there is a specific mechanism, it must ensure the completion time, avoiding increasing the total investment.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/can-tu-chu-dau-tu-duong-sat-toc-do-cao-192241107230242691.htm