CT Group proposes PPP investment in Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho

Illustration photo.

CT Group Corporation has just sent a document to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposing to prepare a pre-feasibility study report and request investment policy to build the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho - Ca Mau railway project.

Accordingly, CT Group would like to use its own funds to prepare a pre-feasibility study report and participate in investing in the construction of this railway line under the PPP form.

The project starts at Thu Thiem station (central station of Ho Chi Minh City), the end point of phase 1 is Cai Rang station ( Can Tho city) and the end point of phase 2 is Dat Mui station (Ca Mau). The length of the route in phase 1 is expected to be about 160 km, phase 2 is about 120 km, passing through 6 provinces and cities including Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, Can Tho and Ca Mau.

The Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho - Ca Mau railway line will be invested in as a double-track, electrified, 1,435 mm gauge railway, operating mixed passenger and freight traffic, with a design speed of 200 - 250 km/h; at the same time, additional research will be done on the speed option of 300 - 350 km/h.

According to CT Group, the design speed of 200 - 250 km/h is a suitable speed range, ensuring the effective operation of mixed passenger and freight trains for the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho - Ca Mau railway route.

Regarding the financial mechanism, CT Group representative said that it will coordinate with reputable international partners to mobilize investment capital, with a total preliminary investment of about 12 billion USD (not including compensation, support, relocation and resettlement costs for site clearance).

The project is expected to apply a special PPP pilot mechanism, in which 80% of investment capital will come from the state budget in medium-term public investment plans and other legal sources; the remaining 20% will come from equity and legally mobilized sources of investors.

CT Group is expected to contribute about 75% of revenue from land fund development projects including: 400 hectares near Tan Kien station (Binh Chanh district, Ho Chi Minh City), 200 hectares in Can Tho railway urban area and 200 hectares in Ca Mau terminal station area, equivalent to about 250,000 billion VND.

CT Group representative also said that the group has signed a contract with China Railway Design Corporation (CRDC) to research and prepare a pre-feasibility study report for the project.

If approved by competent authorities, CT Group will complete the Pre-Feasibility Study Report in the period of 2025 - 2026; prepare the Feasibility Study Report and Environmental Impact Assessment Report in the period of 2026 - 2027; start construction in 2027 and complete and put into commercial operation in the period of 2031 - 2032.

The Ministry of Construction has also assigned the My Thuan Project Management Board to research and prepare a pre-feasibility study report for the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway project.

Initial research results of the My Thuan Project Management Board show that the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway line has its starting point at An Binh station (Di An city, Binh Duong) and its ending point at Can Tho station (Hung Phu ward, Can Tho city), with a total length of 175.2 km, passing through 5 provinces and cities: Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, Dong Thap, Vinh Long and Can Tho.

Regarding investment scale, My Thuan Project Management Board proposed to invest in a new mixed passenger-freight railway line, 1,435 mm gauge, electrified, speed of about 160 km/h.

The entire route includes 12 stations, 3 depots (An Binh, Tan Kien, Can Tho), 4 vehicle maintenance and inspection stations (Thanh Duc, Tam Hiep, Cai Lay, Binh Minh) and 3 infrastructure maintenance stations.

On the route, there are 3 large river bridges (Sai Gon River, Vam Co Dong, Vam Co Tay) and 2 especially large river bridges (Tien River, Hau River). Based on the forecast of transportation demand, the project proposes to divide the investment into phase 1 according to the scale of single roads, meeting transportation demand until 2055.

With the above scale, the total preliminary investment in phase 1 is about 173,643 billion VND (equivalent to 7.16 billion USD), of which compensation, support and resettlement costs are about 45,675 billion VND (including contingency).

The total investment in phase 2 is estimated at VND64,973 billion (equivalent to USD2.7 billion, excluding financial costs). Thus, the total preliminary investment for the entire project is approximately VND238,616 billion, equivalent to USD9.84 billion.

Based on the scale of the economy, the ability to mobilize capital and international experience, the My Thuan Project Management Board recommends choosing the form of public investment to ensure the feasibility of the project.

After completing construction, Vietnam Railway Corporation will receive, manage, maintain the infrastructure and organize the operation of the entire route, and will be assigned all vehicles and equipment for operation.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/ct-group-de-xuat-dau-tu-ppp-tuyen-duong-sat-tphcm---can-tho---ca-mau-d408713.html