The high-speed railway project has been studied very carefully and thoroughly.

NDO - According to Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang, the North-South high-speed railway project has been studied for a long time, for about 18 years. The dossier was directed by the Government to be reviewed and carefully calculated, referring to the experiences of countries around the world to complete, and the results of forecasting transportation demand and national potential show that 2027 is the right time for investment.

Continuing the agenda of the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly , after listening to the discussions of the National Assembly deputies, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang clarified the opinions raised. Minister Nguyen Van Thang stated that the project has been thoroughly and carefully studied , spanning approximately 18 years. The government directed a meticulous review and calculation of the project documents, based on the experiences of other countries worldwide. Forecasts of transportation demand and national potential indicate that 2027 is the appropriate time for investment. Furthermore, the Politburo has also thoroughly discussed the investment policy and the factors and conditions for implementing the project. Explaining the project's suitability with strategies, plans, and schemes, the Minister said the pre-feasibility study report presented the suitability of strategies, socio-economic development plans, railway network planning, and related provincial regional planning. The planning of the capital Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City has not been approved yet, but the route plan has been integrated into the planning by both cities.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang. (Photo: DUY LINH)

In addition, the Government has directed to consider adjusting land use planning, including updating the expected demand for the North-South high-speed railway project to about 10,827 hectares. Localities have updated the route, works on the route, and land demand for the project. Clarifying opinions related to the project scope and route, the Minister of Transport said that the project has a starting point at Ngoc Hoi station ( Hanoi ) and an ending point at Thu Thiem (Ho Chi Minh City). Particularly, the sections from Hanoi - Lang Son and Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho will have two separate projects, which are being vigorously implemented, according to standard gauges. The Hanoi - Lang Son project is expected to borrow capital from China; while the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho project has conducted a pre-feasibility study and arranged funding. Regarding the station's route, the Minister of Transport stated that the drafting agency had selected the shortest possible and relatively suitable option , and the submitting agency would continue to study the opinions of the delegates.

Scene of the working session on the afternoon of November 20. (Photo: DUY LINH)

Regarding the project design solution, the Minister shared that 30% of the ground structure is used in locations where bridges or tunnels cannot be built because the principle of high-speed railways is 100% above ground, only going down when entering the station. Regarding standards, the Minister informed that the pre-feasibility study report did not specify the standards immediately to avoid imposing technology in the next steps. Only at the front-end engineering design (FEED) step will specific technical standards for the project be determined. Regarding the form of investment, through international research, 27 railway investment projects in the form of PPP are not feasible, some countries invested in PPP but were not successful, had to nationalize or increase the level of State support to a very high level. Some projects have applied PPP but mainly in commercial areas, central stations or some effective sections of the route, therefore, to successfully implement the project of national strategic importance, the Government proposed to implement the project in the form of public investment. The maximum payback period is 33.61 years. Regarding economic and financial efficiency, Minister Nguyen Van Thang said the project is estimated to bring 7 huge socio-economic benefits. However, in the first 4 years of operation, revenue is only enough to cover operating costs, while infrastructure maintenance costs must be partially supported by the State from public capital sources. The maximum payback period is 33.61 years. Regarding opinions on capital sources and capital balancing capabilities, it is expected that the state budget capital will be arranged in the medium-term public investment plans to invest in the project to be completed in 2035, arranged over 12 years, with an average of 5.6 billion USD per year. "Currently, we plan to borrow a maximum of 30% but have not decided whether to borrow domestically or from ODA capital, but it depends on efficiency," Mr. Thang emphasized. Regarding implementation organization, with large projects, there will be two stages that require foreign hiring: project management consulting and supervision consulting. These are the two parts that decide whether the project is on schedule or not, these are the crucial factors that need attention. Regarding the special mechanism, Minister Nguyen Van Thang said that to implement such a large and unprecedented project, a special mechanism is needed to implement the project, shortening the time. In addition, the head of the transport sector also emphasized the need to pay attention and be careful in the preparation stage because this is an extremely important period, otherwise there will be many consequences like the recent period.

Nhandan.vn

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