North-South High-Speed ​​Railway: Must be built to ensure success.

When the National Assembly approved the investment plan for the North-South high-speed railway at the end of November 2024, it marked a shift in development thinking.

The thinking is that an economy aiming for double-digit growth between 2026 and 2030 cannot continue to rely on outdated transportation systems, high logistics costs, and reliance on road and air transport.

A 1,541 km long project, spanning 20 provinces and cities, with a total investment of 1.7 trillion VND, cannot be viewed as a standalone transportation project; it is a condition for building new national competitiveness.

In addition, the National Assembly passed the amended Railway Law in 2025, laying the legal foundation for the entire implementation process. This law not only redefines the scope of management, technical safety, planning, operation, and maintenance; importantly, it opens the door for the private sector and non-budgetary capital to participate in railway infrastructure.

Thus, policy thinking moves from orientation to legislation, from ideas to mechanisms for implementation.

But policy is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. The story of this project is not about "whether or not to do it," but about how to do it and who will have the capacity to implement it.

On the morning of November 27, 2025, during a meeting at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh stated: "The review must be fair, objective, transparent, and open; there should be no cover-ups." The phrase "no cover-ups" was repeated several times, as a guiding principle for this particularly important project.

That meeting clarified a crucial point: the choice of investment model must precede the choice of investor. Public investment, PPP, or private investment is a matter of national interest. And only after determining the optimal method does evaluating the investor's profile become meaningful.

Six businesses applied, and five actually participated. However, their capabilities were uneven. Some businesses had capital of only 2,000–3,000 billion VND – equivalent to less than 0.2% of the total project capital. Some businesses submitted applications lacking financial evidence, had unverified operating addresses, and couldn't answer the most basic question about their own capital. One business had previously claimed to raise up to 100 billion USD but couldn't provide even the most basic legal basis.

Conversely, capable investors entered the meeting with concrete plans. Truong Hai proposed a model of 20% equity capital – 80% raised through borrowing. Vinspeed – Vingroup presented an investment plan of over $61 billion (excluding land acquisition costs), with construction to be completed within 5 years from the time land is cleared, a 30-year payback period, and the goal of establishing a high-speed rail industry in Vietnam.

The key point is this: for the first time, the selection of investors is based on proven competence – not promises.

If implementation capacity is not rigorously assessed, a national-level project can fall into the familiar trap: cost overruns, delays, unfinished construction, and enormous socio-economic costs.

Conversely, if the right choices are made, high-speed rail can become a catalyst for development: reducing costs, shortening travel times, expanding the capacity of the economy, facilitating regional connectivity, and enhancing competitiveness.

National Assembly delegates voted to approve the Resolution on the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis on November 30, 2024. Photo: Duy Linh

In just the past year, from the end of 2024 to the end of 2025, a logic has been forming: the Party has set the direction; the National Assembly has laid the legal foundation; and the Government has begun the assessment of competence. And this project has entered its most difficult phase: selecting the right people to do the job.

The shift in mindset is also evident: the state no longer engages in dialogue with businesses through promises, but through specific demands: capital, timelines, technology, risk management, and accountability.

The first condition is choosing the optimal investment model. In the dilemma between public investment, PPP, or private investment, the criterion must be national interest. And then, investors must be screened using clear criteria: actual financial capacity, fundraising plan, construction organization, technology, schedule, and risk management mechanism.

The second condition is transparency from start to finish. Public disclosure of records, methods, risks, and responsibilities. Without transparency, any project can easily fall into the trap of vested interests.

The third condition is execution discipline. A 1,541 km project cannot be implemented with a "do it as you go" approach. It requires independent organizational and supervisory capacity, capable of controlling everything from land acquisition to operation and return on investment.

The North-South high-speed railway is not a test or an experiment. It is a strategic infrastructure component directly linked to the goal of double-digit growth and national competitiveness. This is a project that cannot afford to fail. It requires a mechanism for selecting investors based on criteria, not goodwill; on proven capabilities, not promises; and it compels us to prioritize national interests above any attractive proposals on paper.

The era of billion-dollar pronouncements is over. This is the era of real competence and real responsibility. This project can only succeed if the chosen person is not someone who is good at talking, but someone who can build a functioning, sustainable national infrastructure that can support real growth.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/duong-sat-cao-toc-bac-nam-phai-lam-chac-thang-2468065.html