High-speed railway worth over 67 billion USD officially submitted to the National Assembly
Báo Dân trí•13/11/2024
(Dan Tri) - The North-South high-speed railway route, over 1,540km long, passing through 20 provinces and cities with a total preliminary investment of over 67 billion USD, was submitted by the Government to the National Assembly . The project strives to start construction in 2027.
According to the agenda, on the morning of November 13, the National Assembly will listen to the Government's proposal on the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis, before discussing this content in the working group. In 2010, the idea of building a high-speed railway line on the North-South axis was proposed but the National Assembly did not approve it due to concerns about the speed, exploitation plan, and investment resources in the context of the low economic scale at that time (GDP was 147 billion USD), high public debt (56.6% of GDP). But now, the demand for transportation is increasing, the economic scale in 2023 will reach 430 billion USD, nearly 3 times higher than in 2010; public debt is low - about 37% of GDP. Therefore, according to the Government, if the project is expected to be implemented in 2027, the economic scale is estimated to reach 564 billion USD, investment resources at this time are no longer a major obstacle. The North-South high-speed railway has a total length of more than 1,540km and passes through 20 provinces and cities (Photo: AI). The North-South high-speed railway line submitted to the National Assembly this time is expected to start from Ngoc Hoi station ( Hanoi ) and end at Thu Thiem station (HCMC), passing through 20 provinces and cities. The project has a route length of about 1,541km, building a new double-track railway line, 1,435mm gauge with a design speed of 350km/h. The high-speed railway, according to the Government's plan, will transport passengers, meet dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary. According to the preliminary design plan, the route of the North-South high-speed railway is studied and selected to be "as short as possible". "The project also limits going through environmentally sensitive areas, historical sites, scenic spots, and national defense land; reduces the volume of site clearance, and avoids densely populated areas," according to the Government's proposal. Along the expressway, the Government plans to arrange 23 passenger stations, each station location planning a development space of 200 to 500 hectares. The 5 cargo stations have a scale of about 24.5 hectares each. Reporting to the National Assembly on the land clearance and resettlement plan, the Government said that the total land use demand of the project is about 10,827 hectares; the resettled population is about 120,836 people. This project will be implemented in the form of public investment with a total preliminary investment of more than 1.7 million billion VND (about 67.34 billion USD). It is expected that the State budget capital will be allocated in the medium-term public investment plan to complete the project by 2035, with capital allocated over about 12 years (from 2025 to 2037), averaging about 5.6 billion USD per year - equivalent to about 1.3% of GDP in 2023 and about 1% of GDP in 2027 (when the project starts). The implementation process will mobilize diverse legal capital sources for investment. Regarding progress, the Government calculates to complete the preparation and approval of the feasibility study and design report in 2025-2026; start the project in 2027; strive to basically complete the entire route by 2035. According to the Government's report, the North-South high-speed railway project will contribute to strengthening the connection of growth poles, opening up new economic development space; increasing the competitiveness of the economy. If approved, the project will create an important premise for Vietnam to become a developed, high-income country; creating momentum for the development of the railway industry and supporting industries. In addition, the North-South high-speed railway is expected to contribute to the development of a sustainable, modern, and friendly mode of transport, reducing traffic accidents and environmental pollution.
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