World Bank to support Vietnam in building high-speed railway

The World Bank (WB) is committed to closely coordinating with the Ministry of Transport to implement projects with capital support from the WB within the time frame desired by the Prime Minister.

News from the Ministry of Transport, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang recently had a working session with Ms. Manula V. Ferro, Vice President of the World Bank (WB) for East Asia and the Pacific.

Ms. Manula V. Ferro affirmed that Vietnam has always been an important partner of the WB. The WB wishes to maintain and develop this good cooperative relationship, and said that the WB can support and play an active role with Vietnam in the process of achieving the goal of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045.

WB is prepared to support Vietnam in building transport infrastructure projects.

The WB Vice President said that at the meeting in September 2023 between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and WB President Ajay Banga, the Prime Minister proposed that in the next 3 years, the WB lend Vietnam 5-7 billion USD to invest in infrastructure projects in Vietnam. The WB is making efforts to prepare for this cooperation opportunity, prioritizing the transport and energy - electricity sectors.

From here, Ms. Manula V. Ferro suggested that the Ministry of Transport propose specific projects that can be implemented soon, especially large-scale and meaningful projects.

In response to the WB's interest, Minister Nguyen Van Thang expressed his wish that the WB study and consider allocating loans for a number of important projects in the railway and road sectors.

World Bank will join in supporting Vietnam to build high-speed railway

Prioritize railway and road projects

Specifically, regarding railways, there are 3 new construction projects including: Hanoi Eastern Belt Railway, 59km long, double track, 1,435mm and 1,000mm gauge, phase 1 single track investment with a total investment of about 17,000 billion VND, of which the expected loan capital is about 560 million USD.

Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Railway, 140km long, double track, 1,435m gauge, total investment for single track phase is about 3 billion USD, expected loan capital is nearly 3 billion USD;

The Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway is 175.2 km long, double-track, 1,435 m gauge; phase 1 investment in single-track is about 154,000 billion VND, estimated loan capital is about 5.07 billion USD. All three projects are preparing pre-feasibility studies (Pre-Fs), expected to be completed by mid-2024.

Along with that is the project to improve the safety of railway lines, build about 30 intersections (overpasses) between national highways and existing railway lines, with high train density and many accidents; total investment is about 8,378 billion VND, expected loan capital is 280 million USD.

The road sector has 2 projects including the Pleiku - Quy Nhon expressway, 151km long, 4 lanes, total investment of about 35,800 billion VND for 4 lanes of 17m, about 44,000 billion VND for 4 complete lanes, expected loan capital of 1.45 billion USD; Cam Lo - Lao Bao expressway, 70km long, 4 lanes, total investment of about 10,800 billion VND for 4 lanes of 17m, about 14,500 billion VND for 4 complete lanes, expected loan capital of about 480 million USD.

"These two projects are being studied for investment in the form of public-private partnership (PPP). However, due to the large total investment and low flow, the WB can approach and consider funding in the form of public investment," the Minister informed.

In addition, the Minister also requested the WB to support technical assistance projects, focusing on the fields of high-speed railways, urban railways, expressways, including the construction and management of the Expressway Traffic Technical and Operation Center (national ITS center)...

"The Ministry of Transport hopes that the WB will consider and approve loans for cooperation projects. The Ministry of Transport also believes that with the efforts of both sides, the cooperation projects between the two sides will achieve good results," Minister Nguyen Van Thang expressed.

WB to join high-speed rail project

WB Vice President Manula V. Ferro said that the railway and expressway projects proposed by the Ministry of Transport are very necessary because of their high connectivity and significance not only for the socio-economic development of Vietnam but also for the region. Therefore, the WB can significantly participate in these projects. At the same time, it committed to closely coordinate with the Ministry of Transport to be able to implement projects with capital support from the WB within the time frame desired by the Prime Minister.

According to Phan Trang/ Chinhphu.vn

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