Study on investing 9 billion USD in building double-track railway in Ho Chi Minh City

Passing through 6 provinces and cities, more than 170km long

The Railway Project Management Board recently reported to the Ministry of Transport on the survey results and prepared a pre-feasibility study report for the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway project after working with 6 provinces and cities where the project passes through: Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Long An, Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Can Tho to study the plan.

According to preliminary research, to build a double-track railway and electrify the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho route, it will take about 9 billion USD, invested in the form of a PPP project. Photo: illustration

The research results agree that investment in the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway is essential to meet future transportation needs. At the same time, it ensures harmonious and sustainable development of transportation, urban restructuring and population distribution on the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho corridor...

Through preliminary research, the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway line starts from Binh Duong (An Binh station) to Can Tho (Can Tho station), passing through 6 provinces and cities with a total length of 174.42km.

Through survey and preliminary calculation, the total investment is expected to be about 9 billion USD, equivalent to 213,948 billion VND.

The Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway line is built according to double-track standards, 1,435mm gauge, electrified to operate both passenger and freight trains. The railway line has 15 stations, 11 maintenance and repair stations...

The technology selected for the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway is distributed power train (EMU) for passenger trains and centralized power train for freight trains, automatic train control signals on a radio information platform.

The maximum design speed for trains is 190km/h, passenger trains operate at speeds below 190km/h, and freight trains operate at speeds below 120km/h.

The project research consulting unit proposed to invest in the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway project under the public-private partnership (PPP) method. The State pays for site clearance, the PPP investor mobilizes capital to build infrastructure, test it and hand it over to the State under the BTL (Build - Transfer - Lease) contract form.

Accordingly, the PPP investor invests in infrastructure and leases it to the operating unit. The proposed lease is for 30 years.

Waiting for completion of pre-feasibility study report

The Railway Project Management Board said that it has been working with consultants to urgently work with localities to agree on the route plan and station locations. However, up to now, this unit has not received official opinions from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Binh Duong Provincial People's Committee and Tien Giang Provincial People's Committee to complete the pre-feasibility study report to submit to the Ministry of Transport.

Speaking to Giao thong Newspaper, a representative of the Railway Project Management Board said that the station arrangement has been carefully studied. Because the route passes through large, densely populated urban areas, it is necessary to calculate the connection plan with other modes of transport to ensure the efficiency of the route.

Accordingly, the stations are arranged close together mainly at the two ends of Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho; On the route, the distance between the two stations is longer, to ensure train speed and travel time. The stations are also clearly divided into passenger and freight stations.

“The total investment proposed in the project’s Pre-Feasibility Study Report is only an initial estimate. The investment cost depends largely on the technology that is agreed upon, so it will have to be adjusted and updated during the further research in the next phase,” said a representative of the Railway Project Management Board.

Previously, responding to the petition of voters of Can Tho province on the early implementation of investment in the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho high-speed railway line, the Ministry of Transport said that according to the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, this railway line is about 174km long, double-track, 1,435mm gauge, and is expected to be studied for investment in the period up to 2030.

The Ministry of Transport has assigned the Railway Project Management Board to study and prepare for project investment in the medium-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period.

“Because the project is large-scale, technically complex, and falls under the criteria of a national important project, investment preparation research needs to be carefully considered to ensure efficiency, feasibility, and meet economic and technical requirements,” the Ministry of Transport emphasized.

The Ministry of Transport has also requested the Railway Project Management Board to complete the Pre-Feasibility Study Report in the fourth quarter of 2022 to carry out the next procedures, striving to complete investment preparation work before 2025 and implement investment before 2030.