Open doors for railway infrastructure project contractors.

At least two national railway lines have been invested in earlier than the schedule set out in the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, thereby making railways an important "playing field" for domestic businesses and investors.

Construction of the Khe Net railway tunnel (Quang Binh province). Photo : AM

Activate the investment roadmap early.

The Vietnam Railway Authority has submitted Proposal No. 2307/TTr-CĐSVN to the Ministry of Transport (MOT) requesting consideration and reporting to competent authorities for approval of adjustments to the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050.

Previously, based on a proposal from the Ministry of Transport , the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 1769/QD-TTg dated October 19, 2021. Accordingly, by 2030, the plan includes 9 new railway lines with a total length of 2,362 km.

In Report No. 2307/TTr-CĐSVN, the Vietnam Railway Authority detailed the reasons why the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, had to be adjusted and updated just three years after its promulgation.

According to Mr. Tran Thien Canh, Director of the Vietnam Railway Department, the railway network plan was first developed under conditions where there was no national master plan, national land use plan, or national maritime spatial plan; national sectoral plans for other fields (industry, tourism , urban and rural areas, etc.), regional plans, and provincial plans were all just beginning to be developed or were in the process of selecting consultants.

At the time of planning (2020), the overall framework for socio- economic development, national defense, security, and environmental protection at the national, international, and inter-regional levels, as well as the projected division of regions, economic corridors, and growth poles, was not yet in place. Therefore, forecasting the points where transportation demand will arise, orienting transportation corridors, and dividing market share within these corridors were only approximate and lacked high accuracy.

To date, the basic national sectoral plans have been approved by the Prime Minister, with many development orientations affecting the railway network plan to varying degrees. In particular, the plans for several sectors and fields such as energy, minerals, tourism, and electricity, which are related to the production, consumption, and transportation of specific products like coal, petroleum, LNG, and minerals, have significantly impacted the forecast of railway transport demand.

In addition, in February 2023, the Politburo issued Conclusion No. 49-KL/TW on the Orientation for the Development of Vietnam's Railway Transport System until 2030, with a vision to 2045. The Politburo also approved a resolution on 6 socio-economic regions and 3 localities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Khanh Hoa).

In early 2023, the National Assembly passed Resolution No. 81/2023/QH15 on the National Master Plan; the Prime Minister approved national sectoral plans and provincial/city plans, which impacted the railway network plan.

"In the aforementioned new context, it is necessary to adjust the railway network planning to ensure it aligns with the national master plan, coordinates synchronously between national sectoral plans, and ensures the implementation of the country's development orientations," said a leader of the Vietnam Railway Authority.

It should be added that the first important point in Report No. 2307/TTr-CĐSVN is the proposal by the specialized state management agency for railways to adjust the length of the North-South high-speed railway line mentioned in Decision No. 1769/QĐ-TTg from 1,545 km to 1,541 km.

According to the Vietnam Railway Authority, this adjustment aims to update the content of the National Master Plan on the orientation for striving to build several sections of the North-South high-speed railway, as well as to synchronize with the Investment Policy Project for the construction of a high-speed railway on the North-South axis that has just been approved by the competent authority.

The second notable point is that the Vietnam Railway Authority has proposed adjusting the investment timeline from after 2030 to before 2030 for two railway lines: Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong (1,435 mm gauge) and Thap Cham – Da Lat.

Specifically, the new Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway line (1,435 mm gauge) will primarily transport long-distance passengers, international freight, and various types of import and export goods, including international freight (due to the same railway gauge, it can reach deep into inland China).

The Thap Cham – Da Lat railway line will be restored on the site of the old railway line that has long been out of operation, with a length of 84 km, single track, and 1,000 mm gauge. This railway line will contribute to the development of key tourist areas along the route, such as Da Lat City and Phan Rang – Thap Cham City, and attract investment, creating momentum for socio-economic development in Ninh Thuan and Lam Dong provinces.

A new shift

Currently, both railway lines that have been accelerated in terms of investment compared to the schedule outlined in Decision No. 1769/QD-TTg have the potential to mobilize resources for early investment consideration.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport is accelerating the progress of preparing the pre-feasibility study report for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway project, approximately 380 km long, with a 1,435 mm gauge, electrified, and with an estimated total investment of about 11.6 billion USD. The investment policy is expected to be finalized in 2025, with investment implementation scheduled before 2030.

In addition, the Ministry of Transport is also proposing to the competent authorities to allow the use of non-refundable aid from the Government of the People's Republic of China worth approximately 500 billion VND to prepare a feasibility study report for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway project. This will serve as the basis for the project to commence the contractor selection process in the second half of 2025.

Regarding the Thap Cham – Da Lat railway line, the Ministry of Transport and the Vietnam Railway Authority have received a proposal for investment in the project under the PPP method from Bach Dang Hotel and Service Trading Joint Stock Company.

This project has a total investment of 24,902 billion VND, with a payback period of 30 years, and comprises two components. The larger component involves restoring the 76.8 km section from Thap Cham station to Trai Mat station, including the restoration and construction of 64 bridges, 5 tunnels, 11 stations, and the construction of the entire railway superstructure.

The second component involves upgrading the section from Trai Mat station to Da Lat station – the currently operating section with a length of 6.7 km, including the restoration and preservation of Da Lat and Trai Mat stations.

According to Mr. Tran Chung, former Director of the State Inspection Department for Construction Works, if the two aforementioned railway lines are implemented as planned, they will open up a large market for railway infrastructure construction for domestic railway construction and engineering contractors after many years of stagnation.

In addition, these will be useful "training grounds" for infrastructure businesses, which are only familiar with building bridges and roads, to accumulate experience in railway construction, aiming towards the high-speed railway line on the North-South axis and urban railway lines in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

It should be added that, including the upgrading of the Thong Nhat railway line, the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway line, the three railway lines connecting with China, and the construction of 580 km of urban railway in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the period from 2025 to 2035, with a total investment of nearly 150 billion USD, will become the "decade" of railways, following the boom in expressway development that began in 2020.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, General Director of Deo Ca Group, in addition to expressway projects, investing in railway infrastructure is identified as a new direction for Deo Ca in the next 5-10 years.

Specifically, Deo Ca Group partnered with IL Sung Construction Co., Ltd. to participate in the bidding process and won Package XL01 for the construction of two railway tunnels in the Khe Net Pass Railway Improvement Project (Quang Binh province) on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City railway line, with a winning bid of VND 554.594 billion. The main objective is to accumulate experience and capacity to anticipate upcoming railway projects.

In addition, to anticipate high-speed rail and urban rail projects, in 2023, Deo Ca collaborated with universities to recruit and train high-quality personnel for the railway industry.

"Along with urgently training railway personnel, we have collaborated with experienced units from China, Japan, South Korea, etc., learning technology, preparing modern equipment for construction, and strengthening organizational capacity to participate in bidding," Mr. Vinh said.

According to Decision No. 1769/QD-TTg, in addition to the 7 existing railway lines with a total length of approximately 2,440 km, the national railway network by 2030 is planned to include 9 new railway lines with a total length of 2,362 km, comprising:

– The North-South high-speed railway line (from Ngoc Hoi station to Thu Thiem station) is approximately 1,545 km long.

– The Yen Vien – Pha Lai – Ha Long – Cai Lan line (from Yen Vien Bac station to Cai Lan station) is 129 km long.

– The Eastern Ring Road of Hanoi (Ngoc Hoi – Lac Dao – Bac Hong), approximately 59 km long; the Ngoc Hoi – Yen Vien and Gia Lam – Lac Dao sections will be converted into urban railways to align with the construction schedule of Hanoi's urban railway line No. 1 and the Eastern Ring Road.

– The Hanoi – Hai Phong line (part of the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway line), running parallel to the Hanoi – Hai Phong expressway (to Nam Hai Phong station), connects the international gateway seaport of Hai Phong with the port areas of Dinh Vu, Nam Do Son and Lach Huyen; approximately 102 km long.

– The Vung Ang – Tan Ap – Mu Gia route (from Vung Ang port to the Vietnam-Laos border at Mu Gia pass) is approximately 103 km long.

– The Bien Hoa – Vung Tau line (from Trang Bom station to Vung Tau station) is approximately 84 km long.

– The Ho Chi Minh City – Can Tho route (from An Binh station to Cai Rang station) is approximately 174 km long.

– The Ho Chi Minh City – Loc Ninh line (from Di An station to the Vietnam-Cambodia border rail junction at Hoa Lu border gate) is approximately 128 km long.

– The Thu Thiem – Long Thanh line (from Thu Thiem station to Long Thanh International Airport station), serving only passengers, is approximately 38 km long.

The national railway network is planned to include 25 lines by 2050, with a total length of 6,354 km. The total capital requirement by 2030 is approximately 240,000 billion VND, utilizing state budget funds, non-budgetary funds, and other legal sources of capital.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/rong-cua-cho-nha-thau-du-an-ha-tang-duong-sat-d228254.html