Good news for Yen Vien - Cai Lan Railway Project

Due to insufficient capital allocation, the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan Railway Project invested by the Ministry of Transport has been temporarily suspended and delayed since 2011. The project has been "suspended" for more than ten years, causing many consequences affecting the lives of people in the project area. However, a positive signal is that the Vietnam Railway Authority has just proposed that the Ministry of Transport consider and approve the planning of the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh railway route. This could be a "way out" for the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan Railway Project.

According to the proposal of the Vietnam Railway Authority, the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh railway line starts at Lao Cai Station and ends at Ha Long Station (belonging to the Kep - Ha Long railway line). The total length of the line is about 427km including 41 stations on the line. The line passes through 10 provinces and cities including: Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Hanoi, Bac Ninh , Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh.

The planning consultancy consortium TRICC-TEDI divided the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh railway line into 2 main lines and 2 branch lines, of which the main line from Lao Cai - Nam Hai Phong - Lach Huyen Port is 391.06km long; the main line from Nam Hai Phong - Cai Lan is 50.59km long; the branch line from Nam Hai Phong - Nam Do Son Port is 12.632km long; the branch line from Nam Dinh Vu - Dinh Vu is 7.418km long.

The total estimated capital requirement for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh railway is VND179,126 billion, of which site clearance costs are VND23,448 billion; construction and equipment costs are VND107,260 billion; the remainder is consulting, project management and contingency costs.

The Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway project has been "suspended" for more than ten years.

According to calculations, the transport demand of the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh railway network in 2030 is expected to be 12.77 million tons of goods and 4.65 million passengers; in 2040 it is expected to be 14.94 million tons of goods and 6.22 million passengers; in 2050 it is expected to be 17.48 million tons of goods and 8.31 million passengers. This is a project to meet the demand for railway transport; connecting national railways with seaports, concentrated industrial zones, and tourist areas, in order to promote the efficiency of railway transport, meeting the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country.

The fact that the Vietnam Railway Authority requested the Ministry of Transport to review and approve the planning of the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh railway route is a good sign for households affected by the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway project.

Previously, due to insufficient capital allocation, the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway project was temporarily suspended according to Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP dated February 24, 2011 of the Government. The project's delay has directly affected the people living along both sides of the route.

The Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway was approved by the Ministry of Transport in Decision No. 2181/QD-BGTVT dated July 24, 2008. The project is 131km long, with a total investment of over VND 7,600 billion. In Quang Ninh, according to statistics, nearly 3,000 households are affected by the project passing through the localities of Ha Long, Uong Bi and Dong Trieu. Households within the project area are not allowed to build or repair houses, divide plots, transfer land use rights, or issue or change land use right certificates..., at the same time causing waste of land resources, hindering economic and social development, and affecting people's lives.

Hopefully, the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh railway will soon be approved and implemented, thereby creating a "way out" for the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan Railway Project that was previously "suspended", helping people in the affected areas to stabilize their lives and develop the economy.

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