Seminar "High-speed railway"

On the afternoon of October 29, the Government Portal held a seminar on "High-speed railway - Opportunities and challenges" to clarify issues of public concern related to the high-speed railway investment project on the North-South axis such as capital sources, efficiency for the economy , society, etc.

The 13th Central Executive Committee issued Resolution No. 55-NQ/TW dated September 20, 2024, which determined the investment policy for the entire high-speed railway project (350 km/h) on the North-South axis. It can be seen that the 350 km/h high-speed railway, expected to be completed in 2035, will be a major breakthrough not only for transport infrastructure, opening up new development space, but also an important step forward, contributing to bringing Vietnam's economy on par with developed countries in the world .

Immediately after the policy on building a high-speed railway was approved, public opinion paid special attention to this project and also raised many questions about: capital sources, speed, and efficiency of the project for the economy and society when invested, put into operation and used... To analyze, discuss, and clarify the above issues, the Government Portal organized a seminar "High-speed railway - Opportunities and challenges" with the participation of invited guests who are leaders of state management agencies and experts: Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy; Deputy Minister of Finance Bui Van Khang; Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong; Standing member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Phan Duc Hieu; General Director of Vietnam Railway Corporation Hoang Gia Khanh.

High-speed rail helps increase GDP by about 0.97 percentage points

Regarding the timing of the proposal to build the North-South high-speed railway, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said: The Ministry of Transport has spent 18 years researching the construction of a high-speed railway. Forecasting the demand for transportation, the Ministry of Transport found that this was the right time and necessary to build the North-South high-speed railway to restructure the transportation market appropriately. In addition, at this time, the scale of Vietnam's economy has reached 430 billion USD, public debt is not too high, so the basic resource conditions are not a big challenge.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy at the seminar.

Technically, the Ministry of Transport has had an explanation for choosing a speed of 350 km/h, or the function of use as passenger transport and not cargo transport... these issues have been explained by the Ministry of Transport through 10 years of research with the participation of many experts from countries around the world as well as interdisciplinary working groups studying in 6 countries with developed high-speed railways.

“Now is the right time for the Central Executive Committee and the Politburo to decide to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and investment decision. This is also the premise and motivation for us to enter the era of growth, as General Secretary To Lam said,” Deputy Minister Nguyen Danh Huy affirmed.

Sharing the same view with the Ministry of Transport, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong affirmed: We have a full political and practical basis from the resolutions and conclusions of the Central Committee and the Politburo on the construction of high-speed railway lines from now until 2035 as well as the completion of infrastructure, including the North-South high-speed railway line. This is necessary to have a breakthrough in infrastructure, creating a positive and widespread impact on economic growth as well as ensuring social security.

“Investment spending is also a driving force for economic growth. In the history of public investment in the country, this is the largest project ever, with a total estimated expenditure of approximately 70 billion USD. This is an estimated figure at a feasible level, which is very large. This level of investment will impact economic growth throughout the project’s construction period. Through preliminary assessments, if this amount is implemented from now until 2035, the impact of this high-speed railway investment will increase GDP by about 0.97 percentage points. This is a significant figure, contributing to the overall growth of the economy,” said Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong at the seminar.

Specifically, the leader of the Ministry of Planning and Investment said that from the time of agreement on the construction of the high-speed railway, it will have a positive impact on at least 7 areas including: Construction; Supporting industries (materials, steel, supporting industries); Financial services (banking, credit capital mobilization); Urban development; Tourism; Employment; Transportation and logistics.

“The high-speed railway will have a positive impact if we do it well and quickly. The investment will directly impact GDP in the early stages and later its spread will be much greater, even surpassing our current calculations,” said Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong.

Standing Member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Phan Duc Hieu at the seminar.

Analyzing from the perspective of a researcher, Standing Member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Phan Duc Hieu shared: Public opinion is concerned about the train speed of 250km/h or 350km/h, passenger transport or freight transport... I think that the technical plan of a maximum speed of 350km/h for passenger transport, and a 22.5-ton axle load that the Ministry of Transport has proposed is the optimal plan and the right direction because it meets the future demands of transportation, science and technology, minimizing the need to upgrade and adjust after completion, which will be much more expensive.

As a long-time employee of the railway industry, Mr. Hoang Gia Khanh, General Director of Vietnam Railway Corporation, acknowledged: When the high-speed railway is formed, it will play a synchronous role in connecting the five main modes: road, rail, sea, air, and inland waterway along the North-South axis. This not only takes advantage of the strengths of each mode but also optimizes the transportation system, reduces logistics costs, and enhances the competitiveness of the economy. When the mode of freight transport is flexible, fast, and cost-effective, it will contribute to socio-economic development.

General Director of Vietnam Railway Corporation Hoang Gia Khanh at the Seminar.

“The first strength of high-speed railways is high safety, such as in Japan, Shinkansen was built in 1964 but no accidents have occurred, and the same is true in other countries around the world. Second, travel time is determined precisely to the minute. Third, it is convenient and comfortable, passengers on the train have spacious space and can move easily on the train. In addition, stations located in central areas and densely populated areas also make it easier for passengers to travel compared to other forms of transportation. In addition, this railway is electrified, environmentally friendly, and brings environmental efficiency...” - Mr. Hoang Gia Khanh shared.

Project finance is ready

Regarding the issue of resources for project implementation, Deputy Minister of Finance Bui Van Khang affirmed: Financial preparations for the high-speed railway project are ready to ensure the highest level of financial resources according to the approved roadmap and project implementation progress in accordance with the policy of Resolution 49-NQ/TW of the Politburo and Resolution of the 10th Central Conference.

Deputy Minister of Finance Bui Van Khang at the Seminar.

The Ministry of Finance said that recently, ministries and branches have coordinated very closely and agreed to propose 3 groups of overall management solutions and 4 groups of resource mobilization methods.

Three groups of comprehensive management solutions include: Innovating the growth model, managing the socio-economy flexibly and effectively to contribute to increasing annual budget revenue with the spirit that each year must be higher than the previous year; Managing fiscal policies flexibly and effectively in the direction of thorough thrift and anti-waste to focus resources on development investment; Amending institutions, removing bottlenecks and bottlenecks in attracting resources in the financial and investment sectors.

Four groups of resource mobilization methods include: First, Building a 5-year national financial plan for 3 periods until 2035 in the spirit of proactiveness and resource balance, in which, focusing on prioritizing spending on development investment, especially national and key projects in the transport sector, including the high-speed railway project, with the spirit of combining both the central and local budgets, with the central budget playing the leading role.

Second, attract resources, mobilize government bonds with appropriate interest rates, market conditions and project implementation progress. Third, attract domestic investment resources including public-private partnerships. Fourth, mobilize foreign resources with high incentives, reasonable negotiation conditions and few constraints.

Regarding the opinion that concentrating large resources on building high-speed railways will affect investment in other sectors and fields, Deputy Minister Bui Van Khang said: With the overall financial resources according to the budget revenue and expenditure estimates of all 3 phases, the Ministry of Finance will proactively develop scenarios based on the annual revenue and expenditure results, to calculate carefully, scientifically and with high feasibility. That is, it is necessary to take into account strategic priorities in each phase, the investment budget estimates in the 3 phases will project the total development investment expenditure in sync with the projects of the sectors and fields, ensuring a synchronous, comprehensive and harmonious balance, in accordance with the direction of the Party, the National Assembly and the management of the Government.

At the same time, resources will also ensure overall balance of spending tasks for national goals and key programs associated with the country's strategic economic priorities according to the policies and orientations of the Party, the National Assembly and the flexible management of the Government.

Building specific policy mechanisms according to 5 groups of issues

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just requested the Ministry of Transport to review the investment rate of the high-speed railway project, on that basis, propose specific mechanisms, especially in resource mobilization and procedures, land policies, site clearance, material mines, etc. Regarding this issue, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said: This is a project of particularly large scale, with new technology and the first time we have implemented it. Therefore, the Ministry of Transport has proactively built a system of policy mechanisms that has been approved by the Government and submitted to the National Assembly, including 19 policy mechanisms under the authority of the National Assembly and 5 mechanisms under the authority of the Government, focusing on 5 groups of issues.

Group 1 must ensure feasibility and speed up implementation progress such as: clearing the site on schedule, selecting good contractors, having international consultants participate, to mobilize international knowledge and experience, ensuring successful implementation; Group 2 is policy mechanisms to ensure sufficient resource mobilization, flexibility; Group 3 is promoting decentralization, authorization along with inspection and supervision; Group 4 is human resource training policy mechanisms; Group 5 is serving the development of the railway industry.

In particular, during the process of developing the project, the Ministry of Transport has put forward policies and mechanisms to help domestic enterprises participate in this project. The Ministry of Transport will impose conditions, the general contractor must use domestically produced goods and services, and that is a prerequisite for contractors when participating. Or, it will propose policies to the National Assembly, assign tasks to 100% state-owned enterprises, or place orders with domestic enterprises, for items and goods that can be produced domestically.

“In the construction industry, we basically master road construction, from tunnels to complex structures. We are confident that Vietnamese enterprises can participate and become masters,” the Deputy Minister of Transport affirmed.

Agreeing with the policy groups proposed by the Ministry of Transport, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said: We give the highest priority to implementing this project, the issue is under the authority of each level, and the effectiveness of the specific mechanism is analyzed.

Standing member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Phan Duc Hieu also emphasized that policy mechanisms are very necessary. "This project cannot be successful, implemented on schedule, and smoothly without a specific policy mechanism, but this is difficult because there is no precedent," Mr. Hieu said and proposed that the Government study to have a more flexible mechanism, give stronger authority, immediately handle arising issues, and ensure effectiveness in project implementation.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/toa-dam-duong-sat-toc-do-cao-thoi-co-va-thach-thuc.html