Explanation of the High-speed Railway Project on the Northern axis

The Ministry of Transport has clarified matters related to the North-South High-Speed ​​Railway Project at the request of the National Assembly Standing Committee, as well as in response to the National Assembly's Economic Committee's review.

Perspective view of the high-speed railway on the North-South axis.

Clarify the project route.

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has recently sent Official Letter No. 12153/BGTVT-KHĐT to the Government regarding the acceptance and explanation of the opinions of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the North-South High-Speed ​​Railway Project. Accordingly, the Ministry stated that it has studied, reviewed, accepted, and fully explained the conclusions of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Notice of the National Assembly Secretary General, and the preliminary review opinions of the National Assembly's Economic Committee to finalize the pre-feasibility study report and the draft submission from the Government to the National Assembly, as well as the draft resolution of the National Assembly.

"The feedback and explanations received do not change the objectives, scope, scale, preliminary design solutions, technology, total investment, progress, etc., of the Project as presented in Government Report No. 685/TTr-CP dated October 19, 2024," said Mr. Nguyen Danh Huy, Deputy Minister of Transport .

Previously, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly issued Conclusion No. 1049/KL-UBTVQH15 dated November 8, 2024, on the investment policy for the Project; the Secretary General of the National Assembly issued Notice No. 4613/TB-TTKQH dated November 8, 2024, on the investment policy for the Project; and the Economic Committee of the National Assembly issued Preliminary Verification Report No. 3305/BC-UBKT15 dated November 6, 2024, on the investment policy for the Project.

Accordingly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly unanimously agreed to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and decision the investment policy for the North-South High-Speed ​​Railway Project at the eighth session of the 15th National Assembly; and agreed that exceptional and special policies are needed to implement the Project.

To finalize the Pre-feasibility Study Report for the Project, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly requested the incorporation and explanation of six groups of issues: review of the total investment cost and preliminary design plan; assessment of factors affecting project implementation; socio-economic and financial efficiency; funding sources and capital balance; further explanation of technology, technology transfer, and implementation conditions; review of transportation demand forecasts; and specific and special mechanisms and policies.

"These are also key content areas that greatly affect the feasibility and implementation progress of the North-South High-Speed ​​Railway Project," said Mr. Vu Hong Phuong, Director of the Railway Project Management Board - the unit assigned to prepare the Pre-feasibility Study Report for the Project.

In Official Letter No. 12153/BGTVT-KHĐT, the Ministry of Transport stated that, in response to the opinions of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Government has directed a review of the total investment cost, including the investment cost of several high-speed railway lines around the world with similar technology and technical standards; a review of the calculation methods for cost items; the volume of preliminary design, and the volume of land clearance in the pre-feasibility study report…

Specifically, the Ministry of Transport affirmed that the method for calculating basic cost items is in accordance with the law on construction and the current macroeconomic conditions; compensation and resettlement support costs have been determined based on the preliminary volume of land clearance and estimated unit prices based on reference land prices of several projects; the volume is determined according to the preliminary design.

The preliminary review of the calculations maintains the total investment for the Project at approximately US$67.34 billion. This total investment is calculated according to the regulations of construction law and the current macroeconomic conditions.

In Official Letter No. 12153/BGTVT-KHĐT, the Ministry of Transport also clarified the selection of the high-speed railway route, including the route through Nam Dinh City. Specifically, the route through Nam Dinh province has been studied to ensure compliance with national sectoral planning, regional planning, and provincial planning.

During the research process, three options were presented for comparative analysis and selection. Option 1 involved a route that approached the center of Nam Dinh City, with the station located approximately 5 km from the city center; Option 2 involved a route that moved further away from the center of Nam Dinh City, with the station located approximately 12 km from the city center; Option 3 involved a straight route connecting Ha Nam and Ninh Binh directly, without passing through Nam Dinh.

According to the leaders of the Ministry of Transport, as the southern center of the Northern Coastal region, Nam Dinh City has a planned population of approximately 600,000 by 2040. It is a major transportation hub with high transport demand, attracting neighboring localities in the Red River Delta region such as Thai Binh and Hung Yen, with a projected passenger volume of up to 4 million people. Forecasts indicate that by 2050, the demand for travel to and from Nam Dinh train station will reach nearly 3 million passengers per year.

If we consider the investment and operating costs over 30 years, the section through Nam Dinh (12 km) would cost approximately US$1.66 billion, with estimated benefits of US$2.06 billion. Therefore, operating the high-speed railway through Nam Dinh City would yield estimated benefits of approximately US$400 million over 30 years compared to a straight high-speed railway line that bypasses this area.

"World experience has shown that there are many cases where high-speed rail lines绕 around major centers to attract passengers, instead of going straight as in Japan, South Korea, and Germany," Official Document No. 12153/BGTVT-KHĐT clearly states.

This further clarifies the potential for participation of domestic businesses.

In the aforementioned document, the Ministry of Transport clarified the requirements regarding technology, human resources, materials, and electricity demand during the construction, operation, and use of the high-speed railway line on the North-South axis. According to calculations by the consultant preparing the pre-feasibility study report, the preliminary material requirements for the project are 3.5 million tons of steel, 6.72 million tons of cement, 17.4 million cubic meters of stone, 80 million cubic meters of embankment soil, and 9.7 million cubic meters of sand, and domestic supply is basically sufficient to meet the requirements.

Regarding railway rails and switches, several domestic corporations are researching investment in production and are capable of supplying these materials in the near future. As for locomotives, carriages, and train control signals, these cannot be supplied domestically, but there are many international partners. For conventional communication, signaling, and electrical equipment, the majority can be supplied domestically.

Regarding power supply, the North-South high-speed railway line is expected to use single-phase alternating current, AC 25 kV. According to the consultant's report, the power supply for the high-speed railway is consistent with the Power Development Plan VIII.

In the feasibility study phase, the Government will direct further detailed surveys to specifically determine the needs and supply capacity of materials, equipment, and supplies in domestic and international markets to ensure the project's requirements are met; and work specifically with localities and domestic suppliers to determine the maximum mobilization of resources for the project.

Another recommendation from the National Assembly Standing Committee that the Ministry of Transport prioritizes for clarification is the transfer of technology, gradually mastering railway technology; mastering raw materials and other necessary conditions during the construction and operation of the Project.

According to Mr. Nguyen Danh Huy, Deputy Minister of Transport, global experience and research show that effective industrial development requires a sufficiently large market size and a high level of development in metallurgical, mechanical engineering, and supporting industries. Therefore, to ensure a sufficiently large market size and overall efficiency, the railway industry development plan is being studied not only for high-speed rail, but also for national railways (approximately 4,000 km) and urban railways (approximately 1,114 km).

According to the consultant's estimates, the investment in the high-speed rail line will create a construction market worth approximately $33.5 billion; including the national railway system, urban rail will generate a construction market of approximately $75.6 billion, and a market for vehicles and equipment of approximately $34.1 billion (locomotives and carriages approximately $9.8 billion; signaling systems and other equipment approximately $24.3 billion).

Recently, the Ministry of Transport has directed the Vietnam Railways Corporation to implement projects to renovate and upgrade existing trains to serve tourism. They have purchased designs, imported equipment, and collaborated with several suppliers of industrial products to build new trains with a design speed of 120 km/h.

At the same time, the Ministry of Transport has worked with several domestic enterprises such as the General Department of Industry (Ministry of National Defense), Hoa Phat Group, Thanh Cong Group, etc., to guide these enterprises to develop strategies and proactively prepare resources to participate in the future implementation and development of the railway industry.

Based on the level and development orientation of industries, market size, and especially the effectiveness of technology transfer, the pre-feasibility study report proposes a four-step development orientation for the railway industry until 2045: mastering the construction industry; domestic assembly and gradual localization of railway vehicles for national and urban railways; domestic production and gradual localization of hardware and software components for information, signaling, and power supply systems; and mastering all aspects of operation, maintenance, and repair of high-speed railways.

In addition, the pre-feasibility study report proposed several necessary policy mechanisms for the development of the railway industry, such as: a list of railway industry products, supporting industries, and other industries serving the Project that are subject to assignment or ordering by Vietnamese organizations and enterprises; state-owned enterprises assigned tasks or other Vietnamese enterprises ordered to supply railway industry products, supporting industries, and other industries.

In addition, the investor must specify concrete terms regarding the roadmap and content of technology transfer to the general contractor and subcontractors; prioritizing the selection of general contractors and subcontractors committed to transferring new and modern technologies. “Taking into account the opinions of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Government will direct relevant ministries and agencies to continue researching the next steps regarding technology and technology transfer, gradually mastering railway technology; mastering raw materials, in order to meet the goal of creating a foundation and driving force for the development of the railway industry and supporting industries,” a leader of the Ministry of Transport said.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tuong-minh-du-an-duong-sat-toc-do-cao-บน-truc-bac—nam-d229832.html