On the afternoon of February 13, according to the meeting agenda, the National Assembly will listen to the Minister of Transport present a report on the investment policy for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway construction project.
Explaining the necessity of the project, the Minister of Transport said that this project aims to realize the Party's policies and orientations, resolutions and conclusions of the Party Central Committee and the Politburo, and to implement plans.
After more than 100 years, Vietnam's railway system has become outdated and unable to meet the country's development needs. In many documents, the Party and State have identified the investment goal of building the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway line.
Recently, the National Assembly decided to invest in a high-speed railway on the North-South axis, demonstrating strong political determination in implementing the strategic project as the country enters a new era.
The Hanoi - Lao Cai - Hai Phong railway project will be the next project to realize the policy set forth by the Party Central Committee and the Politburo.
According to the National Master Plan, the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong economic corridor has the second largest demand for passenger and cargo transport in the country, after the Eastern North - South economic corridor.
At the same time, this corridor plays a strategic role between Vietnam and China, within the framework of "Two corridors, one belt" with the "Belt and Road" initiative.
In recent times, the leaders of the two Parties and the two States have paid great attention to promoting the implementation of the project, as demonstrated in the statements, agreements, and memorandums of understanding between the two sides. Therefore, the implementation of the project investment is an important task, both urgent and strategic, requiring great determination to soon start construction and complete it for exploitation.
The project will meet the transportation needs on the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong economic corridor. The railway connects the Ha Khau - Lao Cai international border gate with the Hai Phong international gateway seaport, passing through 9 localities accounting for approximately 20%, 25.4% and 25.1% of the country's population, GRDP and industrial zones, respectively.
According to calculations, by 2050, the total transport demand on the corridor will be about 397.1 million tons of goods and 334.2 million passengers.
To restructure the transportation market share, reduce logistics costs to ensure sustainable development, based on the role and advantages of each mode of transportation, railway transportation needs to handle about 25.6 million tons of goods and 186 million passengers.
Meanwhile, the existing 1,000 mm gauge railway has a small curve radius, a large slope, an average operating speed of 50 km/h, cannot connect to intermodal transport, and has low competitiveness, so it can only meet about 4.1 million tons of cargo, 3.8 million passengers, serving some goods, industrial raw materials, and short-distance tourists. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in a new railway to meet the increasing transport demand on the corridor.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the project will also create a construction market, creating the premise for the development of the railway industry and supporting industries. The project investment will create a construction market worth about 4.56 billion USD, estimated to create about 90,000 jobs during construction and about 2,500 long-term jobs during operation and exploitation. If the high-speed railway system and urban railway are included, the construction market will be about 98.3 billion USD and millions of jobs. At the same time, according to the railway network planning, in addition to the project, the standard railway system needs to be newly built for about 1,953 km, creating a stable, long-term market to continue implementing projects in the next phase.
Therefore, together with the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis, this project is a premise for the development of the railway industry and supporting industries.
The project promises to bring a sustainable, modern, and friendly mode of transport, contributing to reducing traffic accidents, environmental pollution, responding to climate change, and ensuring national defense and security. The railway line using electric energy will be the solution to transform the mode of transport, contributing to achieving net emissions of "0" by 2050 as committed at the COP26 Conference. At the same time, the line is researched and applies modern technical solutions to reduce the negative impacts of weather, has an early warning system for earthquakes and natural disasters, so it is very safe, has the ability to withstand harsh weather and climate, ensuring smooth and safe traffic on the traffic route.
The Hanoi - Lao Cai - Hai Phong railway project starts at the rail connection point across the border between the new Lao Cai station and Hekou Bac station (China), in Lao Cai city; the end point is at Lach Huyen wharf area, in Hai Phong city.
The main route is about 390.9km long and the 3 branch routes are about 27.9km long; passing through 9 provinces and cities including: Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Hai Phong.
Design speed 160 km/h, section through Hanoi unit area design speed 120 km/h, connecting sections, branch lines design speed 80 km/h.
Preliminary total investment is about 203,231 billion VND (about 8.369 billion USD).
