In the pre-feasibility study report of the North-South high-speed railway project, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) affirmed that it has actively studied experiences and consulted models from 22 countries and territories, and organized learning experiences in 6 countries that own and master high-speed railway technology.
The proposed investment for the North-South high-speed railway is 1,541km long, with a double track scale, 1,435mm gauge, electrification, infrastructure designed for a speed of 350km/h, 23 passenger stations with an average distance of about 67km, and 5 freight stations connected to freight hubs.
The route will start from Ngoc Hoi station (Hanoi), pass through 20 provinces and cities and end at Thu Thiem station (HCMC).
Regarding technology, the Ministry of Transport said that it recommends choosing rail technology.
Regarding the choice of design speed, the Ministry of Transport believes that a speed of 350km/h is suitable for routes of 800km or more, with many densely populated urban areas such as the North-South corridor of our country.
In addition, according to the consultant's calculation, on the Hanoi-HCMC route, a speed of 350km/h is likely to attract about 12.5% more passengers than a speed of 250km/h; the investment cost for a speed of 350km/h is about 8-9% higher than a speed of 250km/h.
However, if investing at a speed of 250km/h, upgrading to a speed of 350km/h is difficult to implement and ineffective.
The Ministry of Transport aims to submit the investment policy to the National Assembly for approval at the October 2024 session; bid to select international consultants, conduct surveys, and prepare a pre-feasibility study report in 2025-2026; carry out site clearance, bid to select contractors, and start construction of component projects on the Hanoi-Vinh and Nha Trang-Ho Chi Minh City sections by the end of 2027; start construction of component projects on the Vinh-Nha Trang section in 2028-2029 and strive to complete investment in the entire route by 2035.
The Ministry of Transport also added that through reviewing the investment plan, the total project investment is initially determined to be about 67.34 billion USD.
The high-speed railway line on the North-South axis is expected to be invested with a structural length of 60% bridge, 10% tunnel and 30% ground, so the project investment rate is about 43.69 million USD/km.
During the feasibility study report preparation stage, after having survey data and detailed design, the Ministry of Transport will direct consultants to continue reviewing and calculating the total project investment to ensure accuracy, completeness, and suitability with the technology and scale of the project investment.
Regarding the plan to mobilize capital for project investment, the Ministry of Transport proposed mobilizing the central budget to arrange for medium-term periods, government bond capital, capital contributed by localities, mobilized capital with low costs, few constraints, increased revenue sources, and annual spending savings.
It is expected that the State budget capital will be allocated in the medium-term public investment plan periods to complete the project in 2035, with capital allocated for about 12 years. Each year, an average of about 5.6 billion USD will be needed to allocate for the project, equivalent to 24.5% of the annual medium-term public investment capital allocated in the 2021-2025 period and reduced to about 16.2% in the 2026-2030 period if the medium-term public investment ratio remains at 5.5-5.7% of GDP as it is now.
