By 2050, the demand for travel to and from Nam Dinh station will be about 3 million passengers/year.
The Government has sent a report to the National Assembly explaining the opinions of National Assembly deputies on the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis.
Regarding the proposal to consider the route from Phu Ly station to Ninh Binh station, the Government said that the route plan from Phu Ly station to Ninh Binh has been carefully studied by the Government and the Ministry of Transport during the process of completing the project's pre-feasibility study report.
Accordingly, the route is studied to ensure compliance with national sector planning, regional planning and provincial planning; during the research process, 3 options were also proposed for analysis, comparison and selection.
The results show that, as the southern center of the Northern coastal region, Nam Dinh City has a planned population of about 600,000 people by 2040, and is a traffic hub with large transportation needs.
The region attracts neighboring localities in the Red River Delta such as Thai Binh, Hung Yen... with a population of about 4 million people.
According to forecasts, by 2050, the demand for travel to and from Nam Dinh station will be about 3 million passengers/year.
If calculating the investment and operation costs for 30 years, the section through Nam Dinh (12km) will cost about 1.66 billion USD, with estimated benefits of 2.06 billion USD.
The government pointed out that world experience shows that there are many cases where high-speed railway lines go around major centers to attract passengers, instead of going straight like in Japan, Korea, China...
Therefore, the Government recommends maintaining the route in the pre-feasibility study report. In the next step, the Government will direct the Ministry of Transport to continue reviewing the route through this area to ensure economic and technical safety.
Based on the above explanations and acceptance, the report said that the project has a total route length of about 1,541km; starting point at Ngoc Hoi station (Hanoi), ending point at Thu Thiem station (HCMC), passing through 20 provinces and cities.
Including Hanoi, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City.
Previously, when the Government submitted to the National Assembly the investment policy document for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis, one of the issues that attracted much public attention was that this railway line would pass through Nam Dinh province. The station is located near the center of Nam Dinh city.
However, many opinions say that such a route is "roundabout", affecting investment costs as well as operating costs.
Reasons for not extending the project from Lang Son to Ca Mau
In the Government's report to the National Assembly explaining the opinions of National Assembly deputies, it was also stated that there were opinions suggesting to consider extending the scope of the project to Can Tho. There were opinions suggesting to amend and supplement the length of the route of about 2,110km from Lang Son to Ca Mau Cape.
Along with that, there are suggestions to amend and supplement as follows: "The starting point is Ngoc Hoi station (Hanoi), the ending point is Thu Thiem central station (HCMC) and expanding the space connecting the central station to the key economic region of the Mekong Delta".
Regarding this content, according to the Government, with the goal of developing a synchronous and modern infrastructure to gradually realize the resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, the railway network planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, has planned to develop new railway lines on the North - South corridor from Lang Son to Can Tho, with a length of about 1,871km.
The railway lines from Lang Son - Can Tho have different transportation needs, so the technical standards and types of railways are also different.
In which, the Lang Son - Hanoi route is a regular railway type, and is undergoing detailed planning to mobilize investment capital.
The Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route is a high-speed railway. The Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho route is a regular railway, currently preparing for investment, expected to be invested before 2030.
Therefore, the Government proposes to keep the project scope from Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City as in the draft resolution.
