On the afternoon of November 20, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis.
Commenting on this content, delegate Nguyen Ngoc Son (Hai Duong delegation) pointed out that in reality, a number of important national projects after being approved by the National Assembly have had many problems, leading to the need to request adjustments.
Therefore, in order for the North-South high-speed railway project to be feasible and meet the expectations of voters and people nationwide, delegates suggested that the Government needs to consider the synchronization in planning, especially forest planning, provincial planning, transport network planning, and land use planning.
“Planning must ensure synchronous connection to facilitate the collection and clearance of goods, promote effective connection between modes of transport, and reduce travel and logistics costs,” the delegate suggested.
In addition, the delegate from Hai Duong Delegation suggested that the Ministry of Transport should orient the selection of modern technology while ensuring universality to enhance competitiveness in selecting product suppliers and be ready to transfer technology to Vietnam.
Delegates agreed that the North-South high-speed railway route should be as straight as possible, but at the same time avoid passing through most of the special-use forests, protective forests, and production forests.
The selected option must ensure connectivity between the high-speed railway line and the regional and international railway network and other transport systems.
Regarding operation, the project documents propose to assign Vietnam Railways Corporation to receive the means of operation and the total investment includes the cost of purchasing the train.
In response to this information, delegates suggested that the feasibility study step should take into account forecasted data on transport demand, fare policies, and State compensation costs in the first years of operation to ensure feasibility; clarify plans to increase or decrease State capital in enterprises and the enterprise's ability to repay debts when receiving vehicles for operation.
Meanwhile, delegate Le Dao An Xuan (Phu Yen Delegation) said that we should not put the issue of high-speed railways playing the main role of transporting goods.
According to the delegate, to ensure socio-economic development, associated with ensuring national security and defense, high-speed railways must play a dual-use role. The delegate suggested clarifying the dual-use plan when building a feasibility study report, avoiding taking on too many functions for high-speed railways, which can easily lead to waste.
The delegate also proposed that the Government regulate the localization rate of some items in the policy in accordance with specific policies on railway development and technology transfer instead of only giving priority to placing orders for Vietnamese enterprises.
“Phu Yen voters are very confident and looking forward to welcoming guests from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other regions. Even though they have to work late on Friday afternoon, they will still be able to return to Phu Yen in time to welcome the sunrise on Saturday. After fully experiencing the weekend, they will still be able to return home to rest and start a new work week,” the delegate said.
