On October 7, the Office of the Government announced the conclusion of the Government Standing Committee at a meeting on the high-speed railway investment project on the North-South axis and railway projects connecting with China.
The Government Standing Committee requested the Ministry of Transport to mobilize experienced, dedicated, and responsible staff to focus more on continuing to complete the dossier, including studying and maximally considering opinions from ministries, branches, the Government Standing Committee, and opinions from the State Appraisal Council.
For unacceptable contents, full and strict explanation must be given to convince the State Appraisal Council and competent authorities to approve.
Regarding the technical design plan, it is required to closely follow the investment plan for the entire route with a design speed of 350km/h to calculate and design suitable, feasible, and effective technical plans.
Regarding the route, it is necessary to study the most direct route possible to reduce costs, ensure exploitation speed, create new development space, save costs; avoid residential areas and large urban areas but must have appropriate connection plans; convenient for the shortest connection to airports and large seaports; ensure convenient connection to the East-West corridor and connection with railways in China, Laos, and Cambodia.
For stations, it is necessary to calculate and determine a large enough area, ensuring a long-term strategic vision to develop full, modern services, and maximize the efficiency of land resources and new development space.
Regarding the preliminary total investment, the Government Standing Committee requires a thorough review of the investment rate that is most suitable to the country's natural, socio-economic conditions and the specific factors of the project to calculate the preliminary total investment capital as accurately as possible, reliably and convincingly.
In particular, it is necessary to limit the total investment exceeding due to subjective factors when approving investment projects and avoid capital increase when implementing investment and construction projects.
Mobilize diverse resources, in which public investment is the main source (including central and local budgets, loans, issuance of project bonds, other legal capital sources of the State, etc.), BOT and BT investment capital sources (exchanging land for infrastructure, especially stations and parking lots)...
Regarding the submission progress, the Government Standing Committee requested the Ministry of Transport to promptly receive comments and complete the dossier to send to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the State Appraisal Council before October 10, 2024. The Ministry of Transport shall closely coordinate with the State Appraisal Council to promptly receive and explain comments.
The Government must submit a report to the National Assembly by October 20, 2024 at the latest, before the opening day of the 8th session of the National Assembly.
Regarding investment in the construction of railway lines connecting with China (Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong, Hanoi - Dong Dang, Mong Cai - Ha Long - Hai Phong), priority is given to implementing the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway line first, striving to start construction in 2025.
To invest in the 1,541 km North-South high-speed railway line, designed at a speed of 350 km/h, double-track, electrification, consultants have preliminarily determined the total investment to be about 67.34 billion USD (about 1,713 trillion VND). The investment rate of about 43.7 million USD/km is the average compared to some countries when converted to 2024.
