Breakthrough: separating GPMB into separate projects
Ha Tinh is a locality with more than 100km of the North-South high-speed railway project. Mr. Le Anh Son - Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Ha Tinh province - said that the locality must reclaim and compensate for an area of nearly 765 hectares of land of all kinds. Of which, there are about 84.3 hectares of residential land. Along with that, it is expected to build 35 resettlement areas to relocate 1,314 households to new residences.
To complete the procedures and meet the conditions for a groundbreaking ceremony on August 19 as requested by the Government, the Department of Construction of Ha Tinh province agreed to propose choosing a location in Lien Vinh village (old Thach Dai commune), Ha Huy Tap ward. This is a resettlement area with an expected scale of about 6 hectares.
In Nghe An, the North-South high-speed railway line through Nghe An is 85.5km long, affecting more than 2,150 households. The province plans to build 30 resettlement areas with a total area of over 102 hectares, in which priority is given to 3 areas that are "prepared" for land fund and infrastructure.
The latest report from Nghe An Department of Construction shows that a total of 2,150 households are affected. Of which, 1,942 households will be resettled. Nghe An province plans to build 30 resettlement areas with a total area of over 102 hectares, with a budget of about 1,450 billion VND to meet the new housing needs of the people.
The three priority locations for early implementation include: Hoang Mai Ward (8ha, 200 households, cost of 100 billion VND), Tan Chau Commune (1.5ha, 30 households, 18 billion VND) and Hung Nguyen Nam Commune (5ha, 145 households, 60 billion VND). These locations are assessed to have clean land funds, convenient infrastructure connection and few land acquisition problems.
In Hanoi, the City People's Committee has also just issued a plan for site clearance for projects to build the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway and the high-speed railway on the North - South axis (section passing through the city).
According to the plan, the People's Committees of Dai Xuyen, Phuong Duc, Chuyen My, Thuong Tin, Thuong Phuc, Ngoc Hoi, Tien Thang, Quang Minh, Thu Lam, Phuc Thinh, Dong Anh, Phu Dong, Thuan An communes will directly compensate, support, and resettle within the local administrative management scope; coordinate in preparing documents, plans, and detailed plans for site clearance on schedule.
The National Assembly has agreed to separate site clearance (GPMB) into a separate project for the North-South high-speed railway.
According to the Ministry of Construction, the project passes through 20 provinces and cities with a need to use about 11,000 hectares of land and 121,000 people needing to be resettled, so site clearance is a big challenge. The separation will help speed up the progress of site clearance and resettlement.
Must hand over the site in 2026: It is still difficult to do
Traffic experts assessed that previously, according to legal regulations, the project had to be approved before determining the scope of site clearance, marking the handover to the locality, then the locality implemented it. This leads to about 70% of the reasons for the delay in project progress being due to site clearance work. The time for site clearance, if according to the old regulations, also takes 5-7 years for large projects such as high-speed railways
With the Resolution of the National Assembly and the determination of the Government, the site clearance must be completed in 2026, which means shortening it to only 2 years compared to 5-7 years as initially calculated.
We must proactively survey geology, build route directions, not wait - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh spoke at the 3rd online conference of the Steering Committee for key projects and important national projects in the railway sector on July 9.
According to calculations, with the high-speed railway line, the time for transporting goods from the North to the South will be shortened to less than 10 hours, instead of 2-3 days as at present. The Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong route will be a cross-Asia logistics corridor, directly connecting the border gate with the largest seaport in the North - a vital factor for import and export.
Modern railway lines are creating a foundation for re-planning satellite cities and urban areas with transport infrastructure (TOD). Vinh Station (Nghe An), Dong Anh Station (Hanoi), Lao Cai Station... will not only be a stopover for trains, but will become the focus of commercial - service - logistics development, changing the appearance of a series of suburban areas that are slow to develop. This is also a golden opportunity to attract private investment capital, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs for local workers, develop skills and accompanying supporting services.
Localities simultaneously implement plans
l On July 11, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh - Head of the City's Steering Committee for Site Clearance chaired a meeting with the Steering Committee for Site Clearance for the projects: Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway line and the North - South high-speed railway section passing through Hanoi.
The meeting aims to review the progress of site clearance for two key projects, and at the same time direct the next steps to ensure compliance with progress and legal regulations.
The Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee requested leaders of communes to attend a meeting to report to the Standing Committee of the Commune Party Committee to ensure consistency in direction. According to Mr. Tran Sy Thanh, the Secretary of the Commune Party Committee must be the Head of the Commune's Steering Committee for Site Clearance to ensure a close and effective direction and management role for key projects.
The Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee emphasized that relevant communes need to be proactive and must "finalize" the resettlement location in the area next week.
On June 28, 2025, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province issued a Plan to implement the North-South High-Speed Railway project through Thanh Hoa province. Accordingly, the construction progress of resettlement areas must be completed by September 2026, basically completing and handing over the site to the construction contractor before December 2026, as required by the Government.
l The Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project passing through Hai Phong has a total length of 48.92km, passing through the districts (old): An Lao, Kien Thuy, Duong Kinh, Do Son, Hai An, Cat Hai with the expected land area to be recovered of 405.9ha. The Hai Phong City People's Committee requested to ensure the completion of site clearance in August 2025.
Lao Cai is focusing on site clearance for the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway line, which is more than 143km long and passes through the area. It is expected that 5,181 households and 104 enterprises in industrial parks/clusters will have to relocate, with a total cost of compensation, support and resettlement of more than VND 8,229 billion. Lao Cai has completed the measurement of the entire route, counting more than 1,100 households, and developing a plan for 45 resettlement areas.
