Opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Dr. Ta Dinh Hoa ( Academy of Finance) said that Vietnamese enterprises are facing a great opportunity when a series of high-speed railway and urban railway projects are being implemented. From a financial perspective, each project has an investment capital of several billion to several tens of billions of USD. The North-South high-speed railway project alone has reached 67 billion USD and is completely financed by Vietnam. Therefore, it is necessary to prioritize the participation of domestic enterprises.
In terms of resources, many Vietnamese enterprises are not inferior to enterprises in the region. Therefore, it is necessary to proactively coordinate with State agencies to participate in the project. Instead of depending on foreign technology, domestic enterprises should boldly research and master some technologies, aiming for sustainable development" - Dr. Ta Dinh Hoa shared.
Mr. Tran Thien Canh - Director of the Vietnam Railway Authority - said that by 2030, the demand for railway materials will be huge, with nearly 30 million meters of rail, tens of millions of sleepers and thousands of locomotives and carriages. This is a potential market for domestic enterprises if they have enough capacity, technology and resources to participate. This opportunity not only brings economic benefits but also helps Vietnam gradually become technologically autonomous, reducing dependence on foreign contractors.
The Government also identified the period of 2025 - 2035 as the "era of railway development", with the goal of completely mastering the survey, design, and construction of high-speed railways under 160km/h and urban railways by 2030. This will be the foundation for domestic enterprises to access and master modern technology.
boldly give opportunities
Although the opportunity is huge, Vietnamese enterprises also face many challenges, especially in terms of competitiveness and technology mastery.
According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors, the construction capacity of infrastructure construction of domestic enterprises has been verified through previous expressway projects.
Therefore, businesses propose that the Government should clearly divide the North-South high-speed railway project into two parts: the infrastructure and the core technology such as locomotives, carriages, signal systems, etc. The infrastructure can be completely implemented effectively by domestic contractors if the packages are divided reasonably, not exceeding their financial and management capacity (about 1 billion USD per package).
According to the Bidding Management Department (Ministry of Finance), the State needs to have a special mechanism to promote technology transfer from international contractors to Vietnamese enterprises.The new Draft Law on Bidding is developing regulations to prioritize domestic contractors and require technology transfer when collaborating with foreign contractors - a key factor in narrowing the technology gap.
Domestic enterprises also emphasized the role of linkages, avoiding unfair competition.
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep proposed to build a culture of cooperation, in which large enterprises support small enterprises, form a strong construction force, capable of taking on high-speed railway projects.
To support domestic enterprises, representatives of large corporations such as Viettel, Hoa Phat, Thaco proposed that the Government issue additional incentive mechanisms such as tax reductions, credit incentives, and bidding in some special cases. At the same time, it is necessary to soon invest in building an international standard laboratory system to inspect materials domestically, instead of having to send them abroad as at present.
Obviously, developing high-speed railways is not only an economic opportunity but also a problem of mastering technology, managing and operating. To avoid losing at home, both the State and businesses need to take drastic action, build appropriate mechanisms, clearly prioritize and provide substantial support to domestic contractors. This is the key for Vietnam to master high-speed railway projects, affirming its new position in the transportation industry.
