National Assembly delegates from Nghe An propose adding a high-speed railway station in Hoang Mai or Nghi Son

On the morning of November 13, at the National Assembly House, continuing the 8th Session, the National Assembly listened to the presentation and the report on the investment policy of the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis. Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai chaired the meeting.

According to the Government's proposal, the high-speed railway line starts in Hanoi (Ngoc Hoi Station) and ends in Ho Chi Minh City (Thu Thiem Station), passing through 20 provinces and cities; the route length is about 1,541 km.

Project to build a new double-track railway, 1,435 mm gauge, electrified, designed speed 350 km/h, load capacity 22.5 tons/axle; transport passengers, meet dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary.

In terms of technology, the railway runs on rails, using distributed power train technology for passenger trains and centralized power for freight trains; signal information is equivalent to the system currently used in developed countries operating high-speed railways.

The total preliminary investment of the project is about 1.7 quadrillion VND (about 67.34 billion USD), the project investment rate is about 43.7 million USD/km. The Ministry of Transport assessed that this is the average level compared to some high-speed railway lines in the world with the same operating speed range when converted to 2024. The Government proposed 19 groups of specific mechanisms and policies to implement the project.

After listening to the submissions and verification reports, the National Assembly discussed in groups. The National Assembly delegation of Nghe An province discussed in Group 3 with the National Assembly delegations of Bac Giang and Quang Ngai provinces.

Speaking, Major General Tran Duc Thuan - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense and Security, delegate of Nghe An delegation, suggested carefully studying the investment method to minimize land waste; at the same time, harmoniously solving other economic development goals.

In addition, the delegate from Nghe An suggested that the Government should study to avoid dependence on foreign technology. “We should follow the direction of investment and technology transfer, moving towards our country being proactive in technology. Consider this as a goal for negotiation,” Major General Tran Duc Thuan stated his opinion.

In particular, according to the Government's Proposal, the project proposes to arrange 23 passenger stations and 5 freight stations; however, he said that the distance from Thanh Hoa Station to Vinh Station is still far, about 140 km, so he suggested additional research.1 station in Hoang Mai town area (Nghe An) or Nghi Son (Thanh Hoa). Because Thanh Hoa and Nghe An are two provinces with the largest population in the country, the demand for travel is high. On the other hand, Hoang Mai town and Nghi Son Economic Zone are also the development centers of the Nam Thanh - Bac Nghe region.

Also related to the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis, Mr. Hoang Minh Hieu - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Law Committee, delegate of Nghe An delegation expressed his agreement, saying that this is the right time to implement.

However, he suggested that the Government report more thoroughly on the total investment, the level of national public debt when implementing the project, associated with forecasting the level of risk for the economy to have accompanying preventive solutions; clarify more such as operating costs, including costs for power sources; about loads/axles...

Delegate Hoang Minh Hieu also agreed with Major General Tran Duc Thuan's opinion that it is necessary to calculate and arrange stations reasonably to develop surrounding urban areas, promote economic development and most importantly, technology transfer policies to promote the development of railway technology in our country after the project is implemented.

Regarding the proposed specific mechanisms and policies to implement the project, including transferring some of the National Assembly's authority to the National Assembly Standing Committee or the Government, delegate Hoang Minh Hieu expressed the view that it is necessary to clearly distinguish between the contents under the authority of elected bodies and administrative agencies to consider reasonable transfers; because in principle, any issue related to the interests of many people and the community must be discussed in the National Assembly, that is, the elected body.

Also in the working program, the National Assembly voted to pass the Resolution on the State budget estimate for 2025; listened to the presentation and appraisal report and discussed in groups on the draft Resolution on piloting the implementation of commercial housing projects through agreements on receiving land use rights or having land use rights; as well as discussed in groups on adjusting the investment policy of the Long Thanh International Airport Project in Resolution No. 94/2015/QH13 of the National Assembly.