Agree to submit to the National Assembly the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai stated that the National Assembly Standing Committee agreed to submit to the National Assembly the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project at this 8th Session.
On the evening of November 6, under the chairmanship of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, the National Assembly Standing Committee met to give opinions on the investment policy of the North-South high-speed railway project. Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai chaired the meeting.
Attending the meeting, leaders of Nghe An province included comrade Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.
Strive to basically complete the route by 2035
On October 19, 2024, the Government issued Document No. 685/TTr-CP on the investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis to the National Assembly.
Briefly presenting the Report, the Minister of Transport stated that the project has its starting point in Hanoi (Ngoc Hoi station) and its ending point in Ho Chi Minh City (Thu Thiem station) with a total route length of about 1,541 km.
The project passes through 20 provinces and cities, including: Hanoi, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City.
Investment scale: Construction of a new double-track railway line, 1,435 mm gauge, design speed of 350 km/h, load capacity of 22.5 tons/axle; construction of 23 passenger stations, 5 freight stations; high-speed railway for transporting passengers, meeting dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary.
Preliminary land use demand is about 10,827 hectares. Preliminary total investment is about 1,713,594 billion VND (about 67.34 billion USD). It is expected that the state budget will allocate capital for about 12 years, an average of about 5.6 billion USD per year, equivalent to about 1.3% of GDP in 2023, about 1% of GDP in 2027 (project commencement). The implementation process will mobilize diverse legal capital sources for investment.
The Government proposed to conduct a project feasibility study report in 2025-2026; start construction in late 2027 and strive to basically complete the route in 2035.
In Nghe An, the project is about 85km long from Km210 - Km295; passing through 5 districts and towns: Hoang Mai, Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen.
The railway station is located in Hung Tay commune, Hung Nguyen district, west of Vinh bypass, east of North-South expressway, convenient for connecting to the administrative center of Nghe An province via the 72m Vinh - Cua Lo route.
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Reporting on the project investment policy review, Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh stated that the Standing Committee of the Economic Committee agreed on the necessity of project investment.
The Chairman of the Economic Committee proposed clarifying the plan to connect the high-speed railway line with the national railway network, urban railway and other transport systems; and connecting with regional and international railway networks.
In addition, a thorough review is needed to properly assess the actual financial performance of the project and the ability of the state budget to compensate for future losses in transport business activities.
Submitting project investment policy to the National Assembly at the 8th Session
Concluding the discussion, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai stated that the National Assembly Standing Committee agreed to submit to the National Assembly the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project at this 8th Session.
Emphasizing that this is a project of unprecedented scale in our country, with no precedent for implementation, having multifaceted impacts on socio-economic life, finance, budget and public debt..., the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly requested the Government to accept the opinions of the National Assembly Standing Committee and the opinions of the reviewers to complete the project dossier.
In particular, continue to review to calculate the total investment and preliminary design plan to ensure savings and efficiency. Add explanations on comparison plans to clarify the basis for choosing the project route according to the Government's proposal; carefully assess the project's impact on the environment...
Regarding the capital source for project implementation, the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly suggested a more thorough assessment, considering the country is implementing many urgent and necessary infrastructure projects in the fields of transportation and energy to have solutions to control risks.
The Government reviewed 19 outstanding and special policies, explained them more specifically, assessed their impacts carefully, and only included in the Resolution those policies that were truly necessary and had little negative impacts, ensuring the mechanism for assigning, coordinating, and controlling power among agencies and units as well as the inspection and supervision mechanism, to avoid loss, waste, and negativity.
The Vice Chairman of the National Assembly noted that it is necessary to clarify the basis for calculating and forecasting the project's transportation needs. Review and further explain the project's socio-economic and financial efficiency.
Carefully study the opinions of the appraisal agency to complete the project dossier and draft Resolution on conformity with relevant planning and plans, scope, scale of investment, preliminary design options, technology selection, technical standards, investment form, investor selection, etc.
