Becamex to make feasibility study for $6.4 bln rail route linking HCMC with Dong Nai province

State-controlled industrial real estate developer Becamex will build the nearly VND168 trillion ($6.4 billion) Chon Thanh-Bau Bang-An Binh-Cai Mep rail line linking Ho Chi Minh City with its neighboring province of Dong Nai.

The company has been assigned by the HCMC People’s Committee to prepare resources, personnel and feasibility study reports for several railway projects, including the Chon Thanh-Bau Bang-An Binh-Cai Mep route, Le Nguyen Bao Trong, director of Becamex’s economic and technical department, was quoted by local media as saying.

According to Trong, the railway is nearly 154 kilometers long, with the An Binh-Cai Mep section stretching 88.44 km long (over 12 km from An Binh in the former Binh Duong province, now part of HCMC after their July 2025 merger) to Dong Nai Bridge; nearly 43 km from Dong Nai Bridge to Phu My in the former Ba Ria-Vung Tau province (now also part of HCMC); and nearly 34 km from Phu My to Cai Mep port.

The An Binh-Bau Bang section is 52.25 km long, while the Bau Bang-Chon Thanh section is 12.7 km long, including 10.5 km in Ho Chi Minh City and 2.2 km in Dong Nai province.

This is a strategic railway project connecting industrial parks in HCMC and Dong Nai with the Cai Mep-Thi Vai deep-water port, aimed at resolving logistics bottlenecks and enabling faster cargo transport, while reducing pressure on road transport, he noted.

HCMC (now including Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau), Dong Nai, and Tay Ninh (formed by the merger of Long An and Tay Ninh) are industrial hubs in southern Vietnam. The country is building Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai.

The proposed line will have a double-track standard gauge (1,435 mm) and high operating speeds (160 km/h for passenger transport and 120 km/h for freight), and is expected to be developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. Once completed, it will save more than $2 billion per year in logistics costs, he said.

According to the HCMC Department of Construction, the railway is planned as a national rail line forming part of Ho Chi Minh City-Loc Ninh and Bien Hoa-Vung Tau routes.

For the An Binh (Di An)-Cai Mep section, the Railway Project Management Board under the Ministry of Construction has been assigned to prepare a pre-feasibility study report.

The project is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for in-principle approval in early 2026, with construction targeted to start in 2027 and phase-one operations planned for 2035.

For the Bau Bang-An Binh (Di An) section, the Prime Minister previously assigned the former Binh Duong province to prepare a pre-feasibility study report for the project.

To provide sufficient grounds for submission to competent authorities for consideration and decision on the Chon Thanh-Bau Bang-An Binh-Cai Mep railway project, the HCMC Department of Construction has proposed that the municipal People’s Committee assign Becamex to study investment options.

The railway plays a strategic role in connecting major industrial centers with the Cai Mep-Thi Vai deep-water port. It will benefit significantly from the new legal framework, particularly Decree No. 123/2025/ND-CP and special resolutions of the National Assembly.

Decree 123 allows the application of advanced technical standards, such as the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) model and the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology, helping to optimize design processes and project management.

More importantly, the project can leverage special mechanisms for investment and site clearance under resolutions on the development of the Southern Key Economic Region, enabling faster progress in investment preparation under the PPP model, thereby realizing the goal of enhancing logistics capacity and promoting regional economic growth.

Becamex is one of the leading industrial park developers in Vietnam. The corporation is the Vietnamese partner in VSIP, a joint venture with Singapore’s Sembcorp.