High-speed rail from downtown HCMC to outlying Can Gio to break ground in Nov

The high-speed rail linking downtown Ho Chi Minh City with the outlying former Can Gio district in southern Vietnam is set to start construction in November, with completion expected 30 months later.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, general director of VinSpeed High-Speed Rail Investment and Development JSC – the project’s investor, released the information at a seminar on green transportation connecting the city center with Can Gio, held by the HCMC Institute for Development Studies on Friday.

VinSpeed was established in May with billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong - chairman of Vietnam’s leading private conglomerate Vingroup (HoSE: VIC) - holding a 51% stake, and his two sons, Pham Nhat Minh Hoang and Pham Nhat Quan Anh, each owning 0.5%.

The above-said project will be Vietnam’s first privately funded high-speed rail line, expected to become a new symbol of HCMC and offer residents and visitors a 350 km/h travel experience.

At the seminar, Le Van Khoa, technical director at VinSpeed, added that Vingroup is building a green ecosystem, with railway infrastructure, particularly high-speed rail, playing a key role.

According to VinSpeed’s study, the 48.5-kilometer high-speed rail line will cut travel time to just 16 minutes. Between 2030 and 2050, trains are expected to run every 12 minutes.

The line will have two stations - Tan Thuan at the starting point, located on the median of Nguyen Van Linh Street, and Can Gio at the terminus, on a 39-hectare site adjacent to the Can Gio sea encroachment tourism-urban area.

Each train will consist of eight carriages, with a capacity of 600-800 passengers.

Khoa emphasized that VinSpeed aims to implement the project entirely with private capital, without using state funding, to streamline procedures and accelerate progress.

For the Can Gio rail bridge, Khoa said, it would be developed independently from the current Can Gio bridge project, designed as a cable-stayed structure meeting railway standards and providing sufficient clearance.

Apart from Vuong and his sons, the shareholder structure of Vinspeed includes Vingroup with a 10% stake, Vietnam Investment Group JSC holding 35%, and Pham Thuy Hang – vice chairwoman of Vingroup – with 3%.

Vuong made two capital contributions to the company in June and July, transferring a total of 135.6 million VIC shares he owns. The stake was valued at around VND12.75 trillion ($487.44 million) at the time of transfer.

VinSpeed announced on the National Business Registration Portal in July that it has raised its capital from VND6 trillion to VND15 trillion ($569.26 million). The company’s shareholder structure remains unchanged.

In addition to the capital hike, VinSpeed is actively recruiting for such positions as project CFO, senior BIM (building information modeling) engineers, BIM department head, and senior technology transfer specialists.

The company said it is ramping up recruitment to advance two high-speed rail lines - Ho Chi Minh City-Can Gio, and Hanoi-Quang Ninh between the capital city and the northern province of Quang Ninh.

On May 14, VinSpeed also announced its registration to invest in the North-South high-speed railway project. The firm is awaiting the government’s investor approval.

On June 12, the National Assembly passed a resolution that reduces the country's number of provinces and cities from 63 to 34. Accordingly, HCMC was merged with industrial centers Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau to form the new HCMC.

After the merger, the new HCMC now spans more than 6,722 square kilometers and has a population of over 14 million. It comprises 168 commune-level administrative units, including 113 wards, 54 communes, and one special zone - Con Dao.

Experts said the merger paves the way for a closed-loop ecosystem of commerce, logistics, and manufacturing, capable of responding flexibly to both domestic demand and export markets.