Hyundai Rotem keen on developing high-speed railways in Vietnam

Hyundai Rotem, a mechanical engineering company under Korean chaebol Hyundai Group, has expressed an interest in building high-speed railways in Vietnam.

At a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc on Tuesday, Lee Yong-bae, chairman and CEO of Hyundai Rotem, shared the experiences and results that Hyundai Rotem and South Korea have achieved in the field of high-speed train development.

He emphasized that Vietnam has great potential in developing high-speed railways to create outstanding development in the future.

Thus, Lee Yong-bae expressed Hyundai Rotem's desire to participate in the development of the high-speed railway system in Vietnam through transfer of high-speed train manufacturing technology; economical operation with comprehensive solution packages in terms of human resource training and localization of production in Vietnam; and maintenance during operations.

Hyundai Rotem's activities include production of high-speed trains, locomotives, carriages, signaling systems, and maintenance services. The company is a pioneer in hydrogen-powered train technology.

In response, Deputy Prime Minister Phoc said that Vietnam is focusing on promoting economic transformation based on science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, improvement of labor productivity, with an aim to achieve double-digit growth rates in the coming time.

To fulfill the goal, developing modern infrastructure such as airports, seaports, highways, and high-speed railways is extremely important, Phoc noted while informing about urban railway and high-speed railway projects that Vietnam will implement in the coming time.

At the meeting, Tran Ba Duong, chairman of Thaco, reported to the Deputy Prime Minister about the group's investment plans in the urban railway sector as well as the cooperation prospects between Thaco and Hyundai Rotem in this field.

Phoc said that Vietnam has many high-speed railways and urban railways that need to be implemented in the coming time.

The Government has assigned the Ministry of Construction as the state management agency to advise it in this field. The Deputy Prime Minister suggested Hyundai Rotem works with the ministry to present synchronous, overall design ideas. The ministry will then consider and handle proposals according to its authority or report to competent authorities for decision.

Truong Hai Group (Thaco), one of Vientam's leading private conglomerates, is proposing studying investments in the Ben Thanh-Thu Thiem-Long Thanh railway line and Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh-Tham Luong), both in Ho Chi Minh City.

Thaco recently proposed to invest in the trans-Vietnam high-speed railway project, following a similar proposal from heavyweight Vingroup.

It has also proposed to invest in the trans-Vietnam high-speed railway project, following a similar proposal from heavyweight Vingroup.

In a proposal submitted to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on May 26, Thaco said that of the $61.35 billion in investment capital, 20% will come from its equity and the remaining from foreign and domestic loans.

Founded in 1997 with a focus on automobile manufacturing and assembly, Thaco has grown into a diversified industrial conglomerate. The group's business involves automobiles, agriculture, investment-construction, commerce-service, logistics, and supporting-mechanics.