Vietnam top decision-makers greenlight much awaited high-speed railway

Vietnam's Politburo, the country's supreme decision-making body, has pushed forward the much discussed and awaited North-South high-speed railway project, highlighting its socioeconomic significance.

At a meeting last Wednesday, the Politburo agreed to submit the project to the Party Central Committee for approval before the government seeks a parliamentary vote at a session next month.

In its conclusions, the Politburo determined that such a railway, running for more than 1,500 kilometers connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, will meet transport demand on the North-South corridor and provide a socio-economic boost.

The trans-national route will also help redistribute the population and shift the economic structure; cut logistics costs; boost the railway industry; reduce traffic accidents and environmental pollution; and help ensure national defense and security, it said.

At a meeting late July, the government had reached agreement that the route with a designed speed of 350 km/hr will primarily serve passenger transportation and carry light cargo when needed.

The mega project is slated for completion in 2035, a decade earlier than the 2045 deadline initially set by the Politburo.

At least three countries – Japan, China, and South Korea – have expressed interest in joining the mega project, estimated to cost $70 billion.

The Vietnamese government has proposed borrowing from Japanese and South Korean counterparts to finance it.

At a July meeting in Hanoi Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Jin Liqun, president of the Beijing-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), pledged to provide Vietnam with approximately $5 billion in financing at preferential interest rates to support key infrastructure projects.