HCMC – Can Tho railway project set to cost over US$7 bln

SGGP 18/06/2022 10:41

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong yesterday had a working session with Ho Chi Minh City and Mekong Delta provinces related to HCMC – Can Tho railway project at the head office of the Municipal People’s Committee with the participation of Chairman of the Municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai.

Reporting at the meeting, the joint venture consultant contractor Tedi-Tricc-Tedisouth said that the project would be constructed with a double-track railway with a track gauge of 1,435 millimeters and the designed speeds for passenger train of around 190 kilometers per hour and the freight train of 120 kilometers per hour.

The 174.4-kilometer-long route including 86- kilometer long road surface and 88- kilometer overhead session will have a total investment of VND169,540 billion (over US$7 billion). As the project is put into exploitation, the passengers only take around 80 minutes to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho City.

Accordingly, An Binh train station in An Binh Ward of Di An City, Binh Duong Province will be the starting point of cargo transport; and Tan Kien train station in Tan Kien Commune of Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City will be the starting point of passenger transport.

The ending point for both passenger and cargo trains shall be at Cai Rang station, Phu Thu Ward, Cai Rang District, Can Tho City.

The railway will travel through the provinces and cities of Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Long An, Tien Giang, Vinh Long and Can Tho.

Chairman of the Municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai speaks at the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai expressed the importance of the railway project, connecting the Southeast region with the Mekong Delta localities, and contributing to the inter-regional development so it is essential to promptly implement the project. The project is set to complete the procedures in advance of 2024 and be implemented from 2025 through 2030 which will be divided into three segments, comprising site preparation, train carriage investment and urban station construction.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong concluded that the consultant contractors and localities need to study the planning focusing on the arrangement of station construction to determine the appropriate scale for the economy. Besides, the provinces and cities needed to submit the detailed planning to create a premise to exploit land funds and infrastructure, and to build a plan for the state and businesses to mutually participate in the construction of the station.

By Thanh Hai- Translated by Huyen Huong