Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son on Friday attended the ground-breaking ceremony for five stations as part of the Lao Cai–Hanoi–Hai Phong railway project in the northern province of Lao Cai.
The event was held jointly by the Ministry of Construction and the People’s Committees of the six northern localities that the railway line runs through – namely Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, and Hai Phong.
Officials kicked off the ground-breaking ceremony at Lao Cai Station in Lao Cai Province, with four other venues connected online from Phu Tho Station in Phu Tho Province, Bac Hong Station in Hanoi, Luong Tai Station in Hung Yen Province, and Hai Duong Nam Station in Hải Phòng City.
The railway has a total main line length of about 390.9km and branch lines totalling about 27.9km.
It is a single-track railway with a standard gauge of 1,435mm.
Trains on the new line will run at a design speed of 160km per hour on the main section from Lao Cai Station to Nam Hải Phòng Station, 120kph on sections passing through the Hanoi hub area and 80kph on the remaining sections.
The railway passes through six provinces and cities and will stop at 32 stations in total.
Its starting point connects with China’s railway network in Lao Cai Province, while the terminus is at Lach Huyen Port Station in the Cat Hai special zone in Hai Phong.
With a total investment of more than VND203.2 trillion (about US$7.7 billion), the project is being implemented through public investment, with efforts to complete it by no later than 2030.
The project’s first phase covers investment in infrastructure connecting stations along the line and station squares, with a total investment of over VND3.2 trillion.
Its second phase will involve the construction of the railway line from the cross-border rail connection point in Lao Cai to the terminal at Lach Huyen Station, with a total investment of about VND155.5 trillion.
The ground-breaking of the first phase marks an initial step toward realising the goal of building a modern railway line to meet transport demand along the East–West corridor and enhance international rail connectivity between Vietnam and China.
Once completed, the Lao Cai–Hanoi–Hai Phong railway is expected to become an important driver of fast and sustainable socio-economic development, fully leveraging multimodal transport advantages along the Lao Cai–Hanoi–Hai Phong economic corridor.
It will also contribute to national defence and security, international integration, environmental protection and climate change response, while promoting the country’s industrialisation and modernisation.
According to Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam He Wei, the standard-gauge Lao Cai–Hanoi–Hai Phong railway is a key cooperation project between China and Vietnam, receiving close attention and guidance from the top leaders of both Parties and States.
With the support and direction of relevant authorities from both countries, China has provided assistance to Việt Nam in completing project planning and pre-feasibility studies. Feasibility studies are currently being advanced in a steady and orderly manner, he said.
The ambassador confirmed that China will continue to work closely with Vietnam on technical design, laying a solid foundation for the smooth implementation of the entire project.
