According to the plan, by 2035, Vietnam will have a high-speed railway (HSR) connecting the Northern and Southern regions of the country, creating conditions for the country to rise up in the new era - the era for the wealth and prosperity of the Vietnamese people. To achieve this goal, the transport sector is making efforts to prepare a complete multi-modal transport network, ensuring connectivity and synchronization.
The new look of transport infrastructure
To date, the North-South high-speed railway project has witnessed substantial advancement, with a total investment exceeding US$67 billion, marking the largest investment ever undertaken for a transportation project in the nation.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy emphasized two key aspects of the project. One is a project with a top speed of 350 km/h and another is commitment to complete the route by 2035, rather than investments through separate phases.
According to Director Vu Hong Phuong of the Railway Project Management Board under the Ministry of Transport, the commencement of this high-speed railway project has shown the Vietnamese railway industry’s significant transformation after it has experienced a stagnation for nearly a century.
If the upgrading of the Thong Nhat (North-South) railway line, the construction of a new Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway line, the upgrading and construction of three railway lines connecting with China, and the construction of 580km of urban railway in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, in the period of 2025-2035 are taken into account, the total investment capital for railways will reach nearly US$150 billion, an unprecedentedly large investment.
The road network is progressing alongside the railway industry, with 2,000 kilometers already completed, 1,700 kilometers currently under construction, and 1,400 kilometers set to commence construction soon. The construction sites for expressways are experiencing unprecedented levels of activity at this time.
These days, when people in the country are jubilantly welcoming the Lunar New Year, workers and engineers are being rushed of their feet at the construction sites of 27 projects from the Northern to the Southern regions aiming to complete 3,000km of expressways this year and 5,000km of expressways by 2030.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said that according to the plan, by the end of 2025, the country will have 1,172km of new expressways. Notably, The Prime Minister has officially approved the initiative to expand and enhance the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh expressway to a total of 10 lanes, prompting quick implementation.
Vietnam Expressway Corporation has emphasized that if relevant agencies facilitate the necessary administrative procedures, the corporation will be committed to completing the project in time for the operational launch of Long Thanh Airport.
The aviation industry has also made a breakthrough development with the highlight being the Long Thanh Airport project, which will reach 100 million passengers in the completed investment phase after 2030, becoming one of the international air transit hubs in the region.
Similarly, the maritime and waterway sectors are also changing dramatically with a series of large projects. Of which, the waterway sector needs an investment of VND155,000 billion, and the maritime sector needs a sum of VND323,000 billion to implement projects according to the planning from now until 2030.
The North-South high-speed railway initiative has been carefully designed to enhance the benefits of various transportation modes through strategic connection options. Specifically, in the Northern region, the high-speed railway links to the North-South expressway, national railways, and international intermodal routes, including Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong and Hanoi - Lang Son. Additionally, it connects urban railway lines 1 and 6 to the center of Hanoi and Noi Bai International Airport, as well as to Hai Phong seaport.
In the Central region, the high-speed railway also connects with the North-South expressway, the Mu Gia - Vung Ang - Vientiane international railway, Chu Lai Airport, seaports such as Vung Ang, Ky Ha, Van Phong and in the future will connect with the railway through the Central Highlands.
In the South, the high-speed railway will connect with the new Ho Chi Minh City regional railway network, Cai Mep - Thi Vai seaport through railway lines Bien Hoa - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City - Loc Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho; connecting with the center of Ho Chi Minh City, Tan Son Nhat Airport through urban railway lines; directly connecting with Long Thanh International Airport.
Thus, the establishment of the high-speed railway will significantly contribute to the country’s development, serving as a driving force for economic growth by fostering regional connectivity and maximizing the nation's inherent advantages. This transformative infrastructure will not only facilitate the reduction of logistics costs and attract foreign investment but also instill confidence in the nation's prospects for a new era of sustained prosperity.
Projects expected to enhance endogenous capacity
The North-South high-speed railway project is expected to be an important impetus in the roadmap to realize the goal of becoming a developed, high-income country. With the largest scale ever, the project will create a construction and railway equipment market costing US$75.6 billion and millions of jobs.
The demand for serving the project is posing unprecedented challenges as well as opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises. According to Nguyen Ngoc Dong - former Deputy Minister of Transport - at the current level, Vietnam has the necessary capabilities to independently undertake all construction aspects of this project. If technology is transferred, Vietnamese enterprises can localize and master areas such as manufacturing railroad cars and power supply system, information - signals system, operations, maintenance, and production of replacement parts.
However, according to international experts, Vietnam must master both the core industry and supporting industries to develop the railway industry.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Transport Uong Viet Dung said that to prepare for this issue, the Ministry of Transport has convened several meetings with domestic enterprises and agencies such as the General Department of Industry under the Ministry of National Defense, Hoa Phat Group, and Thanh Cong Group. These meetings aim to guide enterprises the way to formulate strategies and to encourage them to proactively allocate resources for their involvement in the development of the railway sector.
The Prime Minister has also worked with enterprises which engaged in investing in infrastructure construction project so that these companies will have good strategies to soon approach human resource training, participate in investing in railway construction.
Several prominent domestic enterprises have demonstrated a strong sense of national responsibility and have expressed their willingness to actively participate in the successful implementation of this critical project.
At these meetings with the Prime Minister, Chairman Tran Dinh Long of Hoa Phat Group pledged to supply 6 million tons of steel, including high-speed rail steel and high-strength prestressed steel, to the project, all meeting international quality standards.
Meanwhile, Chairman Nguyen Quoc Hiep of the Vietnam Contractors Association affirmed that if there is good preparation and technology transfer, Vietnamese contractors can fully undertake the responsibility from construction to operation, exploitation, maintenance and repair of the high-speed railway.
In addition, they stressed the need for a mechanism to assign tasks and place orders for the supply of railway industrial products and supporting industries. Furthermore, investors must clearly define the terms and scope of technology transfer to general contractors and subcontractors. In return, general contractors and subcontractors must commit to transferring technology for the operation, maintenance, and repair of the railway system.
From the process of implementing the high-speed railway project, Vietnamese enterprises will gradually develop and master the basic industries. This internal source of capacity will significantly contribute to Vietnam's vision of becoming a modern industrial nation by 2045.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy stated that the existing transportation structure is imbalanced, with maritime and river transport handling the majority of freight demand at approximately 75.3 percent. In contrast, road transport accounts for 23.4 percent, while rail transport contributes a mere 1.2 percent.
Regarding passenger transport, road transport represents 62.9 percent, air transport 34.2 percent, and rail transport only 2.9 percent, which is experiencing a declining trend.
Once the HSR project is put into operation, it will significantly change the national transportation structure. By the year 2050, the distribution of goods transport will be as follows with the road percentage of 9.08 percent. It will be 2.92 percent, 87.74 percent and 0.27 percent for rail, inland waterways and maritime transport and air transport respectively. In terms of passenger transport, road usage is expected to decline markedly to 30.73 percent, while rail transport will see a substantial increase to 32.99 percent, and air travel will experience a slight rise to 36.28 percent.
