Image from Vietnam News/ANN.
HANOI (dpa): Vietnam’s National Assembly on Saturday approved an ambitious cross-country high-speed railway project, which will cost an estimated US$67 billion (RM298 billion), the National Assembly said in a statement.
Passengers in the future will be able to travel by high-speed train from the capital Hanoi in the north of the country to the metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. The distance between the two cities is more than 1,500 kilometres.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the journey on the new train, which can travel at speeds of up to 350 kilometres per hour, will take around five hours. This would make it a real alternative to a domestic flight, not only in terms of time, but also in terms of cost, it said.
According to the plans, the north-south high-speed rail project will run through 20 cities and provinces; Due to the difficult terrain, 60% of the route will run over bridges, 10% will run through tunnels and only 30% is planned to be at ground level.
The authorities are aiming to start construction in 2027. The first step is to tackle the approximately 400-kilometre section between Ho Chi Minh City and the coastal city of Nha Trang, which is popular with tourists. The train could start operating in 2035.
According to the government, the money for the project will come largely from state funding or domestic loans, but they may consider overseas development assistance if the loans come with favourable conditions and low interest rates.
Implementation is planned via an operator model. Companies from several countries have expressed interest in participating.
Vietnam also plans to begin work on high-speed railway lines connecting Hanoi with China by 2030. - dpa
