High-Speed North-South Railway: A Millennial Opportunity or a Century’s Challenge?

Disclaimer policy needed

Speaking at the seminar “High-speed rail North-South: Opportunities for private sector breakthrough in the new era” hosted by Dan Viet newspaper this morning (May 14), Mr. Tran Thien Canh, Director of the Vietnam Railway Authority, said that the Prime Minister has recently assigned the Ministry of Construction to develop policies for projects such as the North-South high-speed rail, Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong railway, and urban railways in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Construction has proposed 24 policies, including two new prominent ones. One of them is to suggest allowing the use of ODA capital without taxation for certain specific technical services to expand cooperation opportunities with foreign partners.

Especially, the leader of the Vietnam Railway Authority suggested that there should be a “liability exemption policy” for those who dare to think, dare to do, and dare to take responsibility for railway projects in general and the North-South high-speed rail project in particular.

“In the context of many officials being concerned about legal responsibilities, having a clear legal framework to protect executors is a prerequisite to ensuring that the project is not delayed due to systematic hesitation,” emphasized Mr. Tran Thien Canh.

According to Mr. Canh, consulting engineers, especially foreign experts, will be authorized to make technical decisions on the construction site, instead of waiting for step-by-step approval from the investor.

Opportunity of the Millennium or Challenge of the Century?

Also at the seminar, Mr. Ta Manh Thang, Deputy Head of the International Cooperation and Science and Technology Department of the Vietnam Railway Corporation (VNR), stated that with the Resolution 68 of the Politburo and related laws such as the Enterprise Law and the High Technology Law being amended to support the private sector, Vietnamese enterprises are presented with vast opportunities to access resources and technology in the railway field.

However, it is essential to recognize that Vietnamese private enterprises still face limitations in accessing core technologies, especially in highly technical items. Therefore, the state plays a crucial role in designing technology transfer policies and providing training support in EPC and PPP contracts for the North-South high-speed rail project.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep, Chairman of the Vietnam Contractors Association, assessed that the financial capacity and organizational scale of many Vietnamese contractors remain modest, while the bidding standards for the North-South high-speed rail project are extremely high. Currently, only about 20 Vietnamese enterprises can meet almost all technical, technological, and financial requirements.

However, we cannot wait for Vietnamese enterprises to mature on their own. Therefore, it is necessary to link and unite Vietnamese contractors, both large and small, to create a construction ecosystem capable of meeting the entire supply chain’s demands.

“The North-South high-speed rail is an opportunity that comes only once in a millennium. But if we are not prepared, it could also be a challenge for the Vietnamese construction industry in general and domestic contractors in particular,” asserted Mr. Hiep.