Vietnam’s High-Speed Rail Development: Unveiling the Latest Government Plans
The Vietnamese Government Office has issued Notification 230, conveying Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha’s conclusions from the meeting regarding Vinspeed JSC’s proposal to invest in the high-speed rail project on the North-South axis, held on May 12th.
The notification emphasizes that the Politburo has issued Resolution No. 68 on private economic development, encouraging private enterprises to participate in important national projects, including high-speed and urban railways, and strategic industries.
The 8th session of the 15th National Assembly (November 2024) witnessed the approval of the resolution on the investment policy for the high-speed rail project on the North-South axis.
During the meeting, ministries and agencies initially expressed their fundamental support and welcomed Vinspeed’s proposal to invest in the North-South high-speed rail project. However, the proposed changes in investment format and the application of specific mechanisms and policies require reporting to the competent authorities and fall under the jurisdiction of the National Assembly.
Regarding the draft resolution on pilot mechanisms and policies for the development of the railway system, the Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Construction to review the investor’s proposals carefully, incorporate the opinions of the Party Committee of the Government, and consider the suggestions from various ministries and sectors to finalize the resolution.
The Government leader emphasized the principle of including applicable policies in the resolution, reporting to the competent authorities, and submitting it to the National Assembly before May 20th.
Concerning the specific proposal for the North-South high-speed rail project, the Deputy Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Construction to consolidate the proposal, taking into account the comments from the Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Environment, Justice, and the State Bank of Vietnam.
The Ministry of Construction is also tasked with reporting to the Government’s Party Committee and the Party Committee of the Government before submitting it to the competent authorities for consideration of the policy on the transition of investment format and the application of specific mechanisms and policies for the project.
The Ministry of Finance is responsible for thoroughly assessing the feasibility of transitioning from public investment to direct investment, evaluating the state’s capacity to balance the capital for lending to enterprises as per the investor’s proposal, and analyzing the specific mechanisms and policies proposed for the project.
The State Bank of Vietnam is entrusted with scrutinizing and providing feedback on the policy of excluding the project’s total debt from the total debt of Vingroup’s loans as per the Ministry of Finance’s suggestion.
Meanwhile, the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment, Justice, Public Security, National Defense, Industry and Trade, and Science and Technology are assigned to review, provide feedback, and assess the impact of the mechanisms and policies proposed by Vinspeed based on their respective functions and tasks.
To ensure a swift process, the Deputy Prime Minister urged the ministries and agencies to promptly provide their opinions and suggestions according to their functions and tasks, submitting them to the Ministry of Construction before May 19th.
The Ministry of Construction will then consolidate the information, report to the Party Committee of the Ministry of Construction and the Party Committee of the Government before May 22nd, and subsequently report to the competent authorities and the National Assembly at the 9th session of the 15th National Assembly, with the permission of the competent authorities.
Vinspeed JSC is responsible for coordinating with the Ministries of Construction and Finance to finalize the investment plan and create a comparison between the state and private investment proposals, highlighting the feasibility, completion progress, and investment efficiency to demonstrate the advantages of private investment in terms of speed, cost, and effectiveness.
Vinspeed is also tasked with collaborating with the Ministries of Construction, Finance, Agriculture and Environment, Justice, Industry and Trade, Science and Technology, and the State Bank of Vietnam to refine and finalize the specific mechanisms and policies for reporting to the competent authorities for consideration and decision-making.
Additionally, Vinspeed is instructed to uphold its commitments regarding the proposed content, and to develop a plan for establishing a railway industry system, taking a leading role in fostering the development of the railway industry if approved by the competent authorities.
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