The government of Vietnam has approved a USD 67 billion high-speed rail project that would dramatically cut the travel time from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City from 35 hours to less than six hours.
Construction of the north-south railway, with a maximum design speed of 350 km/h, would involve relocating 120,000 people, clearing protected forests and destroying rice fields, according to information discussed over the weekend by the Vietnamese National Assembly.
“The national assembly voted to approve a resolution on investment policies for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis,” said a statement on the Vietnamese parliament’s website.
The railway is planned to stretch more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from the capital in the north to the country’s business hub, formerly known as Saigon, in the south.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said that the project was a response to growing transport needs, and that several studies had underscored the need for faster options on the north-south corridor, state media said.
The route is anticipated to traverse 20 provinces and cities, with 23 passenger stations and five freight stations on the route. State media said that Vietnam will prioritize domestic funding for the project but may consider foreign loans if they are affordable and not restrictive.
The construction, entrusted to China, could begin in 2027 and should be completed in 2035. The project has been the subject of 18 years of studies, during which time Vietnam was overtaken by neighboring Laos, which has already built a Chinese high-speed rail line.
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