Vietnam is pushing to complete the North-South High Speed ​​Rail in 2035. The biggest problem is capital and technology

Ruan Kejiang, a visiting researcher at the Yusof Issa Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao that the North-South High Speed ​​Railway connects Vietnam’s two main economic centers, Hanoi and Ho City. Chi Minh, which is beneficial to economic and trade interaction and labor exchange, and may stimulate the development of other industries.

He said: “The North-South High Speed ​​Rail will greatly shorten the travel time, promote tourism, business exchanges and labor mobility, and can also effectively solve the logistics challenges caused by more foreign investment and activity manufacturing “

“Other economic benefits include promoting real estate development around the railway station, reducing road congestion and reducing maintenance costs, increasing tourism potential, and reducing carbon emissions from road travel and air, making it more environmentally friendly and energy saving. “

The political significance of the North-South High Speed ​​Rail cannot be overlooked. Nguyen Ke Giang said that this is an important infrastructure construction plan for Vietnam in the post-epidemic era promoted by Prime Minister Pham Minh Zheng. “The top brass of the Central Committee and Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam have given great support to this railway. As General Secretary Su Lin said, this is a symbolic project of Vietnam’s ‘new era’.”

Many countries in Southeast Asia have made significant progress in railway construction in recent years. The construction of the North-South High Speed ​​Railway will allow Vietnam to participate in the Pan-Asian rail transport network.

Giang said the North-South high-speed railway will fill the key missing links and greatly strengthen Vietnam’s integration with the Pan-Asian railway network that connects Kunming in China, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar , Cambodia and Malaysia, contributing to the development of the railway in the country. whole area. “This project will help develop Vietnam’s trade, strengthen its position as a regional logistics center, and help Vietnam realize future cross-border connections with Cambodia, Laos and China, enhancing regional connectivity.”

The biggest problem is technical capital and talent

However, the North-South high-speed rail project is large and complex, and the Vietnamese government must overcome several obstacles. Due to the lack of key technology and high costs, it is believed that Vietnam will have to seek foreign capital support to build this railway.

When Pham Minh Ching visited China in June this year, he met with major Chinese railway companies and expressed the hope that Chinese companies would participate in Vietnam’s railway construction. When he visited Japan at the end of last year, he also suggested that Japan continue to provide aid loans to Vietnam’s infrastructure projects.

On October 17, a high-speed EMU of the Jakarta-Bandung Railway entered Padalarang Station in Indonesia. This railway is jointly built by China and Indonesia. (Xinhua News Agency)

However, Vietnam eventually decided to undertake the construction itself. Vice Minister of Transport Nguyen Ming Hui said at a press conference on October 1, in the spirit of independence, that construction funds for the North-South High Speed ​​Rail will come largely from the national budget and will not be dependent excess on foreign loans. to avoid the complicated situations and associated debt traps. He confirmed that the government would only consider minimum foreign loans when necessary and that they must include conditions for the transfer of technology to Vietnam.

Li Honghe, a senior researcher at the Yusof Issa Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, told Lianhe Zaobao that Vietnam’s move aims to avoid the conditions that may be linked to foreign loans and self-regulate before -inventiveness and flexibility to develop infrastructure to increase its own. interests.

However, if Vietnam has so much money independently, it could have a negative impact. Li Honghe believes that if there are no additional conditions or if the loan conditions are accepted, it is expected that Vietnam will still accept foreign loans, because if a lot of money is used to build the North-South High Speed ​​Rail construction, it could limit the government in putting together the budget, affecting the availability of other important funds.

“This will further increase Vietnam’s public debt and weaken long-term fiscal stability. The government can try to raise money through domestic bonds, but this may be unattractive due to low interest rates,” said Le Hong Hoa.

The lack of railway talent is also a major pressure. Vu Hong Fang, director of the Railway Project Management Committee of the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam, said that the North-South High Speed ​​Rail project is expected to require about 220,000 workers for construction, about 13,800 operation and development workers, about 700 command station, and about 1,200 consulting engineers. The Vietnamese government has said it will immediately begin training relevant talents.

In terms of technology, although Vietnam has not yet mastered the core technology of high-speed rail, it has fully mastered the supporting technologies. According to Nguyen Minh Hui, Vietnam currently only needs to transfer some tools, equipment and technology, and increase its ability to build bridges and tunnels.

Le Hong Hoa pointed out that it is not clear what key technologies Vietnam needs, but the transfer of key technologies should be a key condition for foreign capital to provide loans to Vietnam. In addition, the Vietnamese government may ask local companies to be suppliers or subcontractors to participate in the North-South high-speed rail project.