Concerns on the development track

Concerns on the development track By Son Nguyen The grim reality has still persisted after a decade since the Government first initiated a scheme to develop the North-South high-speed railway in 2008: scarcity of resources. This time, preparations for this scheme have been made more prudent, as seen in a presentation organized this Monday by the Ministry of Transport, but numerous questions remain to be answered over how to pool tens of billions of U.S. dollars for the megaproject. Needless to say, a high-speed railway will create strong momentum for the country’s socio-economic development, and is to benefit all respects of the country. This fact was undisputed at the presentation in Hanoi, but participants pointed to the unbridgeable gap between the end and the means, as widely mirrored in local media these days. At the day-long seminar in Hanoi, the consulting consortium Tedi-Tricc-Tedisouth gave a deep insight into the project. As envisioned, the cross-country rail line will stretch over 1,500 kilometers from Hanoi to HCMC. The total construction cost is still an eye-rolling one: US$58.7 billion, not much different from the US$56 billion estimate ten years ago. To convince authorities as well as the public, the consultant also gave a seemingly doable roadmap, focusing on the phased development of the project. In the first phase to 2030, two sections will be built first: Hanoi-Vinh and HCMC-Nha Trang, with a combined cost of US$24.7 billion, and as such, the project will require only US$2.46 billion a year, while in the next… [Read full story]