Vietnam to build $10 bln railway linking HCMC and Can Tho under PPP mode

Khanh Minh Monday | 01/18/2021 13:22

Illustrative. Photo: riviu.vn

Ministry of Transport is calling PPP investors for a 10-billion railroad connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho in Mekong Delta.

The ministry has assigned the Railway Project Management Board to conduct the prefeasibility study for the railway project which has total length of 173 kilometers, reported Tien Phong Newspaper.

The board will hire a consultant for the prefeasibility study and actively coordinate with relevant agencies and units to develop the report. State budget will covers the expense.

The Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway will run through several provinces, including Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Long An, Tien Giang, Vinh Long, and Can Tho.

The route linking economic zones of southern Vietnam and the Mekong Delta is expected to meet cargo and passenger transportation demands and reducing traffic congestion.

The high-speed railway has been planned since 2013 with a total investment of about $5 billion, running through three stations.

The project would use double rails and 1,435mm gauge, which is the standard for high-speed rails in the world. The train would have a speed of around 200 kilometers per hour.

Vietnam currently has over 3,000 kilometers of railway tracks, none of them high-speed. Railway accounts for just 1.9 percent of the transportation sector in the country, VnExpress cited information from Vietnam Railway Authority.