Proposal for VNĐ700 billion spend to solve railway bottlenecks

Rail transport still faces many infrastructure bottlenecks. VNA/VNS Photo

ĐỒNG NAI – The Việt Nam Railway Administration has proposed the Ministry of Transport to allocate VNĐ700 billion (US$29.6 million) from the medium-term public investment fund for the period 2026-2031, to address the bottleneck on the Hà Nội-HCM City railway section between Long Khánh and Dầu Giây – Trung Hòa.

Long Khánh and Dầu Giây – Trung Hòa section is passing southern Đồng Nai province spanning 19km.

The Hà Nội-HCM City railway, with a total length of 1,726.2 km, has four identified critical areas where transportation bottlenecks frequently occur of the Hòa Duyệt section, the Khe Nét pass, the Hải Vân pass and the Long Khánh-Dầu Giây section.

Two projects have already been initiated using Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans from the South Korean government to solve some of these bottlenecks.

The first is the Hòa Duyệt-Thanh Luyện section upgrade, with a total investment of VNĐ1.481 trillion ($62.6 million), which is expected to be completed by 2027.

The second project focuses on upgrading the Khe Nét pass section, with a total investment of over VNĐ2 trillion ($85 million), and is currently under construction.

A pre-feasibility study has been conducted for the Hải Vân pass railway upgrade project.

However, the Ministry of Transport has tasked the Railway Project Management Unit with preparing investment plans within the 2021-2025 medium-term public investment plan.

Currently, this project is on hold to synchronise with the high-speed railway project.

In contrast, the Long Khánh-Dầu Giây section has yet to be included in any upgrade or repair study.

Therefore, the Việt Nam Railway Administration has proposed the project for the 2026-2031 period to resolve this, ensuring traffic safety and facilitating transportation. VNS