A conference on urban railways, organized by the French Trade Promotion Office in Vietnam (UBIFRANCE Vietnam), will be kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

The event will be hosted at Caravelle Hotel with the support of the urban railway management boards of Hanoi (MRB) and Ho Chi Minh City (MAUR).

It will be joined by 11 French companies which are about to visit Hanoi and HCMC on May 27-29 to introduce French technologies and experiences in the field of urban railway.

After the exchanging luncheon, the afternoon program will continue with two topics on construction and management of urban transport infrastructure and urban planning and sustainable development.

There will also be meetings between the local and foreign firms in the field of transport to discuss suitable and practical solutions for Vietnam’s urban transport.

Urban transport, which plays an essential role in modern society, is one of the biggest challenges that all the world's major cities are facing. In this regard, France is a country with high levels of development and firm international reputation for designing, planning, as well as specialized equipment, locomotives and cars.

With an average GDP growth rate of 7 percent annually in the past 20 years, and a population growth rate of about 1 million people a year, and high-speed urbanization, Vietnam needs to set up an effective urban rail network to support its development.

Luckily, both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City has drawn up plans with an emphasis on the urban rail system.

In Hanoi, there were 4 of 8 planned urban rail network is being actively developed. Ho Chi Minh City is also planning seven urban railway, one tramway and two monorail networks.

Development of urban rail sector is one of the specific examples of bilateral cooperation between the two nations which have been materialized with the piloted 3rd urban railway line funded by the French government in Hanoi.