Vietnam will build a 1,541km North-South high-speed rail line which requires an estimated cost of US$67.34 billion, without depending on foreign loans, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said at a press conference on Tuesday.

The high-speed rail will have a speed capability of 350 kilometers per hour.

Deputy Minister Huy said the capital for the big-ticket project will be sourced from public investment.

If the state budget cannot match the investment, the government will issue government or international bonds.

“In the spirit of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, and self-control, the Politburo decided not to depend on foreign countries as loans from other countries often come with strings attached,” the official added.

Huy said that if Vietnam needs to borrow from other countries, the loans should come with incentives, fewer conditions, and include technology transfer.

Vietnam will choose technologies based on costs, partners’ support, and technology transfer capability.

The pre-feasibility report for the trans-Vietnam high-speed railway project showed that Vietnam has no contractors experienced in high-speed railway projects.

If international contractors are employed, they will have to use Vietnamese products and services, Huy underlined.

Huy stated that regarding the speed of 350 kilometers per hour, the Ministry of Transport is studying 22 countries and territories that are already operating express railway systems, as well as six others that are in the process of executing similar projects.

A speed of 350 kilometers per hour and above is now a trend in the world and appropriate for railways over 800 kilometers long and passing through many high population density areas like Vietnam’s planned North-South high-speed railway.

The 250-kilometer-per-hour speed was developed about 50 years ago and has been most common over the past 25 years, making it ideal for short- to medium-length routes.

According to the project's consulting unit, a railway with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour could attract 12.5 percent more passengers than one with a velocity of 250 kilometers per hour.

The cost for a 350-kilometer-per-hour railway will be 8-9 percent higher than that for a 250-kilometer-per-hour railway.

It will be unfeasible and inefficient to upgrade a 250-kilometer-per-hour railway into a 350-kilometer-per-hour route.

The fund for the high-speed railway project was planned to be sourced from the mid-term public investment until 2035 with some $5.6 billion sought per year.

The high-speed railway was envisaged to stretch 1,541km and pass through 20 cities and provinces from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Upon completion, it will feature 23 passenger stations, five cargo stations, five depots for passenger train repair and maintenance, and four depots for cargo train maintenance.

High-speed rail tickets are expected to cost 75 percent of the average airfares of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and budget carrier Vietjet.

The government planned to submit the project to the lawmaking National Assembly this month, start work on the Hanoi-Vinh and Nha Trang-Ho Chi Minh City sections at the end of 2027 and the Vinh-Nha Trang section in 2028, and complete the entire route by 2035.

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