But development demand in other sectors is also very high. Hanoi and HCM City need $72 billion to build tens of urban railway routes, and the power sector needs $15 billion each year?

It is necessary to decentralize local authorities. They absolutely can arrange capital for necessary projects. However, I think, urban railways need to connect the high-speed railways to operate effectively.

The North-South high-speed railway is a 100 percent public investment project. Why is the investment mode chosen?

At first, the government intended to develop the project under the PPP (private public partnership) mode, with 70 percent of capital from the state and 30 percent from private investors. However, the final decision is that it will be developed as a 100 percent state funded project, because the financial efficiency of the project is low, which makes it difficult to attract private investors.

However, this doesn’t mean that the state will take on 100 percent of work. The state will place orders with many contractors - large corporations such as Hoa Phat, VinFast, Thaco, Son Hai and Deo Ca, and with foreign technology partners. 

Developing railways is not a profitable business field, which explains why private investors don’t care much about it. However, manufacturing equipment, building railroads and providing maintenance service is worth tens of billions of dollars, and it is attractive to private enterprises.

Also, building stations can be implemented under the PPP mode, or 100 percent private run. Private enterprises are better than the state in this field, which is worth up to $22 billion.

So, the project is publicly invested, but privately managed.

What do you think about the government’s decision to submit the high-speed railway project to the National Assembly at this moment?

I think it is a bit late to submit the project now, and it must not be delayed any further because of its urgent importance to the national economy. Vietnam began considering developing the North-South railway project in 2006 and the government submitted the plan to the National Assembly in 2010, but people then doubted the feasibility of the project.

Fourteen years have elapsed since then, a period long enough. More delays are not a wise decision.

Party Chief To Lam said other countries all have developed high-speed railways, while Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung has conducted a lot of fact-finding trips, and has decided to support the speed of 350 km/h instead of 250 km/h.

Officials and economists all say it is now time to discuss how to implement the project, rather than argue to refuse to do it. Do you think so? How should we communicate information so that all people are aware of the importance of the project?

Communications campaigns should not only focus on opportunities and favorable conditions. I think we need to show challenges and difficulties as well.

For a long time, leaders have emphasized the importance of the project and favorable conditions to implement it, so as to reach high consensus among the public. But in fact, challenges and difficulties are also high. That is why the National Assembly should set up specific mechanisms and policies, assign tasks and show major solutions to ensure the effective implementation of the project.

I think that the National Assembly’s resolution needs to include content on fighting against waste and corruption, and include tasks and communications solutions.

The resolution should emphasize mechanisms and policies, and major solutions, while it should not set too detailed technical regulations. The detailed regulations will be determined by the Prime Minister and the government when approving the feasibility study.

Why do you emphasize the importance of communications about the project?

Moral strength is extremely important that determine the success of a project. If people don’t support the project, it will fail.

I think it is necessary to pay special attention to propaganda to raise awareness, patriotism and national pride, and create consensus and support to successfully implement the project among the community, at different levels of the political system, business cycle and all the people.

Tu Giang - Lan Anh