Here is the second part of the talk between VietNamNet and National Assembly’s former deputy chair of Economics Committee Nguyen Van Phuc about the North-South high-speed railway project.

In the case of the North-South high-speed railway, technology transfer includes not only the manufacture and installation of core equipment but also mastering technologies and operations, such as trains, rails and a signaling system.

If Vietnam designs a North-South 350km/h passenger railway, it needs to hire high-quality experienced foreign contractors and workers, according to National Assembly former deputy chair of Economics Committee Nguyen Van Phuc.

Project management and supervision consultation are the two crucial matters which will determine if the North-South high-speed railway project can be completed on schedule, and if a budget overrun will occur.

The North-South high-speed railway (NSR) is expected to kick off in two years. Because it takes 7-8 years of study and practice to produce an engineer to operate the railway, importing workers is a solution for consideration.

Vietnam needs a transparent policy to mobilize non-state capital for the North-South high-speed railway project. This is expected to be the most important factor determining the success or failure of the project.

Hoa Phat Group president Tran Dinh Long has committed to provide 6 million tons of steel of different types to serve the North-South high-speed railway project if the steel manufacturer is chosen as a supplier.

The North-South High-speed Railway is a super-project that promises to change national transport, but there are still many questions that planners need to answer.

Government bonds, domestic capital sources and foreign resources are among the solutions to arrange capital for the North-South high-speed railway development.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang proposed that World Bank (WB) help Vietnam find suitable partners for the country’s North-South high-speed rail project.

In order to have investment capital for the North-South high-speed railway, Vietnam needs to use capital from the state budget and private sources, and exploit the land area in station areas where the railway would pass through.

The Politburo will decide on the development of a North-South high-speed railway in September, which was previously turned down by the National Assembly in 2010.

According to the Ministry of Transport (MOT), the North-South high-speed railway project is expected to be submitted to the Politburo in September.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Ministry of Transport to propose a feasible plan for the North-South high-speed railway, considering this the backbone of the national strategy on railway development by 2050.

The tentative total investment for the North-South high-speed railway, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, is about $26 billion, $32.7 billion less than the previous proposal by the Ministry of Transport.