The Vietnamese economist, who lives and works in Singapore, said that building a metro system in Vietnam is an urgent issue.

“Metros are invaluable. When I go to Hanoi and HCM City, I see that it will be very difficult to obtain a higher GDP growth rate and attract more investment because of traffic congestion,” he told VietNamNet. 

Khuong estimates that one working hour of a Vietnamese is worth $3, which means that each person loses $3 a day because of one-hour congestion in traffic. So, Vietnam loses nearly $3 billion a year because of bad traffic.

“The congestion not only causes a big loss of $3 billion, but also has other serious impacts on society, including air pollution and inconveniences to people,” he said. 

To prosper, developed countries give priority to developing urban transport system and metro. “Once a metro network is set up, there will be space for urban development and finance will flourish,” he said.

Khuong said that building a metro is within Vietnam’s reach, estimating that it would cost at most $150 million per kilometer.

“Let’s look at Bangladesh. They were in very poor condition, but they have been growing very fast since the day they decided to build a metro,” he said, adding that the country expects to have a metro of 130 kilometers by 2030. 

In general, it takes countries 4-5 years to build the first 10-20 kilometers, and from the sixth year, one new metro line is built each year. 

A country that which cannot build a metro in its large cities won’t be able to grow fast and sustainably. Foreign investment helps increase GDP and exports, but it is still not enough to create fundamental changes.

Khuong strongly recommends that the government of Vietnam think of building metro networks in large cities, especially in HCM City. It is necessary to make investments soon and use the best workers.

Wind power

In addition to metro lines, Khuong believes that Vietnam needs to follow the trends of the green revolution and digital revolution, the two fields that will shape the national economy in the next two or three decades.

Vietnam and Singapore's MOU on a Digital Economy - Green Economy Partnership signed during Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to Singapore last February is expected to be a fundamental step and shows the long-term vision of Vietnam. Singapore has implemented cooperation with a few developing countries.

“Chinh’s visit to Singapore will help Vietnam grasp the opportunity,” he said.

In the immediate time, the government of Vietnam should sign an agreement on the green economy and digital economy with Singapore because this will help the two sides implement the strategy.

Vietnam should also cooperate with Singapore to produce renewables for use in Vietnam and export to Singapore.

“We have large capacity for generating offshore wind power, while Singapore has experience and finance, and it may underwrite the electricity to be generated by wind power plants in Vietnam,” he said.

Singapore has a high national credit rating and so do its companies. As a result, it is easy to issue bonds to raise funds for green energy development.

Khuong suggested that in the next one or two decades, Vietnam should summon all of its strength to create a strong power industry to provide power to countries from Africa to South Asia.

Developing offshore wind power will help protect the sea surface and turn natural resources into power for the nation. 

Khuong said Vietnam may go behind in automobile and motorbike industries, but it needs to make strategic decisions on wind power development.

Thu Hang