HANOI: Vietnam’s biggest conglomerate, Vingroup, said on Friday (May 16) it had submitted a proposal to build the country’s multi-billion-dollar high-speed railway from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, with state media reporting the government had welcomed the plan.
The project – which was slated to cost US$67 billion when it was approved in November – is a much-needed boost to infrastructure that is expected to drive growth and enhance Vietnam’s reputation among foreign investors.
The line will stretch more than 1,500km from the capital in the north to the country’s business hub in the south, and reduce the current journey time by rail from 30 hours to around five.
Vingroup confirmed to AFP on Friday that they had submitted a proposal to the government to build the line.
In a press statement, Vinspeed, a newly established company as part of the Vingroup empire, said the project would cost US$61 billion, and would start in December and be finished by 2030, five years ahead of the schedule set out last year.
The company said it would commit to mobilising 20 per cent of the total capital, equivalent to US$12.27 billion.
It proposed a zero-interest loan from the state for the remaining 80 per cent, excluding costs related to compensation and resettlement for land clearance.
“We will exert our best efforts … to develop the project … (and) pay the loans in due time,” Dao Thuy Van, deputy director of Vinspeed, said in the statement.
The statement added that Vinspeed’s proposal “will significantly help reduce pressure for the state budget”.
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