Deputies invited by the project’s developer, Vietnam Railways Corporation, to see express railways abroad as well as deputies from provinces through which the railway will pass are all in support of this project.
Express support
Opening the debate, Vice-Chair of the NA’s Committee for Social Issues, Luong Phan Cu, from Dak Nong province, remarked that it is late to be investing in an express railway because transportation must go ahead in the social-economic development strategy while Vietnam aims to become an industrialized country by 2020. China began building its express rail in 1992, he noted.
He compared beautiful beaches in central Vietnam as sleeping fairies. If the express railway is built across this region, the fairies will be awakened. Once its tourism potential is explored, many jobs will be created and development of cement and steel industries will be encouraged. Moreover, building the express railway doesn’t require large areas of land, Cu observed.
Pointing out many advantages like speed, safety and convenience, Deputy Tran Tien Canh from Ha Nam province concluded: “An express railway is really the future of transport. Vietnam is no longer a poor country, we are capable of implementing this project.”
Deputy Dao Xuan Nay from Binh Thuan agreed. “We need to make a short-cut. Perhaps the express railway is not effective now, but it will be very good in the future. It is similar to the 500 kV power transmission line. It was criticized in the beginning, but now we see its effectiveness,” Nay maintained.
Deputy Nguyen Ngoc Dao from Hanoi added that $56 billion of capital is huge, but it’s investment for the future and development.
Doubts expressed
Deputy Tran Du Lich from HCM City, an economist, commented on the many difficulties associated with this project, including the need for huge capital while the public debt is high,l plus the long construction timetable of 20-30 years. “But if we don’t build it right now, what vehicle will Vietnamese people use in the future? It is said that by building 200km/hour railway, we can save money, but we will have to build express railway (300km/hour) in the next 30-40 years and it is not really economic. So we need to use modern technology right now,” Lich explained.
Many deputies argued that Vietnam already has high foreign debt and cannot afford the railway. They also raised concerns about implementation, duration and resettlement. For them, it is only a “nice dream.”
Deputy Sung Thi Chu from Yen Bai province pointed out that the initial investment of $56 billion will account for two-thirds of the annual gross domestic product (GDP). Chu also noted that only 11 countries had express railways and theirs are only from 95 to 500km, while Vietnam’s will be more than 1500km. “Investing in an express railway is necessary, but it is not urgent. I ask the 12th NA not to approve this project,” Chu asserted.
Deputy Tran Ngoc Vinh from Hai Phong cited that Vietnam’s budget is limited and that money is needed for other areas. Vinh suggested upgrading the existing railway network and building high-speed ships. He also went on to say that Thailand and the Philippines had stopped borrowing "official development assistance." As the railway is scheduled to be built from 2014-35, many deputies worried costs might escalate. Some like Deputy Hoang Van Toan suggested the project be delayed until 2015-2017 and the timeline shortened to 10 years.
Vice-Chair of the NA’s Committee for Culture-Education, Youth and Children Nguyen Minh Thuyet (Lang Son) and Chair of the NA’s Legal Committee Nguyen Van Thuan also do not support the project and asked the Government to reconsider its economic effectiveness.
Resettlement and infrastructure issues
Delegate Sung Thi Chu from Yen Bai stressed the need to ensure people’s living conditions in resettlement areas places. The total expenditures for land acquisition and compensation is estimated at more than 30 trillion dong and more than 9,500 households will be relocated, most of them farmers. Deputy Luong Phan Cu from Dak Nong province said it may take more time to implement the project as it affects an additional 16,500 households.
Deputy Tran Thi Quoc Khanh from Hanoi worried that if Vietnam has to borrow foreign loans to carry out this project, it will follow the footsteps of Greece. “At that time, ASEAN, Asia or Japan will save us? Japan is the only hope of us to get capital for this project but its foreign debt is equivalent to 200 percent of GDP. The Japanese PM had to resign after one year because he couldn’t rise the economy up,” she analyzed.
Deputy Nguyen Dinh Xuan from Tay Ninh said 11 countries that have express railways built these systems themselves or imported part of the materials and technology. Only Vietnam will have to import 100 percent. Xuan didn’t agree with another deputy who said that this project would encourage the development of construction material industry, saying that even the Can Tho bridge was built by cement from Thailand.
Many deputies questioned that why the government wants to urgent carry out this project while the transportation facilities in Vietnam are very poor in general. When many people have to cross rivers by small boats or even by hanging themselves on cables, why must Vietnam build an express railway and for whom will it be built?
Many deputies complained that the Government “makes difficulties” for the NA, because it submitted a technical project without abundant information.
The NA will decide to whether Vietnam will invest in this project or not on June 19.
The Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City express railway project is a large-scale project that needs a total investment of US$56 billion. It will run as long as 1,570 km across 20 provinces and cities. With a design speed of 300km/h, it will take about five and a half hours to complete the journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. To proceed with the project, 4,170ha of land will need to be requisited and 9,500 households will need relocating so the project can be completed by 2035. Land clearance compensation was estimated at more than VND30 trillion (US$1.5 billion).
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