The Parliament of Vietnam approved on Saturday a project to build a high-speed train line that will link the capital, Hanoi, with Ho Chi Minh, valued at 67 billion dollars (63 billion euros), according to a statement published on the site institution website.
“The National Assembly voted to approve (…) the high-speed train line project on the North-South axis,” the document indicates.
These new railways will cover more than 1,500 kilometers between the capital, in the North, and the economic heart of the country, in the South. Travel time between the two cities will be reduced from 30 hours to around five hours.
A trip from north to south that will last between 30 and 5 hours
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong previously called the line a “breakthrough” for Vietnamese infrastructure, estimating it would boost the country’s GDP by 0.97 points per year on average.
“It is the desire of the population and the will of the political system to have a high-speed line of international (quality) level,” he celebrated before the approval of the plan.
This new rail connection should have 23 stations in 20 different cities and provinces, greatly improving interregional traffic.
Construction is supposed to last only eight years, with work expected to begin in 2027 and be delivered in 2035, even if Vietnam is used to delays when it comes to large infrastructure projects.
Source: BFM TV
