The draft proposal has been sent to the Government suggesting the building of a National Assembly’s resolution on those mechanisms. If approved, the urban railway network in two big cities will be invested in a modern and sustainable way.

Explaining the purposes of the proposal, Minister of Transport Tran Hong Minh said more than 200 cities in the world had built urban railway systems. In practice, large cities prioritise the development of urban railways to meet the demands of passenger transport because this is a fundamental solution to solve congestion, environmental pollution and urban traffic accidents, according to the minister.

He said now would be the appropriate time to accelerate the synchronous and simultaneous investment and operation of the urban railway system, given the context that the population of Hanoi and HCM City reached 8.5 million and 9.5 million, respectively, in 2023 while the yearly income per capita of Hanoi and HCM City were reported at US$5,900 and US$6,700, respectively.

The two cities have identified the goal of developing an urban railway system to meet public transport needs, contributing to the restructuring of urban transport modes in a sustainable, harmonious and reasonable manner. By 2035, both cities target to basically complete the urban railway network following Conclusion No. 49-KL/TW of the Politburo and approved plans.

Hanoi and HCM City strive to put into operation 17 urban railway routes and sections with a total length of about 752km by 2035, taking on 35-50% of the public passenger transport market share.

By 2045, seven more routes and four sections with a total length of about 355km are expected to be put into operation, making up 50-60% of the public passenger transport market share.

According to the Ministry of Transport, funding for those projects is estimated at over VND3 quadrillion including more than VND424.8 trillion from the State budget and the remaining from the cities’ budget.

The transport ministry proposed six groups of specific mechanisms and policies including those on capital mobilisation, investment procedures, Transit Oriented Development model, railway industry development, technology transfer and training.

Many flexible mechanisms have been proposed to help the two cities proactively mobilise capital from additional revenue sources, save costs, and ODA capital without having to prepare project proposals.

An important highlight of the proposal is the integration of urban development planning with the Transit Oriented Development model.

The draft resolution also aims to develop the domestic railway industry, ensure uniformity in technical standards and implement preferential policies on technology transfer and human resource training. Domestic enterprises will have the opportunity to participate more deeply in the supply chain of urban railway projects.

It is expected that the Government will submit the resolution to the National Assembly for approval this month.

Workshop talks standards for urban railways

Domestic and foreign experts at a workshop in Hanoi on January 19 touched upon technical standards and requirements, and management of urban railway projects in the capital city and Ho Chi Minh City.