After State Appraisal Council evaluation, the proposal will be scrutinised by the Government and then the Party Politburo and the Party Central Committee before it finally reaches the National Assembly for approval in May next year.

According to initial plans, the Hanoi-HCM City (North-South) Express Railway will be 1,570km long and reach speeds up to 300km per hour.

The express railway is expected to be operational after 2036.

Speaking at a recent meeting in Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the express railway would play a significant role in the nation’s socio-economic development, particularly in the course of industrialisation and modernisation.

It was anticipated that the new rail system would cost 57 percent less than current operational costs, cut down travel time by about 17 percent and reduce land transportation accidents by about 20 percent.

In economic terms, the express rail line would have a great advantage for travel distances between 300-500km compared to air or road transportation.

The Prime Minister said that if there was a lack of funding the project could be divided into several stages.

“But priority should be given to the Hanoi-Thanh Hoa, HCM City-Phan Thiet, and Da Nang-Hue sections,” said Mr. Dung.

Capital for infrastructure development will be mobilised from various sources, including official development assistance (ODA) or ordinary capital resources (OCR), particularly from Japan, the Republic of Korea, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.