The railway is upgraded in Ninh Thuận Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

The project's pre-feasibility study report will be submitted to the National Assembly (NA) for approval, said the MoT’s leaders.

The north-south high speed railway has a double track scale, a gauge of 1,435mm and length of about 1,545km, according to the National Master Plan for 2021-30, with a vision to 2050, and the Railway Network Plan.

The Politburo in February issued the Conclusion No 49-KL/TW on Việt Nam’s railway development orientation, which required concerned agencies to research, analyse and evaluate international experience to choose a modern construction investment plan.

The plan must have a long-term vision, promote the country's advantages and potential, and be suitable for the country and the world's development trends.

Implementing the Politburo’s conclusion, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính founded a steering committee to conduct the north-south high speed railway project.

The MoT, after collecting opinions from ministries and organisations, completed a plan for the project.

At a meeting on the project at the beginning of this month, Deputy PM Trần Hồng Hà said that the project had great importance, contributing to the nation’s socio-economic development, industrialisation and modernisation.

Therefore, he said, the project needed interdisciplinary consensus, contribution and participation.

The Deputy PM directed the MoT to base on socio-economic development requirements and international experience to research, select and propose a suitable plan.

The plan must ensure feasibility, safety, efficiency and be consistent with global development trends.

He also asked the MoT to preside over and work with other ministries and enterprises to have appropriate mechanisms, including mechanisms for calling for and using capital sources; for using land use revenues from localities; for training and employing officers and engineers; for railway industry development; for public-private partnership investment attraction; and cooperation and technology transfer through foreign direct investment.

Because the project has a large scale, is technically and technologically complex, and has a long implementation period of over 10 years, Deputy PM Hà directed to clarify that the preliminary investment calculation was only an initial estimate.

The accurate data must be updated in the next steps when eligible, avoiding misunderstandings in case the total project investment increases during the implementation. — VNS