More than 200 billion USD needed to develop transport infrastructure

Ministry of Transport focuses on building North-South high-speed railway

Transport infrastructure in the coming period has been planned for investment capital for projects with spillover effects, connecting between fields and regions to create momentum for socio -economic development.

Pumping "huge" capital to build railways

According to Mr. Luu Quang Thin, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment (Ministry of Transport), in recent times, Vietnam's transport infrastructure system has had remarkable developments with more than 24,300km of national highways, 2,000km of expressways, 6,800km of inland waterways, 2,640 national railways, 298 ports, 22 airports and many important, large-scale projects invested.

However, Mr. Thin acknowledged that there are still limitations such as the imbalance between infrastructure projects, mainly focusing on the road sector, followed by maritime, aviation, and inland waterways.

For example, although the railway system has many advantages, it has not been prioritized for investment and is still outdated; urban railways are being implemented slowly, so they have not solved the problem of traffic jams and environmental pollution in large cities; and the potential of inland waterways in advantageous areas has not been exploited.

Mr. Thin also explained that the main reason is due to the low starting point of Vietnam's economy, and capital for investment in building transport infrastructure has not met investment targets.

Presenting the orientation for developing transport infrastructure until 2030, with a vision to 2050, the leader of the Department of Planning and Investment pointed out that the goal is to develop a reasonable transport infrastructure system, ensuring balance and harmony, taking advantage of the advantages of transport modes, and increasing the rate of public passenger transport in large cities.

Accordingly, with road transport, by 2030 the country strives to have about 5,000km of expressways; continue to invest in expressways connecting with major economic centers, seaports, airports, and international border gates with large freight transport needs. It is estimated that according to the plan, the total investment for projects by 2030 will be about 24.8 billion USD; by 2050, it will be about 33.64 billion USD.

Assessing that railway is an advantageous method of transporting large volumes, quickly, safely, conveniently, at reasonable costs, and reducing environmental pollution, it will be one of the investment priorities, Mr. Thin added, the Ministry of Transport focuses on building the North-South high-speed railway line, accelerating investment in urban railway lines in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to reduce traffic congestion, connecting with high-speed railway lines to form a convenient passenger transport network nationwide; investing in new railway lines, electrification to connect important seaports, connecting airports; renovating and upgrading existing railway lines to synchronize infrastructure.

According to calculations for the railway sector alone, the total investment for projects by 2030 is about 151.2 billion USD (including urban railways); by 2050 it is about 312 billion USD.

The Transport sector will speed up investment in urban railway lines in Hanoi.

Regarding inland waterways, the Transport sector focuses on upgrading main routes with high traffic density; focusing on developing coastal waterways in the Central region and the Mekong Delta; modernizing main ports and specialized ports, encouraging investment in ports and transport routes with a total investment of projects by 2030 of about 10.8 billion USD; by 2050 of about 4.48 billion USD.

The maritime sector will renovate and upgrade important shipping routes; continue to develop international gateway ports in Lach Huyen and Ba Ria Vung Tau; call for investment in Can Gio and Van Phong ports, and Tran De ports to serve the Mekong Delta with a total investment estimated by the planning to 2030 of about 4.16 billion USD; and by 2050, about 6.65 billion USD.

Regarding aviation, the Ministry of Transport prioritizes investment in a number of large airports, playing a key role in the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City capital regions; gradually upgrading and effectively exploiting 22 existing airports; calling for investment in new airports... with the total investment estimated by the planning to 2030 at about 17.1 billion USD; to 2050 at about 21.06 billion USD.

Mobilizing many capital sources to "pour" into infrastructure

To realize the implementation goals, the Department of Planning and Investment has proposed key solutions to mobilize investment resources in terms of policies and mechanisms, and mobilize many capital sources to "pour" into transport infrastructure.

Specifically, the Ministry of Transport continues to review, amend and complete the system of related legal documents, review and reform administrative procedures to improve the quality and investment environment; build a mechanism to strengthen decentralization and delegation of authority to localities for investment, continue to review planning to orient investment; prioritize the allocation of State budget capital for transport works and projects that are not able to recover capital or are unlikely to attract capital from economic sectors.

The Ministry of Transport also mobilizes all capital sources from economic sectors to participate in investing in developing transport infrastructure with maximum investment incentives; continues to attract and effectively use ODA loans and preferential loans from international donors to invest in large projects with widespread impact; effectively exploits resources from infrastructure assets; researches and develops mechanisms to maximize investment resources suitable to the characteristics of each transport sector, with international competitiveness.

The Ministry of Transport will mobilize investment resources in policy mechanisms and mobilize many capital sources to "pour" into transport infrastructure.

At the same time, this agency also builds and publishes a list of transport infrastructure development projects to call for investment under the PPP method and foreign investment for the period up to 2030 and after 2030.

VN (according to Vietnam+)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/can-hon-200-ty-usd-phat-trien-ha-tang-giao-thong-390965.html