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Action needed on railway plan: Minister
17:14' 17/03/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – Key railway projects scheduled for 2008 will help speed up the development of a modern national railway system in Vietnam, Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung has said.

At a meeting on the projects held in Hanoi this month, Dung said although investment was high, work was progressing very slowly. He urged responsible agencies to write up detailed plans to make sure the projects would be put into action in 2008.

According to Viet Nam Railway, the two most important railway projects set for 2008 are the Hanoi - Yen Vien - Ngoc Hoi elevated railway and the upgrade of the Yen Vien - Lao Cai rail track.

The major investor of both projects is the Railway Projects Management Units. The first phase of the Hanoi - Yen Vien - Ngoc Hoi route will receive total investment of around VND19,000bil (US$1.2bil). Selection and signing of the technical consultation contract is expected to be completed this year, said director of the organisation, Tran Van Luc.

Construction in the initial stage will begin from Gia Lam to Giap Bat railway station and the second phase from Yen Vien to Gia Lam station and Giap Bat to Ngoc Hoi station.

Designing for the project is expected to take 2.5 years. Construction of the first phase was slated to kick off in late 2011 and come into operation in 2017, Luc said.

The Yen Vien - Lao Cai upgrade will begin its initial design stages this June. Construction will begin in early 2010 and should wrap up in 2012, the director said. Total investment for the upgrade stands at over VND2,500bil ($156mil).

Once finished, the Yen Vien - Lao Cai railway route will be able to transport 7.5mil tonnes of goods and about 5mil passengers per year.

Another project set to begin in 2008 is construction of the route from Chua Ve port to DAP factory in Dinh Vu, Hai Phong, with planned investment of VND900bil ($56mil).

The transport ministry has asked Viet Nam Railway to submit detailed plans on the early implementation of the project.