Government confident in high-speed railway project

Despite intense criticism over the costly express railway project, the government’s determination to press on with it remains unshaken.

Deputy prime minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, speaking at the ongoing National Assembly session in Hanoi on Saturday after two and a half days of Assembly deputies grilling some ministers over pressing issues, said he was confident in the $56 billion project.

“I’m feeling secure about this express railway project. It must be done and I will be on the government’s side to ask the National Assembly for clearance to carry out the project. We cannot do nothing,” he said.

If approval from the legislature is forthcoming, the government will proceed with the project on a phase-by-phase basis, not the whole of it at once, he said, adding the government would balance resources in the implementation process.

To ease worries over how to secure huge finances for the project as expressed by National Assembly deputies, Hung reckoned that with the current pace of growth, gross domestic product (GDP) would amount to $300 billion by 2020, $700 billion by 2030, $1,200-1,400 billion by 2040 and $2,400-2,800 billion by 2050.

The respective GDP per capita will be $3,000, $6,000, $12,000 and $20,000, so it will still be safe if Vietnam borrows up to $150 billion, he said. “With such debt, we can still get the job done.”

Outspoken National Assembly deputies earlier questioned the feasibility of the high-speed rail line that would be running in parallel with the existing aging system.

Nguyen Minh Thuyet, a deputy of Lang Son Province, said he suspected the objectivity in the project formation process. Only a limited number of Vietnamese and Japanese firms are involved in the formulation, evaluation, consulting processes, he said.

A deputy of Hai Duong Province, Le Dinh Khanh, proposed the project be delayed until GDP per capita had reached $3,000. This is because the country’s current GDP totals over $100 billion.

Meanwhile, some other deputies threw support behind the project, saying it would create an impetus for economic development. “If we don’t do it, the current railway network will become outdated, thus causing a bottleneck for economic development,” said Nguyen Ba Thanh, Party secretary of Danang City.

Deputies of the National Assembly also asked government ministers tough questions about increasingly severe power shortages and forest land leasing to foreign firms.

Deputy Le Van Cuong of Thanh Hoa Province said lack of power supply was a big issue in the previous National Assembly session but it had not been resolved to date.

Deputy prime minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said the government took responsibility for this problem but to solve it, more investments should be made to build more power stations, and modernise power generation equipment.

As for the leasing of forest land in areas of importance to national defense, deputy Duong Trung Quoc said those who had leased out vast areas of forest land should be held responsible.

Hung said in response that this was a lesson from decentralising power to local authorities without supervision from the relevant ministries and that this issue would be reviewed and measures would be taken to deal with those responsible.

Saigon Times

Tags: Vietnam Infrastructure, Vietnam railway project