Vietnam is considering three railway routes linking with China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the “Two Corridors, One Belt” initiative, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Thursday.
Speaking at the Vietnam-China strategic transport infrastructure development cooperation conference held in Beijing, Chinh said the three railway routes under consideration are: Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong, Lang Son-Hanoi, and Mong Cai-Ha Long-Hai Phong.
The initial focus would be on the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong route, he added.
The Vietnamese government will ask research agencies to draft an inter-governmental treaty for deployment of the three railway routes with focus on “preferential loans from China with standalone mechanism and technology transfer and workforce training” so that Vietnam can develop its own railway industry, Chinh said.
Vietnam is encouraging Chinese businesses to join metro railway projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City under the public-private partnership (PPP) format, he added.
Dang Sy Manh, chairman of Vietnam’s state-owned Vietnam Railways Corporation, said at the conference that under the railway master plan for 2030, the country aimed to upgrade 2,440 kilometers and construct 2,362 kilometers of new railway routes.