Vietnam says loans will not exceed 30% of US$67 billion cost of rail project
VIETNAM will rely largely on state funding to build a high-speed rail link between its capital and the business hub of Ho Chi Minh City at a cost of more than US$67 billion, the transport minister said on Wednesday (Nov 20).
Expected to be approved by the National Assembly at the end of this month, the 1,541 km line will be the nation’s largest infrastructure project, going operational from 2035.
“Loans will not exceed 30 per cent of the total estimated cost,” Nguyen Van Thang told the parliament in Hanoi, adding that the government had not decided whether to take domestic or foreign loans for the project.
“If ODA (official development aid) that bears low interest rates and has no binding conditions, then it’s good,” Thang said. “Otherwise, we’ll take domestic loans.”
Last month the ministry said Vietnam would fund the railway entirely on its own, a goal some experts said might be unrealistic.
On Wednesday, Thang said the government would arrange US$5.6 billion a year over the 12-year construction period of the railway, which will mostly carry passengers, but have an option for cargo after 2050.
“Cargo transport will be handled mostly by the systems of waterways, roads and the existing rail line,” he said. REUTERS
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