More than VND5.4 trillion ($220 million) will be set aside by the government for six railway projects in the 2021-2025 period, with construction of the Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City section hoped to begin by the end of this year. The Ministry of Transport is now urgently completing investment in four projects renovating and upgrading the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City line, with total capital of VND7 trillion ($286 million), and is preparing to invest in important new international routes.
The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has issued an Official Letter requesting that its departments flexibly and effectively use tools and measures to control freight rates in accordance with the law on prices, to stabilize the market.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the transportation market grew well in all fields in the first nine months of 2022, especially passenger transport. Passenger transport by air increased 162 per cent, by railway 176 per cent, and by waterway 12.5 per cent.
Through a review, the Ministry of Transport has reported that there are eight build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects that are inadequate and need to be reported to relevant authorities for consideration on their future. The ministry has therefore proposed that a solution to terminate contracts ahead of time and allocate State budget capital of about VND13.115 trillion ($552.527 million) to compensate investors and project developers be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and approval. This would also remove obstacles for investors, thereby restoring their trust.
As of the end of August, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) had disbursed 43.9 per cent of the public investment capital in its assigned plan. To the end of this year, it will need to disburse more than VND28 trillion ($1.19 billion). Ministry leaders have proposed speeding up disbursement for key projects and a number of ODA projects.
According to the Ministry of Transport, a study on a project to build a 73-km section of the Ho Chi Minh Highway from Chon Thanh - Duc Hoa, passing through the southern provinces of Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, and Tay Ninh, is expected to be approved in the first quarter of 2023. The project will therefore be restarted shortly after a delay of more than eleven years due to a lack of capital.
