An Asian country is planning a new railway that would connect its industry with Chinese suppliers on one side and a port on the other.
Vietnam’s parliament has approved plans for an eight-billion-dollar railway link that will connect the country’s largest northern port city, Haiphong, with neighboring China. The railway line, expected to be completed by the end of 2030, will facilitate trade and further strengthen ties between the two communist countries.
The new railway connection will pass through some very important industrial complexes, home to branches of Samsung, Foxconn, Pegatron, and other global giants, most of which rely on a steady flow of components from China.
The route will be 390 kilometers long and will pass through nine northern provinces and cities – from Haiphong, through the capital Hanoi, to Lao Cai, which borders China’s Yunnan province. There is already a connection from the time of French colonization, on which trains today operate at a maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour. The new railway would run at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour.
More than eight billion
The project’s value is estimated at more than eight billion dollars, with part of the funds provided through loans from China.
A study on the economic feasibility of the line will begin this year, and Hanoi wants the project to be completed by 2030, although the country has a long history of delays in major infrastructure projects.
“China supplies many raw materials to Vietnam’s industry, so it is crucial for this supply route to be solid,” said Dan Martin, an international business consultant at Dezan Shira & Associates. “A modern railway connection would increase efficiency and ensure the smooth flow of goods, whether to Vietnamese factories or to the port of Haiphong and beyond, across the world.”
This is one of two railway connections between Vietnam and China planned as part of the large infrastructure initiative Belt and Road.
Another megaproject
A few months ago, the parliament, or rather the national assembly, also approved a plan for a 67-billion-dollar high-speed railway project from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, which officials also consider an extremely important investment for promoting economic growth in this Southeast Asian country.
The line will be 1.500 kilometers long and will reduce train travel time from Hanoi to the southern metropolis and business center from 30 hours to about five hours.
