The Vietnamese government is evaluating a $60 billion proposal to construct a high-speed railway from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.
If approved and completed, the high-speed railway would stand among Asia’s largest infrastructure undertakings and sharply reduce travel times between Vietnam’s capital and its southern business center.
The Context
Lawmakers had previously approved a $67 billion plan for the railway in November 2024, and earlier discussions occurred with China State Construction, China’s largest construction firm, about possible involvement. Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, has a population of 8.7 million, while Ho Chi Minh City has a population of 9.9 million.
What To Know
The plans were submitted by Vinspeed, a company founded by Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong. They outline a 957-mile line that would, in theory, be delivered five years ahead of the government’s earlier timeline.
The proposed project would have a total cost of 1,562 trillion dong, approximately $60.3 billion, though that price does not include site clearance expenses.
Vinspeed has committed to finance 20 percent of the total investment and seeks the remaining 80 percent, equivalent to about $48 billion, from the Vietnamese government at a 0 percent interest rate over 35 years.
The company wants to begin construction this year and finish it by the end of the decade, a timeline that Western high-speed rail projects would balk at.
High Speed Rail in Southeast Asia
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A passenger train is considered high-speed if it travels at least 124 mph on upgraded tracks or 155 mph on new tracks. More than 20 countries currently have high-speed rail networks, and many other countries in Asia, such as South Korea, China, and Japan, are considered leaders in the industry.
China has established the world’s most extensive high-speed railway network in just two decades.
Since the first line launched in 2008, the network has grown to roughly 25,000 miles, more than double the combined length of the rest of the world’s high-speed railways and long enough to circle the Earth.
Vinspeed has said that it is currently discussing a technology transfer with premier partners from China and Japan for domestic production of locomotives, carriages, and signaling systems, because of the success these countries have had with high-speed rail.
DATE . May/22/2025