Speaking after the discussion session on the draft Law on Railways (amended) at the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly on the afternoon of June 18, Minister Tran Hong Minh said that the reality of investment in the construction of national railway and urban railway projects in recent times has shown many difficulties and obstacles.
The main problems are difficulties in mobilizing resources, investment procedures, planning implementation, and land clearance, and the development of the railway industry is almost impossible. Therefore, it is necessary to complete the legal corridor system to resolve these problems.
At the same time, the Politburo also issued four resolutions called the “strategic quartet”, including Resolution 57, Resolution 59, Resolution 66 and Resolution 68, which need to be institutionalized. Adding these specific mechanisms and policies to the Railway Law and passing them at this session is necessary to have a full political, legal and practical basis.
Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh. (Photo: DUY LINH)
Explaining and clarifying some issues mentioned by delegates, Minister Tran Hong Minh said that the draft Law has proposed regulations to shorten the investment process such as: carrying out some project preparation work at the same time, establishing the overall technical design (FEED) instead of the basic design; compensation, resettlement support, not having to carry out the investment policy step for urban railways...
“These policies have all been issued and contributed to speeding up the implementation progress from 2 to 5 years. The Government has issued Decree No. 123 dated June 11, 2025 detailing the overall technical regulations and specific mechanisms for a number of railway projects when it takes effect from July 1, 2025, so that it can be applied immediately,” the Minister stated.
Regarding the urban development policy oriented towards public transport development (TOD), Minister Tran Hong Minh emphasized that TOD development brings dual benefits, both contributing to urban planning and beautification, optimizing land use efficiency, and creating revenue for the state budget from land to reinvest in socio-economic development in general, including the development of the railway system.
The TOD model also contributes to opening up economic development space along the railway, increasing development opportunities and ensuring the lives of people living around the railway area.
According to the Minister, when investors participate in investing in railway projects with non-state capital, there must be preferential policies for them such as being designated as contractors, accessing clean land in TOD areas, etc. If put out for bidding, it will be very difficult to implement.
“We all know that it takes a long time to recover capital from railway investment. For example, with the North-South railway, we spent a total investment of 67 trillion VND, which we estimate will take about 140 years. Now that we are calling for private investors to participate, there must be a balance of interests between all parties,” Minister Tran Hong Minh stated.
View of the meeting. (Photo: DUY LINH)
Regarding the policy of developing railway industry, developing science and technology transfer, the Minister assessed that this is one of the outstanding policies of this draft Law, promptly institutionalizing the direction of the Party, State and Government leaders on industrial development and technology transfer in the railway sector in the direction of self-reliance, autonomy and self-reliance.
Another issue that many delegates are interested in is investing in railway projects using non-state budget sources to institutionalize Resolution 68 of the Politburo on private economic development.
According to Minister Tran Hong Minh, this regulation will open up opportunities for the private sector and mobilize private resources for railway investment and development, thereby contributing to reducing pressure on the state budget in allocating capital for this sector.
The Draft Law also clearly stipulates the role of state management in approving the standard framework for technology control, maintaining the authority of specialized construction agencies to conduct appraisal and inspection of the acceptance of construction quality.
“The contract always includes all conditions according to the legal basis, along with annual audit data from the State Audit, so there will never be a case of private investors participating in railway development selling projects to foreign countries,” the Minister affirmed.
According to the Commander of the Construction Industry, this is the first time regulations on policies to prevent and combat corruption, waste, and negativity have been included in specialized laws, with the mindset of both clearing and removing obstacles, but also indispensable for institutions to monitor openly and transparently.
In particular, there are regulations that when bidding or appointing contractors, there must be the participation of representatives of agencies such as the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, inspection, auditing and the State Audit responsible for auditing the total investment. In addition to this regulation, all participating organizations and individuals are subject to the regulation of many different laws, including the Penal Code.
In addition, to ensure the consistency of the draft Law with the Laws amended at the 9th Session, Minister Tran Hong Minh said that in the past two days, the Ministry of Construction has closely coordinated with the Ministry of Finance to review the laws drafted by the two ministries and revise related contents such as taxes, planning, bidding, public investment, etc. to ensure consistency.
Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/huy-dong-nguon-luc-tu-nhan-cho-dau-tu-va-phat-trien-duong-sat-213672.html
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