A highlight is that the mechanisms and policies in the draft Resolution have been included in a separate chapter in the draft Law, helping to unify the legal framework. The new draft Law consists of 4 chapters with 84 articles, which supplement and revise preferential policies that have been applied to specific projects in the past.
In the chapter on general provisions, credit incentives for railway business organizations in areas with difficult or particularly difficult socio -economic conditions have been added. In addition, enterprises investing in and developing the railway industry and doing business in railway infrastructure are entitled to corporate income tax incentives; exemption from import tax on goods and equipment that cannot be produced domestically or do not meet project technical standards; and exemption from tax on materials and components used to manufacture equipment and spare parts for railways.
The chapter on railway construction investment includes 26 articles, legalizing 22 important policies in the draft Resolution approved by the Politburo , focusing on: Planning, investment capital, investment procedures, site clearance, industrial development and human resources.
Some important policies include: Diversifying capital sources: Assigning the Prime Minister to decide on the use of capital sources such as issuing bonds, ODA capital, foreign preferential loans, increasing revenue - saving expenditure... Exploiting land funds in the vicinity of stations to create financial resources for reinvestment in railways; allowing the Provincial People's Committee to decide on technical indicators and land use in the transport-oriented development (TOD) area.
Another group of policies aims to streamline investment procedures and decentralize more power to localities and decision-making levels. Accordingly, it allows projects to be divided into component projects without having to fully comply with the provisions of the Construction Law. Urban railway projects (including TOD) do not need to carry out appraisal procedures and decide on investment policies as in the current Investment Law.
In order to prevent corruption and waste, the draft Law clearly stipulates the supervisory responsibilities of State agencies. The selection of investors and contractors for EPC, EC, EP packages involves representatives of ministries and branches such as: National Defense, Public Security, Finance, Audit, Government Inspectorate, etc. In order to ensure the progress of key projects, the Ministry of Construction proposes that some contents in the draft Law take effect soon.
Specifically, the regulations on railway construction investment will take effect from July 1, 2025. The remaining regulations will take effect from January 1, 2026. In addition, the Government proposes to decentralize power to the Minister of Construction in a number of key tasks such as: approving railway network planning, deciding on connecting rails with foreign railways, managing national infrastructure assets, etc.
Previously, the Ministry of Construction also solicited comments on the draft Decree on the assignment of tasks, placing orders and criteria for selecting organizations and enterprises assigned with tasks and placing orders for the provision of railway industrial goods and services. The draft Decree consists of 4 chapters and 14 articles, with the goal of maximizing investment resources for the development of the railway industry, serving the construction of national and urban railway lines in the future. At the same time, the Decree aims to create a large enough market to attract Vietnamese enterprises to participate in investment, technology transfer, research and production of key industrial products in the railway sector.
Assessing the current state of the railway industry, the Ministry of Construction said that the domestic railway industry basically only meets the requirements for maintenance, repair, and assembly of 1,000mm gauge locomotives and wagons with a maximum train speed of 100km/h, and does not have the facilities, equipment, technology, or human resources to serve the maintenance and repair of electrified railways.
Currently, there are 35 railway establishments nationwide participating in the railway industry (production, maintenance, repair, new construction of carriages, locomotives and installation of railway equipment and materials). Vehicles, equipment, materials and components to serve the railway industry in Vietnam are still mostly imported from abroad; the railway industry in our country is still small-scale, most of the machinery and equipment are outdated, patchwork, and have not been invested in to renew synchronous technological equipment to meet the development requirements of the railway industry in the coming period.
The Government approved the draft Law on Railways (amended)
The Government has just issued Resolution No. 164/NQ-CP dated June 9, 2025 on the draft Law on Railways (amended). The Resolution clearly states that the Government agrees with the proposal of the Ministry of Construction to remove from the 2025 Legislative Program the Resolution on piloting a number of specific and special mechanisms and policies for investment in developing the railway system and adjust the time for consideration and approval of the draft Law on Railways (amended) in the 2025 Legislative Program for the National Assembly to consider and approve at the 9th Session according to the procedure at one session.
Approving the Draft Law on Railways (amended) after adding specific and special mechanisms and policies for investment in developing the railway system as stipulated in the draft Resolution of the National Assembly.
The Government assigned the Minister of Construction, authorized by the Prime Minister, to sign on behalf of the Government the Government's Submission to report to the National Assembly on: adjusting the 2025 Legislative Program; the content of the draft Law on Railways (amended) after supplementing mechanisms and policies for investment in developing the railway system according to the conclusions of competent authorities.
The Minister of Construction reported to the National Assembly to assign the Government to preside over and coordinate with the agency in charge of the appraisal and relevant agencies to study, explain, absorb and revise the draft Law based on the opinions of National Assembly deputies, agencies of the National Assembly, and the National Assembly Standing Committee; report to the National Assembly on the explanation, absorption and revision of the draft Law.
The Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Justice are responsible for closely coordinating with the Agency in charge of the review, providing complete relevant records and documents; receiving, explaining, and revising the draft Law at the request of the National Assembly Standing Committee and the National Assembly. ( Nguyen Viet Duc )
Source: https://cand.com.vn/Giao-thong/tao-dot-pha-phap-ly-de-phat-trien-he-thong-duong-sat-quoc-gia-i771104/
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