Two of Vietnam’s largest conglomerates are vying to lead the country’s largest infrastructure project to date: a US$67 billion high-speed railway linking the northern capital, Hanoi, with the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City.
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Vingroup and Truong Hai Group Corporation (Thaco) have entered bids to build the more than 1,500km (930-mile) North–South high-speed rail line. But both are seeking substantial state support – either in the form of massive interest-free loans or government-backed financing.
The proposals have raised questions about the potential for cost overruns and the risk of Vietnamese taxpayers ultimately footing the bill.
Originally proposed in 2010, the high-speed rail project was rejected by the National Assembly at the time due to its prohibitive cost.
But after more than a decade of rapid economic growth, the government approved the plan in November as part of an effort to modernise Vietnam’s colonial-era railway system and propel the nation “into a new era of growth”, according to a statement from the transport minister.
The proposals, submitted last month, followed Communist Party chief To Lam’s pledge to boost the country’s private sector amid intensifying regional competition for large-scale infrastructure contracts – including from Chinese state-backed giants that dominate high-speed rail development across the Mekong region.
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