Vietnam seeks foreign invest for new railways
HANOI - Vietnam Railways Corporation has completed pre-feasibility studies on proposed
rail lines linking Ho Chi Minh City to two southern economic centers, an official with the state-owned
company said Friday.
After the reports are approved by the government, foreign investors will be invited to submit bids for the
projects. Successful investors will conduct final feasibility studies.
Nguyen Dat Tuong, director of the corporation's International Relations Department, said it is building an
80-kilometer $310 million line to link the city to Vung Tau port and a $575 million project that will expand
the railway network to Trang Bom township, which is 50 kilometers north of the city.
The two projects will be constructed under build-operate-transfer contracts, he said, where foreign
investors will build the infrastructure and operate it for an agreed period of time before handing over
control to the government.
"We hope to find interested investors to build these plans between now and 2005," Tuong said.
He said the projects are part of a government-approved $11 billion plan, which includes more than $4
billion in expected foreign investment, to expand and upgrade the country's rail network between now and
2020.
Vietnam's railway industry currently has over 3,600 kilometers of rail and provides 40,000 jobs.
By Nguyen Pham Muoi - Dow Jones Newswires - February 08, 2002.
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