~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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High-speed train planned for Vietnam

HANOI - Vietnam plans to build a high-speed railroad with aid from Japan at an estimated cost of $33 billion in a project that would cut travel time by two-thirds between Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south, the Vietnamese government said. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung gave approval to the state-run Vietnam Railways to invest in the 1,630- kilometer, or 1,010- mile, track, a statement on the government's Web site said Monday. Dung has assigned Vietnam Railways to work with Japanese experts on a detailed investment plan, the statement said.

Seventy percent of the funding will come from the Vietnamese government, mainly in the form of Japanese official development assistance. Vietnam Railways will raise 30 percent of the cost from loans, Nguyen Huu Bang, director of the railroad company, said. The train service monopoly does not release profit figures, but its revenues in 2006 rose 13.2 percent from the previous year to 5.3 trillion dong, or $330 million, the Vietnam News reported Tuesday. Japan is the biggest country donor to Vietnam. It has pledged $890 million in aid for the country this year, or 6.5 percent higher than the 2006 level of $835.6 million. International governments and agencies have pledged a record $4.45 billion in aid to Communist-run Vietnam for this year as the Southeast Asian country seeks to improve its underdeveloped infrastructure.

The railroad, to be built over a six- year period, will reduce the train journey between the capital, Hanoi, and the commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City to less than 10 hours from more than 30 hours. Trains will be able to travel on the proposed line at speeds of up to 350 kilometers an hour, state-run media said. Existing train service between the two cities is limited to a single track with a narrow gauge of 1,000 millimeters over 1,726 kilometers. The new line will use a wider gauge, 1,435 millimeters.

Reuters - February 6, 2007.