Professor Hoang Van Cuong has proposed implementing special policies, such as having the government contract domestic corporations and businesses to lead the North-South high-speed railway project, allowing them to find partners to ensure the project’s timely completion.

Funding must not be lacking

 

 

 

These suggestions follow the Prime Minister’s directive at a meeting on October 5, which called for a review and proposal of specific mechanisms for the implementation of the North-South high-speed railway project.

Speaking to VietNamNet, Professor Hoang Van Cuong, a member of the National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee, emphasized that creating a special mechanism for the project must meet several key objectives: staying on schedule, mastering technology, and driving socio-economic development.

The first priority, according to him, is to establish a mechanism to concentrate funding. Despite the project’s large financial needs, funding must remain the top priority, and there must be no shortfalls during implementation.

“As such, we must consider funding solutions like increasing public debt, issuing government bonds to mobilize domestic resources, and even issuing international bonds to attract global investments,” Cuong suggested.

Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, a member of the Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council, also proposed five special mechanisms for the high-speed railway project, including one related to the use of public funds.

Nghia pointed out that current regulations do not allow the transfer of funds from one category to another. However, for this project, he believes that the National Assembly should grant the government and the Prime Minister the authority to flexibly allocate funds between various components and items.

“For example, the project has multiple components such as land clearance, technology procurement, design consulting, and construction. Some items will require more funds sooner, while others may need less. Therefore, money from areas with lesser needs should be redirected to those with greater demands, ensuring no shortage of funds. For instance, if a construction company lacks funds, it won’t be able to mobilize workers, and the project will face delays,” Nghia explained.

Additionally, Professor Cuong emphasized the importance of having a special mechanism for land clearance, with local authorities being responsible for ensuring clean land is handed over on time.

Domestic companies should be the main contractors

 

 

To avoid the delays seen in recent urban railway projects, Professor Hoang Van Cuong stressed the need for a special mechanism related to technology transfer.

“If we allow foreign contractors to participate in the bidding and manage construction, bringing in their equipment, we risk becoming dependent and facing delays. This is evident from previous urban railway projects where foreign contractors controlled the timeline, and we had no ability to intervene. In contrast, if we take ownership, we can mobilize resources and push for timely completion.

Take the 500kV transmission line project, for instance. It was completed quickly because we were the project leaders and carried out the work ourselves. In such cases, the government and the Prime Minister can apply pressure and set deadlines to ensure timely completion,” Cuong elaborated.

Therefore, according to Cuong, the project must be led by domestic companies. The main contractors should be Vietnamese businesses, not foreign investors.

To achieve this, Vietnamese contractors must form joint ventures with foreign firms, with the latter playing a supporting role by transferring technology and addressing technical issues, while local contractors handle construction and project execution.

“This calls for a very special policy: the government should contract domestic corporations and companies to lead the project, making them the main stakeholders. They would then find partners to help execute the project,” Cuong proposed.

N. Huyen