GOVERNMENT PROMOTES PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT IN RAILWAY PROJECTS

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh presents the draft amended Railway Law - PHOTO: VGP

HCMC – The Vietnamese Government is seeking to attract more private investment in railway infrastructure through new provisions in the draft of the amended Railway Law.

The proposed changes were presented to the National Assembly on May 27 during its 9th sitting, aiming to expand funding mechanisms and boost public-private partnerships in the sector, reported the Government news site.

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh stressed the importance of enacting the revised Railway Law to realize the Party’s policy on railway development and overcome limitations of the 2017 legislation.

The draft law contains seven chapters with 67 articles, reducing three chapters and 20 articles compared to the current law. It also cuts 20% of administrative procedures and 33% of business conditions to simplify regulatory requirements.

Regarding railway infrastructure development, the draft law introduces provisions to mobilize maximum resources from local governments and various economic sectors.

The Government also encourages organizations and individuals to invest through multiple forms of contractual arrangements. Local authorities will be allowed to use their budgets for compensation, resettlement support, and investment in certain components of the national railway infrastructure.

The draft law clarifies the responsibilities of stakeholders involved in the development of national, local, and dedicated railway lines, as well as technical infrastructure and shared facilities between railways and roads or among different types of rail systems.

These additions aim to provide a legal framework for infrastructure projects, such as the construction of shared railway-road bridges.

Source: The Saigon Times