The groundbreaking ceremony held at Hải Dương Nam Station in the northern port city of Hải Phòng. — VNA/VNS Photo

LÀO CAI — Deputy Prime Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn on Friday attended the ground-breaking ceremony for five stations as part of the Lào Cai–Hà Nội–Hải Phòng railway project in the northern province of Lào Cai.

The event was held jointly by the Ministry of Construction and the People’s Committees of the six northern localities that the railway line runs through – namely Lào Cai, Phú Thọ, Hà Nội, Bắc Ninh, Hưng Yên, and Hải Phòng.

Officials kicked off the ground-breaking ceremony at Lào Cai Station in Lào Cai Province, with four other venues connected online from Phú Thọ Station in Phú Thọ Province, Bắc Hồng Station in Hà Nội, Lương Tài Station in Hưng Yên Province, and Hải Dương Nam Station in Hải Phòng City.

The railway has a total main line length of about 390.9km and branch lines totalling about 27.9km.

It is a single-track railway with a standard gauge of 1,435mm.

The railway line runs through six provinces and cities. — VNA/VNS Photo

Trains on the new line will run at a design speed of 160km per hour on the main section from Lào Cai Station to Nam Hải Phòng Station, 120kph on sections passing through the Hà Nội hub area and 80kph on the remaining sections.

The railway passes through six provinces and cities and will stop at 32 stations in total.

Its starting point connects with China’s railway network in Lào Cai Province, while the terminus is at Lạch Huyện Port Station in the Cát Hải special zone in Hải Phòng.

With a total investment of more than VNĐ203.2 trillion (about US$7.7 billion), the project is being implemented through public investment, with efforts to complete it by no later than 2030.

The project’s first phase covers investment in infrastructure connecting stations along the line and station squares, with a total investment of over VNĐ3.2 trillion.

Its second phase will involve the construction of the railway line from the cross-border rail connection point in Lào Cai to the terminal at Lạch Huyện Station, with a total investment of about VNĐ155.5 trillion.

The ground-breaking of the first phase marks an initial step toward realising the goal of building a modern railway line to meet transport demand along the East–West corridor and enhance international rail connectivity between Việt Nam and China.

Once completed, the Lào Cai–Hà Nội–Hải Phòng railway is expected to become an important driver of fast and sustainable socio-economic development, fully leveraging multimodal transport advantages along the Lào Cai–Hà Nội–Hải Phòng economic corridor.

It will also contribute to national defence and security, international integration, environmental protection and climate change response, while promoting the country’s industrialisation and modernisation.

According to Chinese Ambassador to Việt Nam He Wei, the standard-gauge Lào Cai–Hà Nội–Hải Phòng railway is a key cooperation project between China and Việt Nam, receiving close attention and guidance from the top leaders of both Parties and States.

Chinese Ambassador to Việt Nam He Wei delivers a speech at the ground-breaking ceremony in Lào Cai Province on Friday. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

With the support and direction of relevant authorities from both countries, China has provided assistance to Việt Nam in completing project planning and pre-feasibility studies. Feasibility studies are currently being advanced in a steady and orderly manner, he said.

The ambassador confirmed that China will continue to work closely with Việt Nam on technical design, laying a solid foundation for the smooth implementation of the entire project. — VNS