HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is in need of over VNĐ995 trillion (US$44.6 billion) to upgrade the national transport infrastructure in the next five years.

The requirement was expressed by Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyễn Hồng Trường at a meeting yesterday outlining upcoming tasks for the transport sector between 2016 and 2020, reported by Giao thông (Transport) online newspaper.

Trường said the capital would be raised from the State budget, official development assistance (ODA) as well as from Government bonds.

The first major tasks include building more than 1,500 km of expressway throughout the country and upgrading the north-south railway in an effort to raise the average speed of passenger trains from 80km per hour to 90 km per hour; and freight trains from 50km per hour to 60 km per hour by 2020.

The ministry would demolish all houses or building works encroaching on railway safety corridors in the localities of Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, Đà Nẵng, HCM City and Đồng Nai during this time, he said.

The total capital needed to implement these plans is estimated to be about VNĐ227 trillion ($10.2 billion).

The second task would be to target infrastructure around a range of international airports including Nội Bài, Tân Sơn Nhất, Đà Nẵng, Cần Thơ, and Cam Ranh and mobilize capital to construct the Long Thành International Airport, expected to be built in southern Đồng Nai Province, he said.

Upgrades were also planned for main inland waterways connecting the Mekong Delta with HCM City, and other routes in the rivers of Tiền, Hậu, Hồng and Thái Bình, he added.

Global transport infrastructure index constantly rises in 2011-15

Also at the meeting, Trường pointed out the achievements of the sector between 2011 and 2015.

In a report announced by the World Economic Forum late 2015, the Global Competitiveness Index’s Transport Infrastructure Sub-index ranked Việt Nam 67th out of a total 140 countries. The rank is 36 levels higher than in 2011.

The raise in position was thanks to the re-structuring of the transport sector, the building of many major expressways and bridges, and the improvement of rural roads across the country, the ministry said.

Statistics from the ministry showed more than 300 important works have been completed during that time, for example, the Nội Bài – Lào Cai Expressway, HCM – Long Thành - Dầu Giây Expressway, Hà Nội – Thái Nguyên National Highway No 3, Nhật Tân Bridge and Đông Trù Bridge.

The highlighted works help to shorten travel time and save money for road users. It also raises the domestic transport-infrastructure quality index, the ministry said.

This year, the ministry has asked to the Government to invest additional capital of VNĐ10 trillion as counterpart funds for ODA ongoing transport projects. — VNS