Long thanh international airport

High-speed rail is more convenient than air

In 2017, during a business trip in Japan, when moving from Tokyo to Osaka, Le Minh Tuan from Hanoi chose to take the Shinkansen high-speed train instead of a plane.

Although the flight time from Narita Airport (Tokyo) to Kansai International Airport (Osaka) is only 1.5 hours compared to 2.5 hours by Shinkansen, overall Shinkansen train is still convenient and more time saving than flying.

“Flight time only takes 1.5 hours but it takes time to go to the airport, check in and baggage consignment… So the total time is longer than using Shinkansen high-speed rail. Shinkansen runs smoothly, has full services, and has wifi, so passengers can work on the train. The train operates absolutely punctually. There is no delay or flight cancellation like taking flights,” Tuan said.

Tuan’s choice is nothing new to people in developed countries. But in Vietnam, if traveling a distance of 600 km (from Hanoi to Hue or Da Nang), most people choose to fly because it is more convenient and much faster.

Because of the convenience of airlines, many provinces want to have airports to facilitate travel, attract investment, and promote socio-economic development, and tourism.

Ninh Binh province is located close to Hanoi, with a convenient highway system. The time to Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport or the Tho Xuan airport (Thanh Hoa province) is only slightly more than one hour, but it still wants to build its own airport.

Many provinces have proposed having their own airports because there is no high-speed railway. However, if there is a high-speed railway system in the next 10 years, then many localities near Hanoi with the high-speed railway passing through will not need an airport.

General Director of the Vietnam Railway Corporation Vu Anh Minh said that when there is a railway with a speed of 200 km per hour or more, no one will fly from Hanoi to Vinh (Nghe An). At that time, railway stations will connect via roads, and people will just need to go to railway stations to take a trip.

Even for the long haul from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, which is now considered one of the four most air dynamic routes in the world, according to experts, when there is a North – South high-speed railway, the number of air passengers will significantly decrease.

Be cautious investing in airports

While many provinces want to build their own airports from now to 2050, only six out of the current 26 airports in the country are working at a profit, including Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Lien Khuong, and Phu Bai. The remaining airports are operating at a loss.

Can Tho International Airport was built more than 10 years ago, but on its peak day, the airport only welcomes 10 flights. At the time this airport was built, the authorities identified that 12 provinces in the Mekong Delta with 20 million people needed to have a regional airport. But when it was put into operation, few people chose to travel by air.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong noted that local governments must carefully calculate when building an airport because investment in airports is huge. If an airport does not operate fully, losses are obvious.

A developed country like Japan does not build many airports but instead focuses on developing high-speed rail. If compared with investment in the airport, construction of high-speed rail is more efficient.

High-speed railway required

According to Vietnam’s railway development strategy to 2020, with a vision to 2050, part of the North-South high-speed railway would be put into operation.

Under the plan, Vietnam would study the construction of a new high-speed railway line with the gauge of 1435 mm, prepare conditions for the construction of routes connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and the sections Hanoi – Vinh, Ho Chi Minh City – Nha Trang would be built first.

The consortium of TEDI – TRICC – TEDIS consultants assesses that by 2030, if Vietnam only focuses on investment in road, aviation, waterways and upgrading the existing railway, it will fail to meet transport demand.

The transport capacity then will lack about 100,000 passengers and 34,000 tons of cargo per day and night.

With the outstanding advantages of capacity and transport speed over medium and long distances (average annual carrying capacity of 100 -140 million passengers), high-speed rail fully meets the transport demand.

If there is a high-speed railway, the distribution of population will be more reasonable. People will not flock to major city centers such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and localities will attract better investment, creating more jobs, and contributing to reasonable population allocation, reducing pressure on big cities.

The high-speed railway project is being studied by several ministries before it is submitted to the Government for consideration and then to the Politburo and the National Assembly for approval.

Previously, the Ministry of Transport submitted to the Prime Minister a pre-feasibility study report for the North-South high-speed railway project with a length of more than 1,500km passing through 20 provinces and cities, with total investment of $58.71 billion, designed speed of 350 km/h, operating speed of 320km/h, and divided into two phases of construction.

Phase 1 is scheduled in 2020-2032 with a total capital of $24.7 billion and phase 2 is in 2032-2050, with total capital of $34 billion.

Vu Diep

Steel prices have risen by 40-50 percent since the end of 2020, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), troubling construction companies.

The Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors asked the Government Office to investigate the price rise and find out if steelmakers were cooperating with each other to push up prices.

The ministry said it was a baseless assumption, explaining that local steel prices depended on prices of intermediate goods needed for production, most of which are imported. The prices of intermediate goods have risen because of long shipping times as the supply chain is hindered by the ongoing pandemic.

The VSA has forecast that prices will continue rising until the end of the third quarter.

The ministry expects demand for steel and steel billet to grow 3-6 percent respectively this year as the real estate industry and construction sectors are reviving and major infrastructure projects like Long Thanh International Airport in southern Dong Nai Province and the North-South Expressway are underway.

The demand for hot rolled and cold rolled steel will hit 10.7 million tons this year, up 30 percent year-on-year, the ministry said. However, local steelmakers can only produce around 5-6 million tons of the two products, thus Vietnam will have to import hot rolled and cold rolled steel to meet domestic demand.

The ministry has recommended that the government issues favourable policies encouraging steelmakers to expand production and attracting new enterprises to the steel industry.

The CAAV proposed adding an additional domestic airport at Cao Bang

Accordingly, the number of airports in the country will remain unchanged by 2030 with 28 airports, including 14 international airports and 14 domestic airports. By 2050, the country will have one additional domestic airport at Cao Bang.

Although the number of airports has not increased, the designed capacity of the airport systems has increased significantly by 2030.

Specifically, the airport system has to meet the transport needs of about 278 million passengers a year, as well as accommodate an average increase of 8.1 per cent a year. Addiitonally, it will also need to handle a cargo throughput to about 4.1 million tonnes a year, increasing at an average of 10.3 per cent per year.

This increase is huge compared to the total designed capacity of about 95 million passengers a year in 2019.

To achieve this goal, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam proposes focusing on major international airports such as Long Thanh, Tan Son Nhat, Danang, and Noi Bai airports.

Preliminary calculations show that the total capital that needs to be invested in airport infrastructure in the next 10 years is about VND400 trillion ($17.34 billion), most of which is to invest in new construction or upgrading international airports.

By Truc Van

PM Chinh made the statement while suggesting the ministry adopt new ways of thinking and approaching when fulfilling its governing duties, during a meeting with its leaders on April 28.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The reported that the ministry is developing five plans for the sector for the 2021-2030 period and vision towards 2050, including those for road, railway, seaport, airport, and inland waterway infrastructure. These will be submitted for the Prime Minister’s review in the second quarter, he said.

He said that, this year, the ministry will focus all of its resources on speeding up the progress of a number of major transport projects, most notably the 654-km eastern section of the North-South Expressway, the Ben Luc – Long Thanh and My Thuan – Can Tho Expressways, and Long Thanh International Airport, improvements to transport connectivity in the Central Highlands, and completing upgrades of runways and taxiways at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat and Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airports.

It is also preparing to begin work on new projects for the 2021-2025 term, with a focus on those with spill-over effects, he added.

He further noted that the ministry will continue tackling problems at toll booths, synchronously and efficiently deploying non-stop electronic toll collection systems and ensuring traffic safety.

Speaking at the meeting, the Prime Minister asked that all 10-year sectoral planning schemes being crafted by the Ministry of Transport remain connected to each other for the formation of a complete national transport network. With plans in hand, the ministry must identify key projects so they will receive sufficient attention in terms of resource allocation.

The PM also urged the ministry to be better in building institutions, saying that exclusive policies and incentives should be designed for each priority area to attract investors.

He held that as State resources are limited, the ministry must promote public-private partnerships, among other measures, and learn from successful models in developed countries when implementing projects. It should adopt a reality-based approach in formulating policies and mechanisms for better resources mobilisation, he added.

The article said Vietnam has strongly emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. With a population of 95 million, the nation was still able to contain the pandemic earlier than many developed countries, and only a few deaths have been recorded so far.

It cited an analysis from James Johnstone, an expert from RWC Partners, that in 2020, although travel restrictions and border closures severely impacted the tourism industry, Vietnam showed a faster recovery than other countries in the region. The outcome was attributable to the number of domestic visitors, which is forecast to continue supporting the growth of the local tourism.

In 2007, tourism contributed just 4.5 percent to Vietnam’s GDP. By 2019, the proportion increased to 12.5 percent. This was due to a large number of foreign investors focusing their capital on the sector, apart from heavy industries and urban development.

According to Johnstone, the improved airport infrastructure system has paved the way for the Vietnamese aviation market’s development. Aviation infrastructure is key to the successful expansion of local airlines and an ongoing promotion of tourism growth. In addition to its two important airports, Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai, Vietnam is building Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai, near Ho Chi Minh City, which is expected to become operational in 2026.

Johnstone said the upgraded infrastructure has helped shorten travel time, thereby helping visitors gain more experience.

The development of low-cost airlines has also contributed to accelerating the growth of domestic and international tourism in Vietnam, the expert added.