Vietnam’s US$67 billion North-South high-speed railway: privately built with public money?

Vingroup and Thaco’s proposals to build the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City high-speed rail line both demand substantial state support

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A passenger train at a railway crossing in Hanoi last year. Vietnam approved the new high-speed railway in November as part of efforts to modernise the country’s colonial-era railway system. Photo: AFP

Govi Snellin Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Published: 5:30pm, 2 Jun 2025

Two of Vietnam’s largest conglomerates are vying to lead the country’s largest infrastructure project to date: a US$67 billion high-speed railway linking the northern capital, Hanoi, with the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City.

Vingroup and Truong Hai Group Corporation (Thaco) have entered bids to build the more than 1,500km (930-mile) North–South high-speed rail line. But both are seeking substantial state support – either in the form of massive interest-free loans or government-backed financing.

The proposals have raised questions about the potential for cost overruns and the risk of Vietnamese taxpayers ultimately footing the bill.

Originally proposed in 2010, the high-speed rail project was rejected by the National Assembly at the time due to its prohibitive cost.

But after more than a decade of rapid economic growth, the government approved the plan in November as part of an effort to modernise Vietnam’s colonial-era railway system and propel the nation “into a new era of growth”, according to a statement from the transport minister.

Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary To Lam has vowed to boost the country’s private sector. Photo: AFP

The proposals, submitted last month, followed Communist Party chief To Lam’s pledge to boost the country’s private sector amid intensifying regional competition for large-scale infrastructure contracts – including from Chinese state-backed giants that dominate high-speed rail development across the Mekong region.