On Monday, a group of Da Nang’s leaders met with representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport in Ha Noi to discuss the relocation of the city’s railway station to Lien Chieu District’s Hoa Minh Ward.  Specific plans for the deployment of this project will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval as soon as possible. 

Chairman Tho (2nd right), Vice Chairman Tuan (2nd left), and other participants at the meeting

The visiting group included municipal People’s Committee (PC) Chairman Huynh Duc Tho and PC Vice Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Tuan.

The project aims to ease traffic congestion near the existing railway station and reduce environmental pollution in the inner-city.  The new location of the railway station would help to develop a green transport infrastructure link with the city centre, as well as to connect the soon-to-be-built Lien Chieu Port, future national high-speed railway routes, and the industrial parks on the northern side of the city.  In addition, the new railway station will help link the city’s north-south railway system with the Da Nang-Quang Ngai Expressway which is now under construction, and the bypass expansion project on the southern side of the Hai Van Tunnel.  This will help to create a breakthrough for the development of the western and northwestern sides of the city.

According to a plan which has recently been agreed by the municipal authorities, the 1^st stage of the work is expected to cost around 3,451 billion VND.  Included is the construction of 18.26km of new railtrack and the improvement of 7km of the existing.  In addition, a new passenger terminal will be built in Lien Chieu District, whilst the Le Trach goods station will be upgraded.

This stage will also cover the reconstruction of the Nam O and Quan Nam bridges, an overpass at a road-railway crossing, and 4 crossroads at intersections.  A synchronous signalling system will be installed, and locomotive equipment at the existing railway station will be moved to the new one.

At the meeting with Ministry of Transport officials, the city leaders represented many options for funding the 1^st stage.  Most notably, they proposed that the national government should approve a plan to appeal for ODA loans for implementing the 1^st and 2^nd stages of the project.

In addition to the 1^st stage outlined above, the 2^nd stage will cover the construction of a new road linking the new passenger terminal with National Highway 1A and a tunnel to link the city’s western and eastern sides to match with the city’s master plan.  The total cost of the full project is currently estimated at 6,731 billion VND.  In detail, it was proposed that the national government should guarantee Viet Nam Railways Corporation access to ODA loans worth 4,602 billion VND, whilst the remainder should come from the State budget.

The city leaders remarked that the use of ODA loans will help the city complete the project to match with its master plan, as well as take the initiative in managing the new railway station.

If access to ODA funding fails, another plan should be chosen.  In detail, the implementation of the 1^st stage would be based on the build-transfer BT and build-transfer-lease (BTL) investment models.  The project’s developer would cover all the construction costs of the stage, and enjoy the benefit of using the existing railway station land.

In reply, Deputy Minister for Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong highlighted the urgency of starting the relocation of the city’s railway station before the end of this year in accordance with the year’s resolutions adopted by the Politburo, and as per the request of the Prime Minister.  In particular, he proposed that appeals for public investment should be made to construct a new cargo station on the site of the current Kim Lien station, and some works under the project should be begun.