Resolution 172/2024/QH15 on the investment policy for the North-South High-Speed Railway Project

RESOLUTION
On the investment policy for the North-South High-Speed Railway Project

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THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Pursuant to the Law No. 06/2017/QH14 on Railways, as amended and supplemented under Law No. 35/2018/QH14 and Law No. 16/2023/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law No. 39/2019/QH14 on Public Investment, as amended and supplemented under Law No. 64/2020/QH14, Law No. 72/2020/QH14, and Law No. 03/2022/QH15;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 29/2021/QH15 dated July 28, 2021, of the National Assembly on the Medium-Term Public Investment Plan for the 2021-2025 period;

After considering the Government's Proposal No. 767/TTr-CP dated November 10, 2024, the Appraisal Report No. 3339/BC-UBKT15 dated November 12, 2024, of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, Report No. 1112/BC-UBTVQH15 dated November 30, 2024, of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on the assimilation, adjustment, and explanation of the investment policy for the North-South High-Speed Railway Project, related documents, and the opinions of National Assembly deputies;

RESOLVES:

Article 1

To approve the investment policy for the North-South High-Speed Railway Project (hereinafter referred to as the Project).

Article 2

1. Objectives:

To construct a modern and integrated high-speed railway line that meets transportation needs, serves as a key driver for rapid and sustainable socio-economic development, leverages the advantages of the North-South economic corridor, ensures effective connectivity between the East-West corridors and with other countries in the region, supports national defense and security, facilitates international integration, protects the environment, addresses climate change, promotes the country's industrialization and modernization, and contributes to achieving the goals and tasks outlined in the documents of the 13^th National Party Congress and other Resolutions of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

2. Scope, scale, and form of investment:

a) Scope: The project spans approximately 1,541 kilometers in total length. It will commence at Ngoc Hoi Station (in Hanoi) and terminate at Thu Thiem Station (in Ho Chi Minh City), traversing 20 provinces and centrally run cities: Hanoi, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, and Ho Chi Minh City.

b) Scale: The project involves the new construction of a double-track railway with a standard gauge of 1,435 mm, a design speed of 350 km/h, and an axle load of 22.5 tons. It will include 23 passenger stations and 5 freight stations, along with the necessary rolling stock and equipment. The high-speed railway will be primarily for passenger transport but designed for dual-use to also serve national defense and security needs, with the capability to transport freight when required.

c) Form of investment: Public investment.

3. Technology: The project will utilize electric locomotives on a third rail, employing modern, integrated, safe, and efficient technology.

4. Preliminary estimates of total land use and resettlement:

a) The project's preliminary estimate of total land use is approximately 10,827 hectares, comprising about 3,655 hectares of land for rice cultivation, about 2,567 hectares of forestry land, and about 4,605 hectares of land of other types as prescribed by the law on land. This includes approximately 3,102 hectares of land for rice cultivation with two or more crops per year; about 243 hectares of land for special-use forests, about 653 hectares of land for protection forests, and about 1,671 hectares of land for production forests;

b) The preliminary estimate of people requiring resettlement is approximately 120,836.

5. Preliminary estimates of total investment and funding sources:

a) The preliminary estimate of total investment in the project is VND 1,713,548 billion (one million, seven hundred and thirteen thousand, five hundred and forty-eight billion Vietnamese dong);

b) Funding will come from the State Budget, allocated through medium-term public investment plans, along with other lawful funding sources.

6. Implementation schedule: The feasibility study report will be prepared starting in 2025, with the aim of substantially completing the project by 2035.

Article 3

The Project will be subject to the following special, exceptional mechanisms and policies:

1. During the project's implementation, the Prime Minister is authorized to:

a) Issue Government bonds to supplement the annual budget estimates and investment plans for the Project if the annual State Budget allocation is insufficient to meet the project's schedule;

b) Mobilize Official Development Assistance (ODA) and concessional foreign loans for the project without the need to prepare a separate project proposal for using ODA or concessional foreign loans; apply the regulations of the foreign donors in cases where Vietnamese law does not have provisions or where existing provisions differ from those of the foreign donors;

c) Utilize increased revenue and savings from the annual central budget (if any) and other lawful capital sources for the Project if the annual state budget allocation is insufficient. The use of such increased revenue and savings is not required to follow the priority order prescribed by the law on the state budget.

2. Funding for the project will be allocated in multiple medium-term public investment plan periods, of which the amount allocated in each period will align with the project's implementation progress, and there will be no limit on funding for the project to be carried over to subsequent medium-term public investment plan periods. The Prime Minister will decide on the adjustment of medium-term and annual public investment plans for the central budget among ministries, central-level authorities, and local authorities to allocate funding for the Project.

3. The Project will not be subject to appraisal of capital balancing capacity as prescribed by the Law on Public Investment.

4. Regarding the development and utilization of land funds and value capture from land in the vicinity of high-speed railway stations:

a) The provincial-level People's Committees will organize the formulation and adjustment of zoning and detailed master plans for the vicinity of railway stations to determine the location, boundaries, and area of land to be recovered. Within the vicinity, the provincial-level People's Committees are authorized to set planning, architectural, technical infrastructure, and social infrastructure indicators, and other spatial requirements that may deviate from national technical regulations, provided that they ensure the adequacy of technical and social infrastructure systems; adjust the land use functions in these areas to exploit land funds and capture the increased land value;

b) For areas with existing approved urban master plans and land use master plans, if changes are proposed to the new or adjusted master plans for the vicinity of railway stations differ from the details of the approved master plans, the decisions approving the new or adjusted master plans will supersede the previously approved master plans, without the need for further procedures to adjust such previously approved master plans;

c) The provincial-level People's Councils will decide on the use of local budgets to implement independent public investment projects for compensation, support, and resettlement in line with the master plans of the vicinity of railway stations, in order to create to-be-auctioned land funds for urban development, in accordance with the law;

d) The provincial-level local government will retain 50% and remit 50% of the proceeds from the utilization of land funds in the vicinity of railway stations, after deducting relevant costs as prescribed by law, to the central budget to help balance the State Budget’s investment in the Project.

5. Regarding the mining of common construction materials for the Project:

a) For mines of common construction materials to be supplied for the Project, which have been licensed and are operating, or those whose mining periods remain valid or expire, or those with reserves for which mine closure procedures have not yet carried out, the provincial-level People's Committees shall decide:

- To adjust the mineable reserves, extend the mining periods, and increase capacity according to the Project's needs, without neither adjustment to the provincial-level master plans nor preparation of adjusted mineral mining investment projects to carry out the sequence and procedures for deciding or approving investment policies nor implementation of procedures for appraising and approving the results of the environmental impact assessments or issuing environmental permits;

- To cease any increase in mining capacity once sufficient supply for the Project has been achieved;

b) For mines identified in the Building Material Survey Dossier of the Project but have not been granted mining licenses:

- The provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide to adjust and supplement the plans for management of geology and minerals under the provincial-level master plans to include these mines, without implementation of procedures for adjusting the provincial-level master plans; use the Project's contingency funds for land recovery, compensation, support, and resettlement with respect to these mines after surveying and evaluating their reserves and quality in line with the Project's requirements and other issues as prescribed by the law on geology and minerals in order to allow organizations and individuals to extract minerals for the Project in these mines; manage and supervise them during the implementation process and after the Project is completed;

- Organizations and individuals mining minerals for the Project are not required to carry out procedures for obtaining mining licenses for mines of common construction minerals identified in the Building Material Survey Dossier of the Project; are not required to prepare mineral mining investment projects and environmental impact assessments, but must implement environmental protection commitments including the following issues: list of work items and activities likely to have adverse impacts on the environment; identification of the affected, and environmentally sensitive elements at the  mining site; identification, assessment, and forecast of main environmental impacts and waste to be generated; scale and nature of waste; impacts on biodiversity, natural heritage, historical-cultural relics, and other sensitive factors; works and measures to mitigate environmental impacts corresponding to the technical standards applied to each waste source; identification and assessment of environmental incidents that may occur and plans for incident prevention and response; solutions, list, volume, implementation plan, and cost estimates for environmental improvement and restoration;

- Organizations and individuals mining minerals for the Project are responsible for paying taxes, fees, and other financial obligations as prescribed by law;

- The minerals may be mined and used until the Project is completed and must be subject to management and supervision as prescribed by law;

c) In cases where the mineral reserves at the mines identified in the Building Material Survey Dossier of the Project have been fully depleted, but the supply of building materials still does not meet the Project's demands, the project owner shall take the lead in organizing prospecting and exploration activities, and shall propose that the provincial-level People's Committees approve the addition of new mines to the Building Material Survey Dossier of the Project. The management, extraction, and utilization of mineral resources at these newly added mines shall be carried out in accordance with Point b of this Clause;

d) The provincial-level People’s Committee, based on actual conditions, shall consider and guide organizations and individuals exploiting minerals for the Project to independently assess the impacts on the riverbed, banks, and shoals for sand and gravel mines located in river and stream sections with high risk of erosion to ensure compliance with regulations on the management of river sand and gravel and the protection of riverbeds, banks, and shoals; inspect and control the use of minerals as prescribed by law.

6. Regarding disposal sites for construction solid waste and the topsoil layer of land exclusively for wet rice cultivation:

a) The provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide on land recovery, compensation, support, and resettlement with respect to construction solid waste disposal sites identified in the Survey Dossier of the Project, and shall hand over the sites to the contractors for the disposal of the Project's construction solid waste;

b) The provincial-level People’s Committees shall manage the Project's construction solid waste disposal sites in accordance with the law on land, the law on environment, and other relevant laws;

c) The provincial-level People’s Committees shall develop plans for utilization of the topsoil layer of land exclusively for wet rice cultivation, which are recovered for the Project. The formulation of this plan shall comply with the law on cultivation.

7. Scientific and technological development, and training of human resources for the Project:

a) Organizations and individuals involved in scientific and technological activities for the Project are entitled to the following policies:

- Organizations and individuals that assume prime responsibility for scientific and technological activities for the Project are authorized to decide on restricted bidding, direct appointment of contractors, and placement of orders to select contractors to provide services and goods;

- Enterprises are entitled to incentives equivalent to those for high-tech enterprises as prescribed by the law on high technology during their performance of scientific and technological tasks for the Project;

- Corporate income tax and personal income tax arising from the performance of scientific and technological tasks for the Project are exempted;

b) Organizations and individuals involved in training and development of high-tech human resources for the Project are entitled to incentives as prescribed by the law on high technology.

8. Regarding industrial development and technology transfer:

a) The Government shall establish criteria for selecting state-owned organizations and enterprises to be assigned tasks, or other Vietnamese enterprises to be contracted, for the provision of railway industry services and goods, as well as for research, application, and the receipt of technology transfers;

b) The Prime Minister shall determine the list of railway industry services and goods to be assigned to state-owned organizations and enterprises or contracted to Vietnamese organizations and enterprises;

c) Main contractors and subcontractors must prioritize the use of products, goods, and services that can be domestically produced and supplied within Vietnam;

d) For bidding packages involving international bidding, the bidding documents must include a mandatory commitment from foreign main contractors and subcontractors regarding technology transfer and human resource training for their Vietnamese partners. This is to ensure that Vietnamese partners can progressively master the management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance of the railway, ultimately achieving technological self-reliance.

9. The competent authority responsible for investment decisions is authorized to divide the Project into component projects and sub-projects upon project approval. This division of the project into component projects and sub-projects is not subject to the law on construction.

10. Regarding the competence to adjust the Project's investment policy and the Project itself:

a) When the National Assembly is not in sitting, it delegates competence to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee to consider and decide on adjustments to the Project's investment policy, except for adjustments that increase the Project's total investment;

b) The Minister of Transport is authorized to make adjustments to the Project in the following cases: where adjustments to master plans directly impact the Project; where natural disasters, fires, or other force majeure events impact the Project after the Project's insurance period has expired; where the price index during the Project's implementation period exceeds the price index used for contingency calculations in the Project's total investment.

11. Competitions to select architectural designs are not required for high-speed railway stations.

12. Regarding compensation, support, and resettlement:

a) Vietnam Electricity (EVN) shall take the prime responsibility for implementing sub-projects related to the relocation of power infrastructure with a voltage of 110 kV or higher;

b) Provincial-level People’s Committees in areas affected by the Project shall develop resettlement areas based on the preliminary design documentation within the Pre-Feasibility Study Report approved by the National Assembly;

c) Heads of competent authorities are authorized to apply direct contractor appointment for consulting, non-consulting, and construction packages related to compensation, support, and resettlement. The procedures for direct contractor appointment shall comply with the law on bidding;

d) If necessary, based on the requests of local authorities, the project owner of the Project shall develop a framework policy on compensation, support, and resettlement to be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.

13. The Project is permitted to have a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) in place of the basic design in the Feasibility Study Report.

14. Regarding change of forest uses and temporary use of forests:

a) The policy regarding the change of recent uses of forests to other uses shall be addressed during the Project's feasibility study phase. The dossier proposing the change of forest uses shall constitute part of the Project's Feasibility Study Report. The decision approving the Project shall simultaneously constitute the decision approving the change of forest uses.

b) The Government shall prescribe the temporary use of forests and subsequent reforestation for the construction of temporary works supporting the Project.

15. Regarding the calculation of total investment and bid package estimates:

a) For work items that are identified but do not adequately align with or are not included in the established system of construction norms and unit prices issued by competent authorities, the Project may apply the system of construction norms and construction prices of similar railway projects in other countries, adjusted to the time of calculation.

b) For work items where costs cannot be determined according to Point a of this Clause, the cost may be determined based on the investment rate per unit of output of similar railway projects in other countries, adjusted to the time of calculation.

c) For cost items not regulated in Vietnamese law or regulated in Vietnamese law but not appropriate for railway projects with similar characteristics and implementation conditions, cost items from similar railway projects in other countries may be applied.

16. Following the National Assembly's approval of the investment policy, the Project shall be added to the medium-term public investment plan, and annual public investment capital shall be allocated to carry out preliminary activities, including:

a) Expenditure tasks of the project owner and the Project Management Board; human resources training for State authorities, project management units, operation and utilization units, training institutions, and research institutions;

b) Payment for consulting services for the Project;

c) Implementation of activities related to compensation, support, and resettlement as prescribed at Points b and c, Clause 12 of this Article;

d) Implementation of public relations and other activities in preparation for the Project investment.

17. Mechanisms and policies to ensure the prevention and control of corruption, wastefulness, and negative practices:

a) When selecting contractors for EPC contracts and consulting contracts involving foreign contractors, the composition of the Appraisal Team shall comply with the law on bidding and include representatives from the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Government Inspectorate, and the State Audit Office of Vietnam;  

b) The project owner is responsible for submitting the finalized total investment dossier, based on the appraisal report of the investment approving authority, to the State Audit Office of Vietnam for auditing as a basis for Project approval. The State Audit Office of Vietnam is responsible for submitting the audit results to the investment approving authority within a maximum period of 30 days from receipt of the complete audit request dossier.

18. During periods when the National Assembly is not in sitting, the National Assembly authorizes the National Assembly’s Standing Committee to consider and decide on the addition or adjustment of special, exceptional mechanisms and policies for the Project.

19. The Government shall issue a Decree to provide detailed guidance on the details, procedures, and competence for implementing the Project's special, exceptional mechanisms and policies.

Article 4

1. The Government takes accountability to the National Assembly for:

a) Organizing the implementation and managing the investment of the Project in accordance with this Resolution and relevant laws; ensuring the Project is on schedule and of high quality;

b) Managing and utilizing capital and resources economically and efficiently, preventing corruption, wastefulness, and negative practices; providing comprehensive information to ensure public understanding and consensus regarding the Project's investment policy;

c) Directing the organization of management, operation, utilization, and maintenance to ensure safety and efficiency.

2. During the operation and utilization phase, based on proposals from local authorities, the Prime Minister shall decide on investments in additional stations in urban areas with high transportation demand.

3. Local authorities and Vietnam Electricity (EVN) take accountability to the Government for ensuring the progress and quality of compensation, support, resettlement, and the sub-projects assigned to them for implementation.

4. Specialized Project Management Boards shall be organized and completed to ensure they have sufficient capacity to manage the Project's investment.

5. Vietnam Railways Corporation shall assume the responsibility for the management and maintenance of the infrastructure and shall organize operation and utilization; mobilize other enterprises to invest in rolling stock; continue to restructure and develop a model for infrastructure management and maintenance that ensures uniformity, modernity, and efficiency; and participate in the development of the railway industry.

Article 5

1. The Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, within their scope of duties and powers, are responsible for disseminating information and mobilizing public support for the Project's investment policy and supervising the implementation of the Project in accordance with this Resolution.

2. The National Assembly’s Standing Committee, Economic Committee, Ethnic Council, and other committees, National Assembly delegations, and National Assembly deputies, within their scope of duties and powers, shall supervise the implementation of the Project in accordance with this Resolution.

3. The State Audit Office of Vietnam, within its scope of duties and powers, shall audit the implementation of the Project in accordance with this Resolution.

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This Resolution was passed on November 30, 2024 by the XV^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 8^th session.