Local Vietnamese sources report that the Railway Project Management Unit (RPMU) of the Vietnam Railway Corporation is investing VND 30 trillion ($1.76 billion) to improve Vietnam's railway transportation capacity.
According to RPUM director Tran Van Luc, the investment will be spent on nine projects, with the upgrade of the Hanoi-Lao Cai railway route worth VND 2.5 trillion being the biggest. Construction on the route will kick off by the end of this year and is scheduled for completion in 2012.
Once operational, the route will be capable of transporting five million passengers and 7.5 million mt of cargo annually.
Due to the global economic slowdown, Vietnam's cargo transportation by railway fell by 28.1 percent year on year in the first three months of this year.
Under a development strategy for Vietnam's railway sector up to 2020 which has been approved by the country's prime minister, Vietnam will accelerate railway development to meet at least 13 percent of passenger transport demand and 14 percent of demand for cargo transport.