Hanoi urged to prioritise airport rail line

The capital city of Hanoi has been asked to pay attention to mobilising resources to build a rail line connecting the downtown area with Noi Bai Airport and accelerate the implementation of the project.

A section of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong Line
A section of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong Line

The request was part of Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung’s directions on the three planned urban rail lines in Hanoi.

He said the capital city is facing greater pressure on its transport system as a result of an increasing population and a growing number of private cars and motorbikes.

Therefore the city needs to modernise its public transport system, including the urban rail network, in order to ease traffic congestion.

Deputy PM Dung added that constructing rail lines requires huge costs while the state budget is limited, therefore it is necessary to call for private funding in order to finance rail projects and the city’s transport infrastructure in general.

He asked the municipal authorities to promptly complete the project’s documents to submit them to the National Assembly for approval at its year-end meeting, while continuing with other tasks such as technical design.

In his instructions, Deputy PM Dung also asked the Hanoi government and the transport ministry to continue dealing with the problems plaguing the two metro lines currently under construction, namely the Nhon-Hanoi Station Line and Cat Linh-Ha Dong Line.