Under the decision, the Steering Committee comprises 18 members, chaired by Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh. The deputy heads include Deputy Minister of Construction Bui Xuan Dung (Standing Deputy Head), Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Sinh and Deputy Minister Pham Minh Ha. Members are leaders of departments and units under the Ministry of Construction, as well as the Chairman of the Members’ Council of Viet Nam Railways Corporation.
The Steering Committee is tasked with directing research and implementation of orientations, tasks and solutions related to the North–South high-speed railway project; and with overseeing the investor, the project management unit and relevant entities in carrying out the project in line with assigned functions and responsibilities, ensuring progress and construction quality.
Notably, the expert team will mobilise key specialised groups in the railway sector, including operations, infrastructure structures, rolling stock, communications–signalling–control, and traction power.
Previously, the Minister of Construction tasked the Department of Economics and Construction Investment Management with taking the lead, working with the project investor to draw up a detailed implementation schedule, ensuring the conditions for groundbreaking of the North–South high-speed railway project by the end of this year; and called for the fullest possible use of special mechanisms and policies to promptly select a consultant to prepare the feasibility study report.
According to the Ministry of Construction, the North–South high-speed railway project will span about 1,541 km, starting at Ngoc Hoi Station (Ha Noi) and ending at Thu Thiem Station (Ho Chi Minh City), passing through 20 provinces and cities; after administrative re-organisation, this will become 15 localities.
The project is planned to include 23 stations, including five freight stations. Its preliminary land-use demand is nearly 10,830 ha, and more than 120,800 households are expected to be resettled. The preliminary total investment is about 1.71 quadrillion VND, funded by the state budget and other lawful sources, with a target of basic completion by 2035.
At the Ministry of Construction’s conference reviewing 2025 and rolling out tasks for 2026, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that the North–South high-speed railway project is a particularly important task, calling for early clarification of the investment model so that implementation can be pushed decisively from the beginning of 2026.
The Prime Minister affirmed that the project not only matters for transport infrastructure development, but will also create new momentum for socio-economic growth and help restructure the national transport system towards modernity and sustainability.
The National Assembly endorsed the project’s investment policy in Resolution No. 172/2024/QH15, and the Government later issued Resolution No. 106/NQ-CP to roll out implementation.
