The ministry should coordinate efforts with the Government Office to set up a working group headed by Deputy Minister Tran Hong Ha to deploy the project, the government has directed.

The working group, comprised of representatives from several other ministries, will have to gather comments from experts, scientists and veteran railway officials to identify an optimal option for submission to the Politburo.

After securing a green light from the Politburo, the transport ministry will have to work out a pre-feasibility study and submit it for parliament approval this year.

The ministry has to evaluate several options to determine whether the high-speed railway will exclusively serve passenger transportation or include cargo transportation.

The proposed option will have to take into account other transport modes including aviation, maritime and road transport.

As currently envisaged, the project’s main financing will come from the state budget, but other sources will be mobilized for construction of related works.

Last November, the ministry had unveiled three scenarios for the high-speed railway, which would have a maximum speed of 200 to 350 km/h for passenger transportation. Estimated costs ranged from $67.3 billion to $72 billion.