Investment in transport key to Vietnam’s economic growth: US magazine

Vietnam is at a crossroads in its development and requires investment in its transportation network to sustain and expand its growth, said US-based Borgen Magazine in a recent article.

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Per the article, titled “Developing Vietnam’s Transportation Infrastructure” published on April 6, since the 1986 economic reforms launched at the Communist Party of Vietnam’s (CPV) sixth national congress, Vietnam has experienced incredible economic growth. However, the country’s transportation infrastructure is still woefully behind many other developed economies.

Regarding the links between infrastructure development and economic activity, the article noted that improving travel networks will have a profound impact on Vietnam’s transportation infrastructure by increasing viable economic activity. It will better connect consumers with producers and decrease the transportation costs for moving products and resources by increasing the efficiency of transporting them.

Additionally, developing Vietnam’s transportation infrastructure directly affects those who suffer from poverty by better connecting areas with little economic opportunity to vital economic centres.

The article said the Vietnamese government has responded to this need by creating a nationwide connectivity project, the North-South Expressway. The 5 billion USD project covers the country at 2,109 kilometers of road, more than doubling the 1,000 Kilometers of current Vietnamese highways.

It added that the coming into effect of the local Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Law will strengthen the Vietnamese legal framework for PPP projects. The law aims at making private and foreign investment in Vietnam’s transportation infrastructure projects simpler, less risky and, therefore, more appealing, said the article./.

VNA