Siemens’ President and CEO, Roland Busch, conveyed the company’s interest in Vietnam’s ambitious North-South high-speed railway project during a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi. Siemens proposed offering vehicles for the project and expressed willingness to transfer technology for building carriages and providing the trailway signal system.

The North-South high-speed railway is a significant transportation initiative slated for implementation in the coming decades, expected to be approved in policy by next year with construction scheduled to commence before 2030. Two sections of the railway, from Hanoi to Vinh and from HCMC to Nha Trang, are planned for construction before 2030, with the entire route projected to be completed by 2045.

Siemens’ offers came after PM Chinh suggested the company’s involvement in not only the railway project but also in the construction of the second metro line in HCMC, which stretches 11 kilometers mostly underground and carries a price tag of VND47.8 trillion.

PM Chinh emphasized the potential for Siemens to collaborate with Vietnam across various sectors, including high technology, innovation, renewable energy, transportation (including electric vehicle production), and digital transformation. He also inquired about the possibility of Siemens establishing a research and development center in Vietnam and encouraged the company to engage with the National Innovation Center and local technology enterprises.

Siemens has been present in Vietnam since 1993, with representative offices in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City, along with a manufacturing factory in Binh Duong province. The company has collaborated extensively with Vietnam in renewable energy and transportation, with one solar power project alone estimated to contribute one billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually to Vietnam’s grid. Additionally, Siemens has designed and supplied 16 diesel locomotives for the Vietnam Railway Corporation.