Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) said on the 30th that it has helped strengthen institutional foundations for the construction and operation of Vietnam’s urban rail network through successful completion of Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP) projects with two Ho Chi Minh City agencies: the Management Authority of Urban Rail (MAUR) and Ho Chi Minh Urban Railway Company (HURC1).
The KSP is a knowledge-based development cooperation program led by South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance that offers policy recommendations based on Korea’s economic development experience. KORAIL’s programs ran for about 10 months from January and comprised two tracks: a “legal and regulatory framework KSP” and a “training center establishment KSP,” both involving on-site fact-finding and consultations.
For the regulatory track, KORAIL proposed institutionalizing urban rail regulations and standards, strategies to attract investment, and redesigning roles and responsibilities of stakeholders across construction, supervision and operation to support the construction and operation of Ho Chi Minh City Line 2. HURC1 and other relevant local agencies agreed to reflect KORAIL’s recommendations across 10 planned urban rail lines.
Under the training-center track, KORAIL shared advanced Korean rail policies and operational experience through high-level training for Ho Chi Minh Line 1 officials, proposals for training center management, budget strategy analyses for investment and operations, and development plans for instructor personnel.
KORAIL held successive final project briefings beginning in September to share outcomes and hold in-depth discussions on future directions for Vietnam’s urban rail development.
The corporation said it will use this KSP engagement as a steppingstone to pursue additional urban-rail projects in Vietnam and to expand its presence in the Vietnamese rail market. KORAIL has maintained friendly relations with Vietnam’s rail sector since 2005; through its international training programs, Vietnam accounted for the largest number of trainees—240 participants—through last year.
Jo Jin-hwan, head of KORAIL’s Overseas Business Division, said, “Building on the partnerships established through this project, we will broaden our footprint in Vietnam’s rail industry and seek opportunities such as future high-speed rail projects.”
