Fabrice Mauries, Consul General of France in HoChi Minh City, made the remark on May 28 at a seminar with leadingVietnamese and French experts in rail transport and urban planning,adding that it is a concrete illustration of the bilateral partnershipbetween the two countries.
The event, which was heldin this southern economic hub by the French Embassy in Vietnam, theFrench Agency for International Business Development in Vietnam andthe Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Unit, is part of economicactivities to mark Vietnam-France Year.
Thediplomat said that developing urban railway systems is an important areain the France-Vietnam partnership, which is manifested by theconstruction of a pilot line in Hanoi with a majority of Frenchfinancial assistance.
With annual GDP growthof 7 percent over the past 20 years, population growth of one millionpeople per annum and the fast speed of urbanisation, experts sayVietnam needs an urban railway network to meet growing socio-economicdemand.
The seminar created an avenue for theVietnamese side to update information on its fledgling urban railway andplanning, and for the French side as well as international firms toseek opportunities for railway construction projects in Vietnam,said Hoang Nhu Cuong, Vice Director of the Ho Chi Minh City UrbanRailway Management Unit.
Discussions touched uponrelated issues such as the creation of future railway lines, ticketsystems, public transport infrastructure planning, and the control ofrisks, safety and working conditions.
Hanoi isplanning to build eight urban railway lines, of which four having beenimplemented, in Ho Chi Minh City, the figure is 10, including one tramand two monorail routes, according to data presented at the seminar.-VNA
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