The railway costs VND140,000 billion, part of a larger plan. Vietnam aims to invest VND38.5 quadrillion in the next five years, which is 40% of its GDP.

To grow, Vietnam needs to use a lot of resources. The country plans to spend VND8.22 quadrillion, with VND6.5 quadrillion from the budget, a big increase from the past.

Of the VND8.22 quadrillion, VND3.8 quadrillion comes from the central budget and VND4.42 quadrillion from local budgets. This means local areas will get more resources.

Vietnam will have fewer but bigger public investment projects, about 30% less than before, to make them more effective.

Instead of many small projects, Vietnam now wants fewer, bigger ones that can drive growth and create jobs.

Big projects need a lot of money. Balancing resources will be challenging and depends on sustaining growth and budget discipline.

The plan for the next five years is closely tied to achieving double-digit growth. State budget revenue is expected to increase, and investment expenditure will be higher.

The VND8.22 quadrillion will help ensure public investment is about 20% of total investment, leading to more non-state investment.

Big projects are starting across Vietnam.

Several big construction projects need huge capital: the North-South high-speed railway, power generation, metro systems, a nuclear power plant, and an airport.

The high-speed rail, power, and metro projects need VND8 quadrillion. The power sector alone needs VND3.4 million billion.

Never before have so many big construction sites been planned, from railways to urban expansions.

Hanoi and HCMC need about VND5 quadrillion each for 2026-2030, totaling nearly VND10 quadrillion, 30% of the national capital demand.

Twenty-seven big urban projects have total investment of about $115 billion. There are also 3,297 real estate projects with total capital of VND7.42 million billion.

In 2025, 564 key projects with total capital of more than VND5.12 quadrillion were started or inaugurated, a record year.

This figure is lower than the non-budget capital needed for one year of the new term: VND6.1 quadrillion.

What was once the peak investment level is now the minimum for each year of the 2026-2030 period.

The VND8.22 quadrillion in public investment is just the start. The rest, VND30.5 quadrillion, must come from other sources like domestic enterprises and international capital.

Tu Giang