HANOI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua): Vietnam's Ministry of Construction has set a target to start construction of the North-South high-speed railway in December 2027, Vietnam News Agency reported Wednesday.

Procedures are underway to select consultants for the investment preparation stage, the report said.

To accelerate the project's progress, the ministry has asked project management boards to develop detailed implementation plans with clearly specified work items and timelines.

The North-South high-speed railway project will have a total route length of about 1,541 kilometers, passing through 15 provinces and centrally governed cities. The line will start at Ngoc Hoi station in Hanoi and end at Thu Thiem station in the southern hub of Ho Chi Minh City.

It is designed to operate at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, with a preliminary total investment of about 67.34 billion U.S. dollars.

Photo from Vietnam Economic Times (VET)