Investors outline plans for Danang-Hoi An rail

In September, at a meeting of Danang People’s Committee regarding plans for an urban railway connecting Danang and Hoi An, Deo Ca Group proposed to prepare a dossier by the end of the year, and set a target of completion by 2030.

A representative of Deo Ca said that the consortium proposing the Danang-Hoi An urban railway also includes KITA Group and FUTA Group as investors; VP Bank and TP Bank committed to providing credit; international and domestic consulting units including China Design Group, CRRC Chongqing, ARUP, and A2Z; and technology and engineering undertaken by CRRC Changchun and Kim Long Motors.

Although early in the process, the railway is highly anticipated because of the sheer numbers of tourists that travel between the two locations each year. Hoi An is approximately a 40-minute drive from Danang airport.

At the meeting, Le Quynh Mai, vice chairman of the board at Deo Ca Group, said that the unit and domestic and foreign partners have completed research on the investment plan for the railway line. According to Mai, Deo Ca is ready to implement the project if approved. Deo Ca was pivotal in connecting with consulting units such as China Design Group and CRRC Chongqing.

The consortium proposed two feasible options for implementation: metro and monorail, with the public-private partnership investment method associated with the transit-oriented development model.

Mai said that the enterprise has been interested in researching this project since 2023. If approved, the consortium commits to ensuring technological and technical factors to complete it by 2030. After this stage, the route could also be extended to Tam Ky and Chu Lai, forming a regional connection network.

Vice Chairman of Danang People’s Committee, Le Quang Nam, said that the city will form two urban railway lines with a total length of 24km. There will be three lines with a total length of 49km by 2040 and 11 lines by 2045. Of these, two are metro lines, three are light rail lines (LRT) serving tourism, and the rest are lines meeting both traffic and tourism needs. “Danang will review the proposal documents of Deo Ca Group and other units to select suitable investors. The entire bidding process will be organised publicly, transparently, and in accordance with legal regulations,” said Nam.

The Danang Management Unit of Priority Infrastructure Investment Projects has approved the plan to select contractors for the package of consulting on survey and preparation of pre-feasibility study reports for the urban railway system in the city. The city will spend more than $428,000 to implement the package.

According to the urban transport planning of Danang to 2030, with a vision to 2045, the locality will implement funding plans for many urban railway lines.

Specifically, between now and 2030, there will be a metro line from the Ngo Quyen-Vuong Thua Vu intersection to Quang Nam and LRT02 line from the airport to Le Van Hien connecting with the metro line. Both will connect Danang with the old Quang Nam province.

In the period 2031-2040, although having enough resources to invest in the entire network, Danang still has to ensure the creation of a basic urban railway network on some main axes with large passenger flows.

Specifically, in this period, trips are still concentrated between existing localities such as Lien Chieu, Thanh Khe, Hai Chau, and Ngu Hanh Son. Focus on investing in LRT routes connecting the northwest and southeast with the city centre.

The LRT routes invested in this period include the entire route from the Northern Bus Station to the current central transfer point of Danang Station. The second metro line is the remaining section from the current Danang Central Station transfer point to Ngo Quyen.

In addition, there is also the LRT6 line, which is the entire route from the foot of Tran Thi Ly bridge and Western Bus Station. The LRT10 line is the entire route from Ba Na tourist area to Nguyen Tat Thanh beach, to connect from the high-speed railway station to the metro 1 line and continue to other locations.

In the period from 2041-2045 and beyond, Danang will invest in a number of urban railway lines in order of priority. The capital demand for urban railways before 2030 is $1.06 billion, $2.92 billion for 2031-2040, and $3.37 billion for 2041 and beyond.