HCM City begins early land preparation for 255-km rail network

With plans to prioritize investment in eight projects and complete 255 km of railway lines during the 2026–2030 period, Ho Chi Minh City has called for compensation, support, resettlement and land clearance work to be prepared at an early stage, rather than waiting until projects enter the investment implementation phase.

These tasks are among the key steps that need to be carried out in advance to shorten the implementation time of large-scale railway projects, particularly as the projects will affect multiple areas and directly involve residents’ rights and resettlement needs.

According to the city's Department of Agriculture and Environment, under recently issued guidelines on compensation, land clearance and ensuring supplies of construction materials for urban railway projects in the city,  the locality will prioritize investment in eight projects and complete 255 km of railway lines during 2026–2030. By 2035, the city aims to complete seven urban railway lines with a total length of 532 km.

The large scale of investment will entail a substantial workload involving land acquisition, compensation, support and resettlement. This will require adequate financial resources and appropriate implementation mechanisms from the project preparation stage.

Leaders of the Department emphasized that land acquisition, compensation, support and resettlement must be regarded as particularly important tasks and carried out in advance.

In addition, the city has asked project investors and commune-level People's Committees in areas where the projects will be built to develop detailed plans using Gantt charts — horizontal bar charts that list tasks along the vertical axis and timeframes along the horizontal axis to help monitor progress. Each task must be assigned to a lead agency and coordinating agency, with specified start and completion dates as well as key milestones throughout the implementation process.

Another mechanism under consideration is the application of special policies for the railway sector under the 2025 Railway Law and National Assembly Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15.