French Ambassador Pledges Support for Vietnam's North-South Railway

Olivier Brochet, the French Ambassador to Vietnam, stated his readiness to cooperate and accompany Vietnam in building the North-South high-speed railway at the inauguration ceremony of the Nhon-Ha Noi metro line, held on the morning of November 9th at S8 station - Cau Giay station.
November 10, 2024 | 12:22
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Speaking at the ceremony, Duong Duc Tuan, vice chairman of Hanoi People's Committee stated that the commercial operation of the project has significant meaning in forming new habits in public transportation for Hanoi people.

French Ambassador Pledges Support for Vietnam's North-South Railway
Hanoi leaders, along with the EU Ambassador to Vietnam and the French Ambassador to Vietnam, officially pressed the button to operate the Nhon-Ha Noi metro line. Photo: Quang Vien

At the same time, it marks an important milestone symbolizing the cooperation between the French Republic and Vietnam in the field of sustainable urban transportation.

"After more than 3 months of commercial operation, the project has shown the attractiveness of the new public transport means. Up to now, the elevated section of the line has served more than 2 million passengers, becoming a convenient daily means of transportation for a part of the capital's population," said Tuan.

The Hanoi People's Committee leader believes that this event is a motivation for Hanoi to build more metro lines in the future, aiming to form a modern and synchronous public transport network.

France pledges its support for Vietnam's North-South high-speed rail project

Olivier Brochet assessed this as a typical project for bilateral cooperation between France and Vietnam. In addition, French companies selected to participate in the construction of the Nhon-Ha Noi metro line have brought the most advanced technologies.

"The Hanoi urban railway line number 3 that we are inaugurating today demonstrates a shared commitment to helping Vietnam achieve its set goals, while helping Hanoi reduce traffic congestion, and improve people's lives," said Ambassador Olivier Brochet.

French Ambassador Pledges Support for Vietnam's North-South Railway
Olivier Brochet - French Ambassador to Vietnam

Recalling the visit of General Secretary To Lam to France in October 2024 and the upgrading of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Brochet said that sustainable development, the field of urban and railway transportation are two essential pillars in the cooperation between the two countries.

"At a time when Vietnam is considering developing the North-South high-speed rail project, we would like to reaffirm that France is ready and willing to cooperate and accompany Vietnam. We have projects that Vietnam can refer to, most recently the high-speed train line in Morocco," said Ambassador Olivier Brochet.

French Ambassador Pledges Support for Vietnam's North-South Railway
The 8.5km elevated section of the Nhon-Ha Noi metro line is now open to the public.

Regarding the remaining four stations of metro line number 3 and other tasks in the next phase of the project, Brochet affirmed that the French side will mobilize all resources to accelerate the completion progress.

Julien Guerrier, EU ambassador to Vietnam, is pleased to announce that through a partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD), the EU has mobilized EUR10 million (US$10.71 million) to fund preparatory activities for the extension of metro line 3 from Ha Noi station to Hoang Mai district.

On this occasion, the delegates also inaugurated the public art work "5 am, Hanoi wakes up" by artist Nguyen Xuan Lam, through the support of AFD for the METIS fund inside S8 station - Cau Giay station.

The artwork. Photo: Quang Vien
The artwork. Photo: Quang Vien

This is the first public artwork in Vietnam to be placed at a metro station.

Inspired by the design of Hanoi's tram at the beginning of the 20th century, the work depicts a massive fossilized train car made from over 15,000 pieces of ceramics with a height of over 2.8m and a width of over 3.5m.

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