Vietnam parliament approves US$8bil rail link to China

The 390km line will connect key manufacturing hubs, home to Samsung, Foxconn, Pegatron, and other global firms.

HANOI:Vietnams parliament on Wednesday approved plans for an US$8 billion rail link from its largest northern port city to the border with China, boosting links between the two communist-ruled countries and making trade easier.

Construction of the railway was backed in a vote by 95% of parliamentarians in the countrys rubber-stamp national assembly, an AFP journalist in the chamber said.

The new rail line will run through some of Vietnams key manufacturing hubs, home to Samsung, Foxconn, Pegatron and other global giants, many of whom rely on a regular flow of components from China.

The route will stretch 390km from the port city of Hai Phong to the mountainous city of Lao Cai, which borders Chinas Yunnan province, and will also run through the capital Hanoi.

China will provide some funding through loans for the project, which is expected to cost more than US$8 billion.

It is one of two railway lines to China that Vietnam plans as part of its Two Corridors, One Belt initiative, which connects to Beijings Belt and Road global infrastructure programme.