A railway worker in Thuan Bac district, south-central Ninh Thuan province. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam could cease to have anoperating train system in less than two weeks unless a funding issue at the VietnamRailways Corporation (VNR) is resolved, an official has said.
The stunning revelation came this week when Vu Anh Minh, Chairman of the VNR's Member Council, spoke at a meeting between theGovernment’s working group and the Committee for Management of State Capital atEnterprises (CMSC).
The railway operator hasn't received a single VND from theState since November 2018, when a change in how it was managed stopped the flowof cash, leaving the corporation without a budget for vital railway maintenance.
The VNR used to be under the management of the Ministry of Transportbut in November 2018, it was transferred to the CMSC, as part of efforts toseparate State capital management from corporate administration.
Before the transfer, annual budget estimates allocated to theVNR for maintenance work were made by the transport ministry, which can nolonger allocate funding as it does not manage the VNR.
However, the CMSC is also unable to approve the budget forthe VNR as the railway law only allows it to monitor the use of the Statebudget for production and business purposes, not for asset management underwhich maintenance work for railways is categorised.
The funding shortfall has left more than 11,000 railwayworkers unpaid since the beginning of this year. If the problem is stillunresolved in early March, the corporation will have to halt train operation,Minh said.
He said to make up for the budget shortage, maintenancecompanies under the VNR had advanced about 200 billion VND (8.7 million USD) tocontinue the work but these sources are limited.
Despite the financial struggles, the VNR still orderedmaintenance companies to continue working to ensure trains run safely, Dang SyManh, VNR’s General Director told the Vietnam News Agency.
The VNR had reported its problems to the CMSC, the Governmentand National Assembly Standing Committee to seek solutions, said Manh.
The transport ministry has proposed taking back the VNR underits control to clear the confusion.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the ministry and the CMSCto assess the proposal and report to the Government in early March.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said theministry had assigned consultant agencies to assess the pros and cons ofre-transferring the VNR to the transport ministry.
The VNR operates more than 1,500 crossroads with railwaylines and on more than 3,000km of railway lines crossing 34 provinces andcities across the country.
More than 7.6 million people used trains in the first 11months of 2019./.
The stunning revelation came this week when Vu Anh Minh, Chairman of the VNR's Member Council, spoke at a meeting between theGovernment’s working group and the Committee for Management of State Capital atEnterprises (CMSC).
The railway operator hasn't received a single VND from theState since November 2018, when a change in how it was managed stopped the flowof cash, leaving the corporation without a budget for vital railway maintenance.
The VNR used to be under the management of the Ministry of Transportbut in November 2018, it was transferred to the CMSC, as part of efforts toseparate State capital management from corporate administration.
Before the transfer, annual budget estimates allocated to theVNR for maintenance work were made by the transport ministry, which can nolonger allocate funding as it does not manage the VNR.
However, the CMSC is also unable to approve the budget forthe VNR as the railway law only allows it to monitor the use of the Statebudget for production and business purposes, not for asset management underwhich maintenance work for railways is categorised.
The funding shortfall has left more than 11,000 railwayworkers unpaid since the beginning of this year. If the problem is stillunresolved in early March, the corporation will have to halt train operation,Minh said.
He said to make up for the budget shortage, maintenancecompanies under the VNR had advanced about 200 billion VND (8.7 million USD) tocontinue the work but these sources are limited.
Despite the financial struggles, the VNR still orderedmaintenance companies to continue working to ensure trains run safely, Dang SyManh, VNR’s General Director told the Vietnam News Agency.
The VNR had reported its problems to the CMSC, the Governmentand National Assembly Standing Committee to seek solutions, said Manh.
The transport ministry has proposed taking back the VNR underits control to clear the confusion.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the ministry and the CMSCto assess the proposal and report to the Government in early March.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said theministry had assigned consultant agencies to assess the pros and cons ofre-transferring the VNR to the transport ministry.
The VNR operates more than 1,500 crossroads with railwaylines and on more than 3,000km of railway lines crossing 34 provinces andcities across the country.
More than 7.6 million people used trains in the first 11months of 2019./.
VNA
