A bird's eye view of HCMC's first metro line project. As many as 25 traffic projects in Vietnam could be suspended or delayed due to capital shortages - PHOTO: VNA

These projects, forming part of the country’s 2016-2020 medium-term public investment plan, are funded by the State budget, but they have yet to receive the designated amount of capital, the ministry noted in a report sent to the National Assembly.

The suspension will cause the wastage of funding that has already been invested in the projects. Further, much more funding will be wasted when the projects are resumed after suspension.

Many of these projects do not require a large amount of extra capital and can be executed after they are properly funded to reach completion within a short period of time, the ministry reported.

The transport ministry proposed the Government prioritize funding projects under the medium-term public investment plan for the 2016-2020 period, which will help address debts faced by some projects and support the 25 traffic projects.

Regarding investment for the railway system, the ministry has approved all four major railway projects to rehabilitate and upgrade the Hanoi-HCMC railway. These projects are expected to be completed in 2021.

Besides this, the ministry will continue to renovate the existing North-South rail route and concurrently work on a prefeasibility study for the development of a high-speed rail route stretching from the north to the south. SGT