Vietnam Launches High-Speed Rail and Stadium Construction Amid Major Infrastructure Investments

Construction began in April on Vietnam's first bullet train line, a 120-kilometre track linking Hanoi and Ha Long that will enable trains to travel up to 350 kilometres per hour. 2 billion), excluding land acquisition expenses. Abc reported the project as part of a surge in infrastructure activity, with the government planning to start work in 2026 on a second high-speed rail line spanning 1,541 km from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

That longer rail project lacks a feasibility study but would cut the journey from 30 hours to under six hours, while also transporting goods and serving defence purposes, according to state media reports. 7 quadrillion dong ($94 billion) project in December 2025.

In late April, Vingroup announced the stadium previously known as Lac Viet and then Trong Dong would be renamed Hung Vuong Stadium, honoring the ancient founders and rulers of the first Vietnamese state. The stadium, designed to resemble a giant Vietnamese drum, is currently a 24-hour construction site and is expected to be completed by 2030.

Vingroup stated it will feature the world's biggest retractable roof and hold 135,000 spectators, with 3,000 more seats than the Narendra Modi Stadium in India, rivaling North Korea's Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, estimated to accommodate between 114,000 and 150,000 people.

2 million people. The stadium's initial name, Lac Viet, honored the ancient indigenous people of Vietnam's north, while Trong Dong referenced its design inspired by Dong Son drums. Abc reported this as emblematic of Vietnam's infrastructure drive, with hundreds more projects planned, including nuclear power plants, highway expansions, airports, and additional rail initiatives.

Communist Party General Secretary and recently elected President To Lam is leading the infrastructure boom, according to Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow in the Vietnam studies program at Singapore's Yusof Ishak Institute. 'Lam really wants to put his signature on building something big, something grandiose, to mark what he calls a new era of 'national rise' in Vietnam,' Giang said.

He added, 'The population is growing, and the demand is growing.

So, I don't think Vietnam can afford having less infrastructure. To Lam told senior Communist Party members in 2026 that the country cannot accept low economic growth, as Vietnam aims to become an upper-middle-class economy by 2030. Achieving that requires raising GDP per capita by 70 percent from the current 135 million dong ($6,900).

The ruling Communist Party agreed to the goal of turning Vietnam into a high-income economy by 2045. Many projects had stalled before To Lam took office, but Vietnam made sweeping changes to 86 laws last year, covering foreign investment to project approval.

Vietnam has turned to the US and China for funding, including plans for two rail lines to China as part of the Two Corridors, One Belt initiative connected to China's Belt and Road program.

Local resident Chung was paid nearly 2 billion dong ($105,700) for his farmland by Vingroup to enable the Olympic park development. 'We can never benefit from that huge stadium,' Chung said. Separately, Ho Chi Minh City's second metro line broke ground in January 2026, 16 years after its first approval.

Vietnam set a goal of 10 percent GDP growth year on year, according to Thang Nam Do, which would exceed the World Bank's projection of 7-8 percent annual rise needed to meet the 2045 high-income economy target. Local media reported in April 2026 that labour shortages are affecting completion of sites for the 2027 APEC summit.

Vietnam withdrew from hosting the Asian Games in 2019, citing budget restraints after winning the bid for Hanoi.