Vietnam: The South Korean manufacturer and Vietnamese corporation THACO have signed a contract to that effect, building on the strategic partnership agreement the two sides concluded earlier.
Under the document, Hyundai Rotem will hand THACO its design documentation, technical specifications, descriptions of production processes and quality management systems. The manufacturer will also train THACO engineers and managers in South Korea and send its own specialists to Vietnam to oversee production, assembly, testing and quality control. The agreement further covers the manufacture of trains, locomotives and components in Vietnam.
In April the companies won a joint order for 162 cars worth around $330 mln for Ho Chi Minh City metro Line 2. Under that contract, Hyundai Rotem will build six cars in South Korea and supply the Vietnamese corporation with 156 CKD kits for final assembly of the trainsets in country.
To produce the rolling stock, THACO intends to build an industrial complex near the capital, comprising production shops, a service centre and test tracks. Localisation is expected to cut life-cycle costs by 20 to 30%.
At present, assembly and modernisation of passenger and freight cars in Vietnam is handled by national operator VNR and the private Gia Lam Train. Locomotives and multiple-unit rolling stock are not yet built in the country. Vietnam currently operates 258 locomotives, 980 passenger cars and 4,300 freight cars, a substantial share of which are due to be withdrawn from service during this decade.
VNR has put its potential procurement for 2030 to 2050 at 261 locomotives, 1,000 passenger cars, 7,000 freight cars, 1,500 urban EMU cars and 1,100 high-speed rolling stock cars.
