Vietnam Railways targets 7 per cent revenue growth in 2019

The meeting to review the 2018 performance of VNR

VNR held a meeting on January 12 to review its performance in 2018 and set targets for this year, with a number of key tasks.

“VNR will focus on the implementation of the restructuring plan for the 2017-2020 period once it receives the approval from authorised agencies. It will concentrate on the development of key projects, including those funded by the VND7 trillion ($304 million) G-bond package, and on producing new locomotives,” said Vu Anh Minh, chairman of VNR.

VNR will take measures to reduce traffic accidents by 5 per cent in 2019, while continuing to work on reducing operation costs, improving service quality, and boosting IT application.

Addressing the event, Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong highlighted the better performance of the railway giant in 2018 after years of enduring poor business results.

“I expect that VNR will be able to achieve the targets set for 2019, including a business growth of 8 per cent, completion of legal documents, as well as the effective use of VND2.9 trillion ($126.08 million) worth of state funding for railway maintenance and the VND7 trillion ($304 million) G-bond package,” he added.

2018 was yet another challenging year for VNR amid stiffening competition from other segments, such as aviation and road transport. The incomplete legal documents guiding the implementation of the Railway Law has caused difficulties for the company’s operations.

State funding for the railway sector remains low. No new projects were carried out in 2018, thus creating no breakthrough in the improvement of the sector’s capacity.

Although the numbers of deaths and traffic accidents fell last year, traffic safety remains a big concern because of numerous passages opened by locals along the North-South railway network. 260 rail traffic accidents were reported in 2018 (down 24.4 per cent), resulting in 122 deaths (20.8 per cent) and 182 injuries (17.3 per cent).

Despite the difficulties, VNR made a consolidated revenue of VND8.26 trillion ($359 million), up 1.9 per cent on-year, while the average income of labourers rose by 2.9 per cent on-year to VND8.46 million ($367.82).

During the year, VNR also intensified its cooperation with state-owned corporations and others by signing cooperation agreements to increase its operational efficiency, including Dien Quang JSC, Mobifone, and Vietcombank, following those signed in previous years with Petrolimex, Vietnam Post Corporation (VNPost), Saigon Newport Corporation, and SASCO.