HANOI, May 15 (Reuters) - The Vietnamese government will

consider a proposal from Vinspeed, a company established by

billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, to develop a high-speed railway

running the length of the country, according to a government

document.

Lawmakers in the Southeast Asian industrial hub in November

approved a $67 billion plan to build the 1,541km (957.53 mile)

railway line linking the capital Hanoi with business hub Ho Chi

Minh City.

The authorities "basically support and welcome the proposal

from Vinspeed" said the document dated Thursday and reviewed by

Reuters.

Vinspeed, formally known as Vinspeed High-speed Railway

Investment and Development JSC, submitted the proposal this

week, saying it would complete the construction of the railway

by 2030, five years earlier than previously targeted by the

government, state media reported.

Vinspeed said the cost of the railway would be 1,562

trillion dong ($60.26 billion), excluding costs for site

clearance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Cong Thuong

newspaper reported.

The company, founded this month by Vuong, said it would

arrange 20% of the investment and borrow the remaining 80% from

the state at a 0% interest rate for 35 years, according to the

report.

Vingroup did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

The government has assigned the Ministry of Construction to

seek opinions from related ministries and agencies to draft a

resolution by May 20 to submit to the National Assembly, the

country's lawmaking body.

In October, the Ministry of Transport said Vietnam would

fund the railway entirely on its own, in a demonstration of the

Communist-run country's reluctance to accept foreign loans.

Vuong is the chairman of Vingroup, once a real

estate and retail conglomerate that has grown to become one of

Vietnam's biggest firms and is the parent of Nasdaq-listed

electric vehicle maker VinFast with a market

capitalisation of $11.7 billion.

($1 = 25,920 dong)