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Jun 18, 2018 / 12:02

Hanoi eager to quicken railway projects's pace

“This is responsibility of the Hanoi authority and myself included”, Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung said in response to voters` questions over the long delay of metro line projects in the city.

Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung on his meeting with citizens last weekend clarified the reasons behind the lagging progress of some railway projects in Hanoi including metro lines 3 and 2A.
  
Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung
Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung
Over Metro line no. 3 from Nhon to Hanoi station, the Mayor said the delay is due to lateness in dealing and conducting bidding packages, site clearance and difficulties in disbursement, etc. Hence, the city is asking for further support from the government in speeding up its progress. 
Accordingly, Chung said, the first section of Metro line No.3 connecting Nhon and Voi Phuc is scheduled to come into operating in the first quarter of 2020 while the second one from Voi Phuc to Hanoi station would officially run by late 2022.
The 12.5-kilometer-long dual track rail line should have completed in 2017 in line with the initial plan. The total fund poured into the project after two cost overruns has climbed to VND36,000 billion (US$1.5 billion). 
The Hanoi Mayor also mentioned another metro system running behind schedule, Metro line 2A (Cat Linh-Ha Dong), saying the railway would enter a two-month long trial run starting October 30 this year and be handled to Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) for official operation from January 2019. 
Work on the Cat Linh-Ha Dong railway line, which runs for more than 13 km, began in October 2011 and was originally planned for completion in 2013. But several hurdles, including issues with the Chinese contractor, have stalled the project for a number of years.