The Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line, the first of its kind in Hanoi, still depends on the safety evaluation from the ACT consultants who have not been able to return to Vietnam due to the Covid-19 pandemic, making its inaugural date un unknown, Kinhtedothi.vn reported.
| The Cat Linh - Ha Dong urban railway needed to be put into commercial run. Photo: Le Thanh |
Vietnam's relevant authorities have been trying to clear all hurdles to put the Cat Linh - Ha Dong urban railway into motion as soon as possible so that pressure on the city's transport infrastructure could be eased.
In late March 2020, the Hanoi Party Committee and the Ministry of Transport agreed to set up a task force to map out a plan for the project’s final works. Besides, the two parties agreed on a plan to carry out "conditional acceptance" for the Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway project and thoroughly address all pending issues related to China Railway Sixth Group - the general contractor of the project.
Being the first of its kind in Vietnam, the project must be evaluated and certified for system safety by an independent consultancy organization first. Then, the Vietnam Register will evaluate safety dossiers and issue evaluation certificate before the project can start the commercial operation phase.
As reported by the Ministry of Transport in early October, the contractor has imported 99% of equipment needed for the project.
However, the project has experienced several delays, one of the reasons was attributed to the fact that the Chinese contractor has not provided certificates and documents for independent foreign experts to peruse and evaluate the system’s security, the ministry said.
ACT will assess the project's safety in about three months. Based on the trial operation results and system safety evaluation reports, the parties will consider and conduct the acceptance to hand over the project.
Recently, the Vietnamese government has allowed entry for the Chinese general contractors and the ACT for the Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway project. The procedure for issuing visas to these experts will be carried out through the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the Hanoi People's Committee approval of the foreign expert list list to come to Vietnam. This procedure is expected to be completed by the end of May.
However, as France has closed its borders, the exact time for ACT consultants to come to Vietnam for the system safety assessment has not been determined.
The railway is one of the key public transport projects in Hanoi. Since September 2018, its rolling stock of 13 trains has been tested, with the average speed of 35 kilometers per hour.
The railway is 13.5 kilometers long from Cat Linh Station in downtown Dong Da district to Yen Nghia Station in the southwestern Ha Dong district, and uses standard-gauge rail track (1,435mm).
Project costs have more than doubled from the original VND8.8 trillion (US$553 million) to VND18 trillion (US$868 million), according to state auditors, applying the exchange rate at their respective timings.
