The contractor for Hanoi’s first metro line must make it start commercial run in 2019, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said during a recent inspection at the Cat Linh – Ha Dong metro line.Dung stressed the contractor must overcome challenges, adding that the project needs to meet all safety standards before beginning operation.
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung and some of Hanoi's officials are on a trial run of the Cat Linh – Ha Dong metro line. Photo: Viet Linh
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According to Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung, the project was supposed to begin commercial operation in September 2017. In anticipation of this, the city has spent a considerable budget amount to pay salaries for 1,000 people who have been recruited and trained to run the metro line.
"The training ended two years ago but as the project lags behind schedule, the personnel remains idle, some workers have left their jobs, while the city has spent nearly VND300 billion (US$ 12.9 million) a year from 2018 in preparation for the operation of the metro line," Chung said.
Transport Minister Nguyen Van The admitted the project is delayed by three to four years, though the workload of Cat Linh – Ha Dong project has been 99% completed.
"All related government agencies must sit down with the contractor to resolve all remaining problems so that the project can begin operating within one to a month and a half. The ministry has also asked the Vietnamese government to adjust a number of mechanisms and policies so that the metro line could start running soon,” The said.
In addition, Minister The also asked stakeholders to ensure that no congestion occurs once the metro line is operational since the automatic ticket counters at the stations are not working. In addition, they must ensure the safety of the trains and the automatic control system.
On September 25, Deputy Minister of Transportation Nguyen Ngoc Dong said the Cat Linh - Ha Dong metro line project was still incomplete and that the project will not be commercially available this year.
The project has been delayed because the Chinese EPC contractor has failed to provide sufficient documents for many project items, thus the Vietnamese side is unable to appraise its quality for contract liquidation.
Work on the Cat Linh - Ha Dong metro line began in 2011 and was originally scheduled for completion in 2013. But several hurdles, including the stagnant loan disbursement by China which was only resolved in December 2017, have stalled it for years.
Project costs have more than doubled from the original VND8.8 trillion (US$377 million) to VND18 trillion (US$771 million), according to state auditors.
