Although Hanoi’s first elevated railway line running from Cat Linh to Ha Dong has completed 99% of workload, its inauguration date remains unknown and Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) has admitted its responsibility for the issue.In the report sent to the National Assembly, the MoT listed site clearance and lack of experience among the causes for the long-delayed sky train and continued to avoid giving a deadline for the project's inauguration.
Cat Linh - Ha Dong Railway has not been put into operation. Photo: Minh Chau
|
The project is technically complex with the application of new technologies applied for the first time in Vietnam. Many items have never been executed in the country while Chinese protocols and technologies must be applied, the ministry said.
The MoT added that as the project is implemented in downtown Hanoi, site clearance and the relocation of road technical infrastructure were big complications. In addition, the interchanges between the metro line and other means of public transport had not been planned, so the time for discussion, agreement and approval lengthened, contributing to the standstill.
The ministry admitted that it lacks experience in the field and the Chinese contractor also has no expertise in executing turnkey projects.
In addition, the disbursement for the additional loans has encountered many issues because the parties had not agreed on the legal terms of the financing agreements.
Especially, according to the MoT, the general contractor did not follow the instructions of the ministry in some contents. Therefore, the ministry had to send reports to the Vietnamese government to ask for further instructions.
Work on the Cat Linh-Ha Dong sky train, which extends more than 13 kilometers, started in October 2011 and was originally scheduled for completion in 2013. It is also experiencing cost overruns.
