The Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro project faces continuous delay

According to the Ministry of Transport, following the ministry's request, the company's general director arrived in Hanoi to work with the ministry from December 24-26 on the project's progress.

At the meeting, the ministry asked the Chinese contractor to point out the remaining problems, propose solutions and give a final deadline for the line to begin running.

The ministry also worked with a French independent consultant who was asked to give assessment and suggest measures and warnings on the project with the contractor.

Construction of the 13-kilometre-long Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro project was started since October 2011 with an investment of VND18 trn (USD782m). It links Yen Nghia area in Ha Dong District with Cat Linh area in Dong Da District.

The national key project used ODA from China with China Railway Sixth Group Co. being appointed as the contractor.

The metro was planned to officially run in June 30, 2015 but the deadlines have already been delayed six times.

The metro was put in a 20-day trial run in October 2019 but due to several remaining issues, the official run has not been fixed.

Besides being slow in progress, the French consultant warned about it failing to meet safety standards. Meanwhile, the Chinese contractor could not submit some important documents as required by the French consultant, saying they've lost them.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said that the contractor had great experience in construction but was lacking in the management and operation departments. The said they had worked with the Chinese Department of Transport and embassy many times over the problems and how to speed up the project. Dtinews

Chau Nhu Quynh