Workers are seen at an underground section of Metro Line No.1, which links Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9 in HCMC

The HCMC Department of Transport, on behalf of a municipal appraisal council, sent a report to the HCMC People’s Committee on the assessment of adjustments to the city’s two metro line projects – Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien and Ben Thanh-Tham Luong.

The appraisal of adjustments to the city’s first metro line had fallen behind schedule because the Ministry of Construction had failed to offer feedback on the revised design, even though the department had sent two official letters as reminders to the ministry, in early July and late August.

Also, the preparations for evaluating capital resources and their balance capacity have not been completed.

Given these hindrances, the appraisal process of the project was again adjusted.

According to the new timeline, the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment, which is in charge of overseeing project adjustments, is expected to report its conclusions following the evaluation of capital resources and their balance capacity to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the Ministry of Finance prior to September 10.

On October 5, the MPI will consider these conclusions, while the Ministry of Construction will decide on the project’s design.

On October 15, the municipal appraisal council will report its appraisal conclusions to the HCMC People’s Committee and send a draft to approve the revised project.

The project will launch commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2021 rather than in 2020 as earlier planned.

“The progress of the appraisal of the revised project relies heavily on the completion of preparations, effective cooperation, reports and explanations from the Management Authority for Urban Railways of HCMC and feedback from the competent agencies,” noted the report.

The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line stretches 19.7 kilometers between Districts 1 and 9. It consists of a 2.6-kilometer underground section and a 17.1-kilometer overhead section, with three underground and 11 elevated stations.

The route was initially scheduled for completion in 2017, but the deadline had to be extended multiple times, owing to problems with compensation and site clearance and long delays in capital allocation.

Funding for this metro line has been raised to over VND47.3 trillion (US$2.04 billion) from the original VND17.3 trillion in 2009.

Once in place, the route is expected to relieve traffic congestion at the eastern gateway of HCMC and boost the sustainable development of the southern economic hub.

According to the report, the adjustment for the city’s second metro line, which links downtown HCMC with Tham Luong Depot in District 12, is also experiencing delays for similar reasons.

Work on the project is slated to start in late 2021 and finish in 2026 rather than the earlier deadline of 2024. Its funding is expected to increase to VND48.8 trillion from the original VND26 trillion.

Thanh Nien/SGT