According to the Hanoi People’s Committee portal, the prime minister issued Decision No. 588 approving the revised investment policy for the Nhon-Hanoi Station urban railway.

The project’s completion has been pushed back to 2027, instead of 2020, as proposed by Hanoi City. Therefore, VND1,916 billion will be added to the project cost, taking the total to VND34,826 billion.

The Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board said that the Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line is a big and complicated project as it needs new foreign technology and standards. Thus, the project has faced multiple difficulties during its course of implementation, according to the board.

The lengthening of the site clearance procedure, a lack of efficiency in coordination between consultants, investors and departments and agencies, the limited competence of contractors and inconsistencies between the International Federation of Consulting Engineers contract and Vietnamese regulations have been blamed for the increase in investment cost and lengthening of the project.

Bottlenecks in specifications, standards, unit price, material costs and specialized railway equipment are also reasons for the project’s delay, said the board.

The Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line with a length of 12.5 kilometers commenced construction on September 2020 and is projected for completion in 2016. After 13 years of execution, the metro line has yet to be put into commercial operation.

Earlier, the project’s investment cost was revised from VND18,000 billion to over VND34,000 billion.

Source: Saigon Times