Workers on an elevated section of metro line No.1, which links Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Park in District 9 in HCMC

Today, February 5, the Management Authority for Urban Railways of HCMC (MAUR) urged contractors to accelerate work on the urban rail line between Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Park in District 9, setting a target to complete 85% of the workload this year, news site Vietnamplus reported.

With four main packages, the project is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) official development assistance loans and the city’s reciprocal capital.

Work on the project started in August 2012. By last month, 70% of the project had been completed.

HCMC vice chairman Hoan noted that to ensure the progress of the project, the coordination between the Consulate General of Japan in HCMC, JICA and the HCMC government is vital.

In addition, contractors and consultants should build effective plans, Hoan added.

As previously planned, the metro line was scheduled to be ready this year. However, the protracted adjustments to the investment and technical design of the project impeded its progress.

Late last year, following the approval of the central authorities, the HCMC government issued a decision approving the project revisions, which sent the estimated investment cost of the project to VND43.7 trillion.

Bui Xuan Cuong, head of MAUR, said that MAUR and the contractors would focus on removing obstacles to the project’s execution to meet the target of completing the project by late next year.SGT

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