VietNamNet Bridge – A HCM City delegation of top officials led by the secretary of the city’s Party Committee, Dinh La Thang, met with leaders of Nippon Koei on Sunday to discuss the progress of the city’s Ben Thanh–Suoi Tien metro line, also known as Metro Line No. 1.  

The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro is expected to be completed by 2020.

Nippon Koei, which is the main consulting contractor for the metro line, said that Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry had completed the pre-feasibility study of the extension of the Metro Line 1 to Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces.

The cost of the extension will be covered by Japanese official development assistance (ODA).

Nippon Koei asked the HCM City’s delegation to work with the two provinces to ensure smooth implementation.

A Nippon Koei executive said that construction difficulties on the metro line had slowed down progress, but the company promised to take steps to speed up the project and improve the quality of consulting advice on all of its projects in Viet Nam.

At the meeting, Le Thanh Liem, deputy chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, said the first metro line was important for the city as well as the country, and that there was no room for errors during construction.

He said the consulting job was especially crucial.

Thang asked Nippon Koei to refrain from cutting expenses by hiring less than qualified workers.

Meanwhile, the city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) has urged all of the project contractors to complete the Metro Line 1 before 2020.

MAUR will meet the leaders of Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces this month to talk about the extension of the metro.

Nippon Koei, which is involved in seven construction projects in the city, has shown interest in others.

Thang said the company needs to perform well in the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro project so that it can have opportunities to join other projects.

VNS