Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong speaks at the Government’s regular press conference on June 2

He made the remarks while replying to a question about the Ministry of Transport (MoT)’s responsibility in the project, especially the Chinese contractor’s recent demand for 50 million USD to be paid before the entire line’s trial run.

Dong said the payment must be made in line with the signed contract, noting that 95 percent of the contract’s value will be paid when the project is completed and pass checks. The remaining five percent will be kept for maintenance like in other investment projects.

The MoT’s Railway Management Board, which is the project’s investor, is responsible for making the payment, the Deputy Minister noted, adding that it has paid 80 percent of the contract’s value according to the finished workload and the contract.

Meanwhile, the ministry is responsible for directing the Railway Management Board in working with the contractor and mobilising resources for the project implementation, Dong said.

Efforts are being made to, together with relevant agencies, complete the project, assess its safety and put the line into operation, according to him.

Despite 99 percent of the workload being completed, the project’s commercial operations have experienced multiple setbacks and been delayed eight times since construction began in 2011.

The 13.5-km-long railway line, from Cat Linh in Ba Dinh district to Ha Dong district of Hanoi, has a total investment capital of approximately 886 million USD after several adjustments, funded by Chinese ODA.

Capital disbursement for Cat Linh-Ha Dong railway project must be in line with EPC contract: official

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) will allocate the funding for the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project to its main contractor, in line with the signed Engineering-Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong has said.

Dong told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that the main contractor asked for 50 million USD for the line’s trial run during recent online meetings with the Railway Management Board.

Documented requests for the payment will also be rejected if they run counter to contract regulations, he stressed.

According to a representative from the Railway Management Board under MoT - the main investor of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project - the contractor requires 50 million USD for the test run and seeks the payment ahead of handover.

The amount is included in the total investment and is not extra spending, the representative added.

However, the project investor was of the view that any payment should be in accordance with the EPC contract. The two sides will therefore continue to further study the terms of the contract for 15 days and then meet for further discussion.

More than 14.37 trillion VND (621 million USD), or 81.9 percent of the total investment capital, has been disbursed to date.

According to a Government report to the National Assembly, the project has been basically completed but has not met requirements to be handed over and put into operation.

There remain bottlenecks regarding equipment, technologies, safety assessments, and financial matters.

The Railway Management Board said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only four senior experts from the contractor are now in Vietnam. Another 150 staff of the Chinese contractor are scheduled to return to Vietnam in early June.

Despite 99 percent of the workload being completed, the project’s commercial operations have experienced multiple setbacks and been delayed eight times since construction began in 2011.
The 13.5-km-long railway line, from Cat Linh in Ba Dinh district to Ha Dong district of Hanoi, has a total investment capital of approximately 886 million USD after several adjustments, funded by Chinese ODA.

Trains will run at a maximum speed of 80 km/h, with an average speed of 35 km/h, and will set out every two minutes./.VNA

Launch date for Hanoi urban railway remains unknown

Hanoi City’s Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project is 99% complete, but some technical problems, hiccups in construction work assessment and approval and difficult procedures have delayed the railway’s launch date.

Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway faces delay of trial operation

Many Chinese experts have yet to return to Vietnam for work due to the rapid spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, pushing back the date of the 20-day trial run of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway.