Increase investment, delay second Hanoi metro line: proposal

According to a proposal that it sent Thursday to the Hanoi People’s Committee, the entire metro line would become operational in 2027, with the elevated section beginning to run in 2022. The project’s final settlements would be done in 2029.

With the proposed increase in investment, the project would cost around VND34.53 trillion. The MRB said the increase in investment is required because of changes in exchange rates, as well as the need to readjust initial designs and technical requirements. Multiple delays to the project have also led to changes to its original schedule, it noted.

The Hanoi Party Committee Secretary Dinh Tien Dung last year called for speeding up work to complete the elevated section by 2022 and make the entire line become operational in 2025.

Among issues affecting the project’s progress were impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, land clearance issues and conflicts with international contractors due to extended contracts and increased costs, the MRB said.

Most of the issues that lie within the capital city’s responsibility have basically been dealt with. Ba Dinh and Dong Da districts are to take care of land clearance issues before September 30. Issues that lie outside of the city’s jurisdiction would be dealt with by a special team created by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the proposal said.

The Nhon-Hanoi Station route, the capital’s second metro line, is now 74 percent complete, after construction began in September 2010. The elevated and underground sections are 95 percent and 33 percent complete, respectively.