Both the timeline and the funding policy for part of Hanoi’s metro line is to be extended, setting back completion of the route by several years. Hanoi People’s Committee at the end of April sent a dispatch to the prime minister seeking approval to revise the investment policy of the Nhon-Hanoi Station section of the capital’s metro line. The proposal was drawn based on a March appraisal report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). The People’s Committee proposed to revise the time for project implementation to 2027, not including a 24-month guarantee period, in which the elevated section is slated to be put into use this year, and the entire project including underground section will become fully operational in 2027. The Nhon-Hanoi Station reportedly will be running on a separate line with a total length of 12.5km, of which the elevated section will stretch 8.5km and the remainder is underground. In addition, it asked to scale up total investment to $1.51 billion, up $83.3 million. Almost $170 million will come from the city’s budget, while funding from official development assistance (ODA) will be reduced by $86 million. Following the move, the revised investment capital structure of the project will consist of ODA loans valued at $1.07 billion and Hanoi’s budget at $436.6 million. Currently, many bidding contracts for the project cannot be extended as it has yet to fulfill procedures for the revised investment policy approval. In this context, developer Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board is urging relevant contractors to execute their work in order to ensure the elevated section opens by the end of this year. Authorities have acknowledged the limitations in the implementation capacity of the developer and coordination efficiency between foreign consultant unit Systra, the developer, and relevant management departments and sectors. In addition, the single local contractor engaged in the project, Hanoi Construction Corporation, who handles Bidding package CP05 related to depot architectural works, has also continuously caused headaches over its implementation capacity. The original value of the package was $26.68 million, with the implementation period stretching back to October 2012. After 10 adjustments, the contract value has swollen by an additional $12.1 million. By April this year, CP05 has only reached 78 per cent of the work volume (mostly construction), six months behind a revised progress date and failing to meet many targets such as handover of electro-mechanical sub-packages or closing a depot low-voltage line, both scheduled for June 2022. The Nhon-Hanoi Station venture revised its implementation schedule for the first time in 2014, with the completion date extended from 2018 to 2022. (ICE HO CHI MINH CITY)

Fonte notizia: Vietnam Investment Review