Installing the first train on the Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The China Eximbankhas disbursed 18.25 million USD for the Cat Linh – Ha Dong Railway Project,said Vu Hong Phuong, Deputy Director General of the Railway Project ManagementUnit under the Ministry of Transport, on May 16.
The amount, part of the delayed 22.75million USD, has been transferred to the Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC)contractor, to be paid to sub-contractors.
The project has completed 90 percent of theconstruction work. Equipment installation is underway, Phuong said.
However, the delay in capital disbursementhas hindered the progress of the project.
The Railway Project Management Unit andrelevant bodies will supervise the payment process for sub-contractors toensure they have financial sources for construction.
It will also push the EPC contractor andsub-contractors to speed up the construction to make up for the delay.
The project is scheduled to begin trial runin October and be put into official operation in the second quarter of 2018.
Originally slated to be finishedtwo years ago, capital issues have hindered the progress of the capital’s firstmetro line, threatening to derail the project.
The Cat Linh-Ha Dong urbanrailway will have 12 stations and one depot area. Out of the initiallyprojected investment of 552 million USD, 419 million USD (76 percent) wereloans from China and the rest matching funds by the Vietnamese Government.
Construction started in 2011 butsince then costs have risen to 886 million USD, exceeding the original figureby 250 million USD, or a 160 percent increase.
An additional preferential loan worth250.62 million USD, negotiated three years ago, was signed between the Ministryof Finance and China Eximbank on May 11.-VNA
VNA
