Hanoi’s Cat Linh – Ha Dong urban railway will be put into commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2018 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi’s Cat Linh – HaDong urban railway will be put into commercial operation in the fourth quarterof 2018, according to Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong.
The ministry will hand over the long-delayedproject to Hanoi once it is completed, Dong said, adding that the main Chineseengineering-procurement-construction contractor will maintain the railway until2021.
In 2017, the implementation of the project was delayeddue to the slow provision of additional capital worth 250.6 million USD. On December28, 2017, all procedures bottlenecks were removed; hence the Export-Import Bankof China was able to disburse the money, Dong said.
He added that the ministry will work with theChinese general contractor to address any difficulties while implementing theproject.
Deputy director of the ministry’s railwayproject management board Vu Hong Phuong said 95 percent of the basicconstruction has been completed while 80 percent of the equipment has been importedfor installation.
The contractor is completing the terminal systemso the railway can be run on a pilot basis in September this year.
Human resources training has been pushed aheadto ensure the effective operation of the railway, Phuong added.
The Cat Linh – Ha Dong railway project has totaladjusted investment of more than 20 trillion VND (886 million USD) sourced by officialdevelopment assistance loans from China.
The 13 kilometre Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban elevatedrailway will have 12 stations and one depot area. The railway is set to operatetrains with carrier frequency of every two minutes and a maximum speed of 80kilometres per hour.
Constructionon the project was meant to start in 2008 but was delayed until October 2011.The line was originally expected to start running in November 2013. -VNA
VNA
