Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong speaks at the Government’s regular press conference on June 2 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam will pay 95 percent of the value of thecontract for the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project when the project iscompleted, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong said at theGovernment’s regular press conference on June 2.
He made the remarks while replying to a question about the Ministry ofTransport (MoT)’s responsibility in the project, especially the Chinese contractor’srecent 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, notingthat 95 percent of the contract’s value will be paid when the project iscompleted and pass checks. The remaining five percent will be kept formaintenance like in other investment projects.
The MoT’s Railway Management Board, which is the project’s investor, isresponsible for making the payment, the Deputy Minister noted, adding that it haspaid 80 percent of the contract’s value according to the finished workload andthe contract.
Meanwhile, the ministry is responsible for directing the Railway ManagementBoard in working with the contractor and mobilising resources for the projectimplementation, Dong said.
Efforts are being made to, together with relevant agencies, complete theproject, assess its safety and put the line into operation, according to him.
Despite 99 percent of the workload being completed, the project’s commercialoperations have experienced multiple setbacks and been delayed eight timessince construction began in 2011.
The 13.5-km-long railway line, from Cat Linh in Ba Dinh district to Ha Dongdistrict of Hanoi, has a total investment capital of approximately 886 million USDafter several adjustments, funded by Chinese ODA./.
VNA
