The Vietnam Railway Corporation on September 9 inked a 47 million USD technical advisory contract to build the first-ever skytrain route in Hanoi .

The contractor is JKT – a joint group of Vietnamese and Japanese companies operating in transport engineering design and railway technical and consultancy services.

According to the deal, JKT, over a period of 74 months, will conduct surveys, create technical designs, support tender procedures, handle land clearance and relocation of residents, as well as human resource training. Finally they will be responsible for operating and maintaining the railway through the end of the period.

On behalf of the skytrain project investor, Tran Van Luc, Director of the Management Board of railway projects, said the first loan agreement worth over 4,68 billion yen (roughly 50 million USD) for the skytrain project was signed between the Vietnamese Government and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The 28 km long skytrain route No. 1 linking Yen Vien and Ngoc Hoi district was ratified by the Prime Minister as part of the Hanoi transport planning scheme through 2020.

Finance for the project is taken from Japanese official development assistance channelled through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and reciprocal capital from the government./.