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Capital shortage delays Hanoi first metro trial operation
  • | dtinews.vn | September 19, 2017 02:02 PM
The test run for the 13-kilometre Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line cannot be carried out this October as scheduled due to an investment shortfall according to the Ministry of Transport.



An overview of a section of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong Metro line which runs over Hoang Cau Street.


According to Transport Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong, the project is still waiting for an additional loan of USD 250.62 million from China.

"Although the first and second loans have already been agreed by the Vietnamese and Chinese governments, we haven't been able to access the second loan yet due changes in legal framework suggested by the Ministry of Justice," Dong explained.

The project is being completed but the biggest cost relates to the train fleet. The line will have 13 trains but only one has been brought here. The Chinese have completed seven more trains but we haven't got the money to bring them here, the official added.

During an inspection of the project last week, Dong urged the management board and contractors to speed up construction to meet the completion date.

The project’s EPC contractor, China Railway Sixth Group Co., Ltd, explained that the sluggish construction has been blamed for the slow capital disbursement from the China’s Eximbank.

In May 2017, Vietnam signed an agreement with China Eximbank to get an additional loan of USD250.62 million for Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro project. After the signing, the two sides had to complete some legal procedures for loans to be disbursed.

The Ministry of Transport has urged the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice to work with the Chinese bank to speed up the disbursement, but progress has been slow.

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