Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project is delayed due to undisbursed additional loan
By An Nhien
December 26, 2017 | 07:16 AM GMT+7
The main reason for the delayed progress of Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project this year was due to problems related to the agreement on an additional loan worth US$250 million signed between the Export-Import Bank of China (CEB) and the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam (MoF) on May 11, 2017, according to an official of the Railway Project Management Unit (RPMU).
Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project.
The Ministry of Justice of Vietnam has agreed and signed "the Legal Opinion of the Agreement" for CEB. MoF has also completed all the formalities and sent to CEB.
However, to date, CEB has still been reviewing and has not officially notified that the validity of the Agreement. RPMU proposed that the Ministry of Transport (MoT) should work with the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam to push CEB to announce the effective date of the Agreement so that the additional loan can be disbursed for the project soon.
Reporting on the implementation of the project, Vu Hong Phuong, Deputy Director of RPMU said that, up to now, 95 per cent of the construction work has been completed.
The remaining 5 per cent includes the completion of single units and Depot infrastructure, and completion of the remaining work items of the terminal including installation of accessories (railings, ceiling, static floor, doors, etc.).
The production and manufacture of all 13 trains have been completed. Up to now, nine trains have been transported to Vietnam. The four remaining trains are being transported on schedule.
The main contractor has not submitted the detailed operation plans, maintenance procedures and related documents except the preliminary operation plan. RPMU requested the main contractor to make a plan on handing over and exploiting the project so that the involved parties can be well-prepared to perform their tasks.
Representative of the main contractor confirmed that the production, procurement, and installation of equipment and completion of the remaining work items are being well implemented. The main contractor has requested for an advance of working capital while waiting for the disbursement of the additional loan.
In order to put the project into operation by the end of next year, the main contractor proposed that the relevant Vietnamese agencies continue to coordinate and support the main contractor in the registry of equipment, installation of power system, approval of drawings, payment and finalization.
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