HCMC – The Metro Line No.1 project is 92.53% complete, with depots and stations remain to be finished in the first quarter of 2023, according to HCMC’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).
CP1a, which is one of the two tender packages for the underground section and comprises a tunnel between the Ben Thanh Market Station and the Opera House Station, is 97.39% complete. CP1b, another underground tunnel linking the Opera House and Ba Son stations, is 99.64% complete.
Package CP2, comprising an elevated track and depots, is 96.30% ready, while package CP3 consisting of purchasing and installing electrical systems, rolling stock, and rail, is 83.71% complete.
MAUR said that the contractors are accelerating work on the stations between the Long Binh depot and the Binh Thai station so that it can be done by December 2022.
Manpower has been mobilized to complete the stations along the line between the Phuoc Long Station and the Van Thanh Station by the first quarter next year.
Hoang Van Tu, who is in charge of the elevated stations of the Sumitomo-Cienco6 Consortium (SCC), said that 93% of the Tan Cang station had been finished, with four train lines linking Metro Line No.1, also known as Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien, and Metro Line No.5.
Tu added that 50% of the equipment imported from Europe was brought in by air, as it took up to five to six months to receive goods via sea shipping.
The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien line stretches 19.7 kilometers, with a 2.6-kilometer underground section lined with three stations and a 17.1-kilometer elevated section lined with 11 stations. Its adjusted investment cost is VND43,700 billion.
In 2012, the project broke ground after being approved in 2007. Originally, the project was scheduled to be completed in 2017 and put into operation in 2018.
Due to site clearance issues, the project fell far behind schedule and was rescheduled to the fourth quarter of 2023.
