HCMC – The HCMC authorities are considering spending nearly VND1.67 trillion resuming consulting services for the city’s first metro line, which connects Ben Thanh Market in District 1 with Suoi Tien Park in Thu Duc City.
The cost is part of Appendix No. 19 of a contract with the consulting unit of HCMC’s first metro line project, NJPT. The appendix includes consulting services, training of the metro train conductors and installment of the information technology system.
In late 2021, the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) of HCMC said in a dispatch sent to the HCMC government that the cost was set by the unit after careful calculation.
The cost for the consulting services is high and is related to several aspects. To closely manage the capital of the project, the HCMC Department of Transport proposed the municipal government direct MAUR to carefully select contractors, sign contracts and make payments based on technical requirements, the scale of the project and current prices.
The investor should plan to start next steps to ensure the the progress of the project remains on schedule.
In 2007, MAUR signed a consulting contract worth more than nine million yen with NJPT. The contract would be conducted in 132 months, divided into five phases: basic design and preparation of bidding dossiers, bidding, design revision and construction supervision, maintenance and maintenance consultancy.
The consulting contract was signed based on the expected progress of the project, which was earlier planned to be completed in 2015.
However, due to many obstacles, the deadline to complete the project was delayed, resulting in an increase in the workload, so several appendices were added. From 2009 to 2017, 18 appendices were signed, while the latest, Appendix No. 19, has yet to be signed since April 2017.
To maintain consulting services pending the signing of the appendix, in 2018, the HCMC government agreed to add capital and assigned MAUR to sign a memorandum of understanding with NJPT to extend the contract until October 2020.
Due to the protracted signing, the consulting unit stopped training conductors in late 2020 and suspended many services for the project in July last year.
The first metro line project in HCMC requires an estimated investment of over VND43.7 trillion. The 20-kilometer route includes three underground stations and 11 elevated stations. The project is nearly 89% complete and is set to be put into operation in 2023.
