HCMC – The cash-strapped HCMC Urban Railway No. 1 Co. Ltd. (HURC1), the city’s Metro Line No. 1 operator, has been on the verge of going bankrupt given prolonged financial constraints.
HURC1 had used all of its VND14-billion charter capital for operational costs as of August 2021, the HCMC People’s Committee said in a statement.
The firm has reportedly not yet paid employee salaries and social insurance totaling VND6.7 billion ever since. Twenty-one out of 36 employees of the firm have quit their jobs.
However, work on the project is now 94% completed, and the number of employees needed for the metro line’s operations at the end of this year is 706 people.
Contractors have urged HURC1 to arrange human resources for technology transfer, but the company has had difficulty hiring staff.
The city recommended the Ministry of Finance work with relevant agencies to eliminate obstacles in capital allocation for the firm’s operations.
HURC1, founded in December 2015, is expected to run the city metro line No. 1 planned to be put into service in 2018.
However, the 19.7-kilometer railway between the Ben Thanh and Suoi Tien stations has fallen behind schedule.
