HCMC – HCMC has proposed delaying the expected completion date of its second metro line project to 2030, four years later than the previous plan, although site clearance for the project has been nearly complete.
According to the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) of HCMC, compensations for site clearance of the entire project have been 99.67% complete. Particularly, compensations in the districts of 1, 10, 12, Tan Binh and Tan Phu have been fully complete.
Over 80% of the compensated households have handed over their lands to the city.
MAUR said Germany’s KfW Development Bank, a sponsor of the project, has agreed with its proposal to delay the project’s planned completion until 2030.
The authority explained that the slow site clearance progress has affected the selection of contractors for major components of the project.
Besides, the Implementation Consultant stopped supporting the project in 2018. The consultant and HCMC held dialogues in 2020 and 2021 to discuss the appendix of the contract No. 13 but they failed to reach a joint agreement.
Capital is also one of the issues that affect the progress of the project. The project initially required an investment of US$1.3 billion, but was later adjusted to US$2.1 billion (VND47.9 trillion).
KfW, the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank are funding nearly VND37.5 trillion for the project and the remainder will come from Vietnam’s counterpart funds.
Two loans worth US$313 million in total with KfW for the project expired in 2020 but have not been extended, while in August 2020, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal to cancel a US$390-million loan from the Asian Development Bank to fund the project.
HCMC’s second metro line, linking Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Tham Luong Depot in District 12, will be 11 kilometers long and have 10 stations.
It is set to pass through Districts 1, 3, 10, 12, Tan Binh and Tan Phu, requiring total space of over 251,000 square meters.
