HCMC – Two metro line projects in HCMC have been lagging behind schedule, so the deadlines for their completion will be extended, according to the Ministry of Transport.
As for the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line, HCMC has proposed delaying the deadline until the fourth quarter of 2023 instead of the fourth quarter of 2021 as planned.
The project is 92.19% completed and expected to reach 93% at the end of this year. However, the deadline must be adjusted due to site clearance problems.
Most construction packages in the project have reached between 83% and 99.64% of the progress.
However, three packages have yet to be executed, comprising the information technology system, the office’s construction for the Urban Railway Operation and Maintenance Company and the consultancy package.
For the Ben Thanh-Tham Luong metro line, HCMC has proposed delaying the completion time until 2030. Since the groundbreaking in 2010, the project has repeatedly requested deadline revision.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the project’s delay is mainly caused by site clearance bottlenecks in District 3.
Until now, the site clearance is 85.15% complete.
The packages for the office building are under construction, while other packages are still in the stage of selecting contractors.
HCMC has some very unique construction challenges, especially since the ground is sinking because of illegal pumping.
It is far better to have completion delayed with high construction standards, rather than a shoddy job.
I use the Bis part daily and the road quality running south from Hoang Quoc Viet for 500-1,000 metres constantly breaks up and this part of the road was constructed from recycled material. There are numerous holes in the road and the intersection has large holes which are hidden by large puddles.
So I say let them do the job properly even if it is delayed.