HCMC – The Government Inspectorate on November 25 announced the findings of an investigation into violations at the Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line project in Hanoi.
Accordingly, the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB), the investor of the project, signed a contract on the execution of the metro line’s package No. 3 when the land for the package was yet to be cleared completely, which went against the prevailing regulations. At the time of inspection, the handover of the site for the project was yet to be completed, the local media reported.
Due to the slow land handover, the contractor of the project incurred an additional cost of some US$40 million, posing a high risk of losses for the State budget and violating Item 3, Article 64, of the 2013 Law on Bidding.
Regarding the adjustment of a consulting service contract for the project leading to the value of the contract increasing by 6.5 million euros (US$7.8 million), the Government Inspectorate affirmed that some adjustments resulted in the cost hike but the tasks of the consulting firm, France’s Systra Group, remained unchanged. The cost hike was attributed to the slow fulfillment of tasks by Systra.
The project was considered to be complicated, large scale and one which was executed using advanced technology. However, under the contract, the consulting package was planned to be conducted within just 25 months and would require 10.6 million euros, which was unfeasible.
As for a package on the bomb and mine detection and disposal on the viaduct and station area of the metro line, the work acceptance, conducted by Lung Lo Construction Corporation, was yet to be completed at the time of inspection.
According to the inspectorate, the acceptance dossiers included errors in the workload, as the built documents of the package were not in line with regulations, the reality and the approved plan.
MRB, over periods, Lung Lo Construction Corporation and other relevant agencies must take responsibility for these violations.
The inspectorate also pinpointed violations in the election of the contractor for the elevated section worth 65.2 million euros.
Specifically, according to a document of the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment, the assessment of Systra and the investor was different, not transparent and not in line with the regulations on bidding.
The Government Inspectorate proposed the prime minister assign chairman of the Hanoi government to ask MRB to review Systra’s responsibility in its fulfillment of tasks stated in the consulting service contract to determine the losses caused by it.
In addition, the responsibility of the relevant consulting units during the execution of the project will be reviewed.
The Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line project is 12.5 kilometers long, including an 8.5-kilometer elevated section and a four-kilometer underground section. The metro line, with 12 stations, passes through the Bac Tu Liem, Nam Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Dong Da and Hoan Kiem districts.
Work on the project started in September 2010. The elevated section is expected to be put into service at the end of next year and the underground section in 2023.
