Vietnam Secures $250 Million Extra Loan from China for Sluggish Railway Project

Vietnam has signed an agreement to borrow another $250-million loan to finance an urban railway project that has fallen far behind schedule.

                      A section of the Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway route. Photo: Internet

The Vietnamese government has signed an accord to borrow another $250 million from China to speed up and finish a 13-kilometer urban railway project in Hanoi that has fallen far behind its initial schedule and seen a big cost overrun.

The deal is one of nine agreements inked on September 12 during Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to China.

The Cat Linh – Ha Dong elevated railway route will have 12 stations and a deport linking Dong Da district and Yen Nghia bus station of Ha Dong district.

Once completed, the trains, which are being manufactured by China's Beijing Subway Rolling Stock Equipment Ltd., will be able to serve up to 2,110 passengers with an average speed of 35km per hour.

Trains with six to eight carriages each will run every two minutes from 5am to 11pm every day.

Its construction was kicked off in October 10, 2011 and scheduled for completion in June 2015. However, the EPC contractor, Company Limited China Railway Bureau Group 6 has many times asked for extension of the deadline.

Its slow construction pace has caused many traffic congestion points in Hanoi and some accidents have been reported on its site, including resulting in the death of a motorbike rider.

The total investment of the project in early 2014 was revised up to $868 million, swelling by $315.18 million from the initial budget.

At a meeting on September 13, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged the representative of Company Limited China Railway Bureau Group 6 to speed up the construction of the project to meet the revised deadline.

A senior executive said that the company would finish infrastructure works in December this year and put the route on trial run in July 2017.

Tuan Minh / BizLIVE