VietNamNet Bridge – The Nhon - Hanoi urban railway got delayed so the French consultant - Systra proposed to adjust the value of the contract and claimed compensation of nearly Eur3 million.

Site clearance for the Depot in Tu Liem district is not completed.

After years of commencement, Hanoi’s first urban railway project (Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station) has been carried out very slowly. The completion, therefore, is not expected to be until the end of 2017. However, both the investors and Systra said that it would be until November 2018.

One of the problems is slow speed of site clearance and construction of the main packages in Tu Liem District.

In addition, the 2nd package - building elevated stations – is stalled due to lack of a supervisor and consultant because the contract with Systra has expired.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Manh, Director of the Hanoi Urban Railway Project Management Unit – representative of the project investor, said the contract with Systra had expired on November 10, 2013. This is a 68-month contract worth more than Eur22 million.

As the project has been delayed, the consultants proposed to adjust the value of the contract and claimed compensation of nearly Eur3 million.

The authorities examined and increased the contract value by Eur1.3 million. The investor also negotiated with Systra to extend the consulting contract but the two sides have not reached an agreement because Systra offered an increase of over Eur9 million, to EUR43 million, much more than the fund approved by the city government.

At a meeting on February 24, Hanoi Chairman Nguyen The Thao said that it couldn’t hardly complete the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station urban rail system at the end of 2017, so the deadline has been extended a year. However, it is still challenging.

Thao instructed the project management unit to extend the consulting contract with Systra in March. He stated that if the project keeps being delayed, the related bodies would be investigated. The chair also told Tu Liem District to complete the site clearance for the construction of the Depot by April 30, 2014.

With a total length of 12.5 km, including 8.5 km of elevated and 4 km underground rail, the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station urban railway system passes the districts of Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Dong Da and Hoan Kiem.

The project has a total investment of Eur 1,180 million. It was kicked off in September 2010 and is scheduled for completion in September 2017.

VNE