VietNamNet Bridge – From now through 2020, Hanoi will have a new urban railway route each year, and the Cat Linh - Ha Dong route is expected to be completed first, in 2016.

The Cat Linh-Ha Dong route is expected to complete in 2016.

If the projects are implemented on schedule, by 2020 Hanoi will have five urban railway routes: Ngoc Hoi - Yen Vien, Nam Thang Long - Tran Hung Dao - Thuong Dinh, Cat Linh - Ha Dong, Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station, South Lake Western - Lang - Hoa Lac, and Noi Bai - Phu Dien - Ha Dong - Ngoc Hoi.

Mr. Hoang Ngoc Minh, deputy director of the Hanoi urban railway project management (MRB), said that the Nhon – Hanoi Railway Station is scheduled for completion in 2017.

At present the construction of 8km or overhead road and stations are underway while the bidding for the 4km underground tunnel and underground stations (Kim Ma, Cat Linh, Van Mieu, Hanoi station) has been organized and is scheduled for completion in 2018.

For the Nam Thang Long - Tran Hung Dao - Thuong Dinh route, which uses Japan's ODA, Hanoi is accelerating site clearance and promotion of bidding packages. However, this project must be re-evaluated because of the increase in total investment.

For the 2A Cat Linh - Ha Dong route, 42 piers have been built and 31 other piers are under construction.

The three other projects are facing procedural problems. However, if they are implemented on schedule, all of them will be completed by 2020.

During the field trip to the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station tram route last week, Hanoi’s Chair Nguyen The Thao criticized the Vietnamese contractor Hancorp and two Korean contractors - Posco and Daelim – for slow construction.

Thao asked the Hanoi urban rail management board and the consultancy firm Systra to better coordinate and complete the project in 2018.

Na Son