China’s Pacific Construction to build $2.65 bln metro line in Hanoi

China Pacific Construction Group (CPCG), one of China's largest private corporations in the field of transport infrastructure, has partnered with Vietnam Construction and Import-Export JS Corporation (Vinaconex) on two major infrastructure projects totaling VND85 trillion ($3.46 billion) in Hanoi, including a $2.65 billion metro line.

Hanoi’s Department of Transport, CPCG, and Vinaconex inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday to study and build metro line No.5 and Tu Lien bridge in the Vietnamese capital.

The MoU came after several contacts between CPCG and senior Vietnamese officials. Yan Jiehe, founder and chairman of CPCG, met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi in January 2023; Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung in Guangzhou, China, in September 2023; and Duong Duc Tuan, Vice Chairman of Hanoi in Hanoi last October.

Metro line No.5, also known as the Van Cao-Ngoc Khanh-Lang-Hoa Lac line, will run 38.43 kilometers linking four inner-city districts with satellite urban areas. It is designed to run 6.5 kilometers underground, two kilometers on an elevated section, and the remaining 29.93 kilometers at ground level.

The line, with 21 stations and two depots, had its planning approved in 2011 and was set to be implemented in the 2021-2025 period.

Under a master plan, Hanoi will have 10 metro lines, including nine main lines and one connecting satellite urban areas, with a total length of nearly 420 km, including 75 km underground.

Commercial operations on its first and only operational metro, the 13-kilometer Cat Linh- Ha Dong line, started in November 2021 after multiple delays and cost overruns. Meanwhile, the 12.5-kilometer Nhon-Hanoi railway station metro is under construction, but has also suffered delays and additional costs.

In addition, CPCG will participate in the construction of Tu Lien bridge and roads connecting it with the Hanoi-Thai Nguyen Expressway with a total length of 11.5 km at a cost of VND20 trillion ($814 million). The bridge will cross the Red River.