Long-delayed HCMC metro lines face even more delays

The prolonged delays to HCMC’s first and second metro lines are likely to extend even further, mired as they are in site clearance and funding problems, the transport ministry says.

In a new report to the government, the ministry (MoT) said the southern economic hub wants to complete Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien) in the fourth quarter of 2023 and Line 2 (Ben Thanh-Tham Luong) in 2030. The previous timeline for Line 1 was Q4/2021.

Line 1, estimated to cost over VND43.7 trillion ($1.89 billion), will run around 20 kilometers from the Ben Thanh area in District 1 to Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc city on HCMC’s outskirts.

According to the report, 92.2% of the construction of Line 1 has been completed and the ratio is expected to reach 93% by the end of this year, but site clearance is still not completed.

In terms of construction packages, the Ben Thanh-City Theater underground section is almost 97.2% complete; the City Theater-Bason Station underground section is almost 99.64% complete; the section of elevated railroads and depots is nearly 96.2% complete; and the package of locomotives, wagons, electric equipment, tracks and maintenance is about 83% complete.

There are three packages yet to start, namely the IT system for operations, the construction of operation and management offices, and the consulting package for the whole system’s safety.

The main reasons for further delays, according to the report, include more time needed for the HCMC administration to adjust the design, resolve contractor complaints, add additional costs and speed up site clearance work that has been very slow. Besides, the technologies used for Line 1 are completely new to Vietnam, and it is taking more time to learn.

"In addition, the work of making, appraising and approving the project's applications for more funding has taken a long time and but not been completed so far,” the ministry wrote in the report, citing another reason from the city administration.

The Line 2 project has seen even longer delays, according to the ministry. The project was originally approved for completion between 2010 and 2018, then adjusted to 2021-2026, and now to 2030.

The ministry report listed different reasons for the long delay, including site clearance problems. As of now, 85.15% of the site has been cleared, with the biggest remain obstacles lying in District 3, part of the central business district.

The consulting contract for the second metro line, signed in 2012 by the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) of HCMC and Implementation Consultant (IC), was terminated by an IC announcement this March.

The two-phase consulting contract expired in 2018 as stated in the agreement; and the consulting firm stopped supplying services for the first phase of the project. Then the MAUR had to end the second phase of the contract. In 2019, MAUR and IC held negotiations on Appendix 13 of the contract to complete the rest of the first phase. The negotiations lasted two years, but no consensus was reached.

In May 2021, the city decided to end Appendix No. 13 negotiations with IC. However, IC later proposed resuming negotiations to complete some main bidding packages. The city government assigned MAUR to get back to the negotiation table with IC. However, IC announced this March that it had ended the consulting contract.

The process of selecting a new consulting firm is ongoing, but the selection might last 12 to 18 months, according to city officials.

The Line 2 project, about 11 km long with 10 stations, is estimated to cost a total of VND47.89 trillion ($2.08 billion).

In all, HCMC has eight metro line projects planned with a combined length of 220 kilometers and estimated costs totaling almost $25 billion.