Metro line No. 2 completion deadline extended to 2030 in HCMC

Ho Chi Minh City's metro line No. 2, with a total investment of nearly VND47,900 billion ($2.04 billion), has had its completion deadline prolonged to 2030 instead of 2026 as formerly planned.

The decision to adjust the investment policy for the Ben Thanh-Tham Luong line, including the completion delay, has just been signed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang. In addition to the new completion deadline, two years were added for defect repair and warranty allocation. This is the basis for the southern economic hub to choose a new consulting contractor for the project, and extend the disbursement of signed loan agreements and new loans from lenders.

The HCMC People's Committee will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and lenders to deal with the project's loan agreements in accordance with regulations, and take full responsibility for the accuracy of reported content, information, and data.

Besides, it will take responsibility for solving difficulties and problems, supervising and completing the project within the new deadline, using loan capital effectively, and paying debts as scheduled.

Approved in 2010, the 11-kilometer metro project from District 1 to District 12 with nine underground stations and one elevated station had an original cost of $1.3 billion, but this soared to $2.1 billion in 2019 due to rises in material and construction costs. It will start at Ben Thanh Depot, the city’s metro hub, and finish at Tham Luong Depot.

Work was set to start in 2022 and be completed in 2026. However, in addition to slow site clearance, the project has faced problems related to signing appendices to the consulting contract, causing further delays in loan extensions, signing new loans from lenders, and bidding for main packages.

Implementation Consultant (IC), the consulting firm in the project, canceled its contract in March last year. Therefore, the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways is busy choosing another unit to replace.

It is expected that the new consultant will be in place in February 2024 to continue the work.

City officials are focusing on completing site clearance and other relevant tasks to prepare for breaking ground for the project.