Hanoi to spend $2.7b on metro line to connect with satellite urban areas
Vietnam’s state appraisal council has approved an appraisal plan for the nearly-39-kilometer-long Van Cao-Hoa Lac urban railway project linking downtown Hanoi and outlying Thach That District, with a price tag of over VND65.4 trillion (US$2.7 billion).
The metro line will feature a 6.5-kilometer underground section, a two-kilometer elevated section, and a 30-kilometer section at ground level.
The urban railway project will have 21 stations, and pass through Ba Dinh, Dong Da, Cau Giay, and Nam Tu Lien Inner Districts, and Hoai Duc, Quoc Oai and Thach That Suburban Districts.
The city is set to finance the metro line, which is one of its priority projects in the 2021-25 period, through five sources.
Among them are the 2021-25 public investment capital, proceeds from equitization and divestment at state-owned enterprises, revenue from land auctions, proceeds from bond issues, and remaining loans borrowed from international financial institutions.
Of the total investment, more than VND24.8 trillion ($1.02 billion) will be spent on construction, while equipment installation will cost over VND16.6 trillion ($680.8 million).
The city will use VND811 billion ($33.2 million) for site clearance and resettlement support, and VND16.9 trillion ($692.1) for backup.
Meanwhile, over VND6.2 trillion will be used for management and consulting fees and other costs.
As planned, the Vietnamese capital city will carry out a test run of the metro line in late 2025.
When in place, the metro line will help ease traffic jams and boost the development of the city’s suburban districts, according to the Hanoi administration.
The urban railway is expected to serve more than 273,000 passengers per day and night after it is put into operation.
The Hanoi People’s Committee wants to operate four-car trains on the metro link during the 2025-50 period, and the number of train cars will increase to eight after 2050 to meet higher demand.
The municipal administration proposed learning from Malaysia to manage and implement the project under the project delivery partner (PDP) model.
Accordingly, the investor of a project will select a qualified and healthy contractor to deploy it under the PDP model.
As per the model, a project delivery partner will take responsibility for all risks of the project implementation process, and ensure the project can undergo a test run as scheduled and fix projected costs.
In fact, a project delivery partner acts as a consulting company whose work encompasses project management and technical expertise.
In early November 2021, the city put into service the Cat Linh – Ha Dong metro line, the first of its kind in Hanoi.
The line has 12 elevated stations and 13 trains which run from Cat Linh Station in Ba Dinh District to Yen Nghia Station in Ha Dong District.
Source: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20230919/hanoi-to-spend-27b-on-metro-line-to-connect-with-satellite-urban-areas/75663.html
