Vietnam’s stalled Hanoi Metro Line 3 project pushes Hyundai Engineering venture to seek damages for delays
Contractor considers international arbitration if $115m payment is not made
HANOI — A joint venture involving South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Construction seeks $114.7 million in damages from the city of Hanoi for delays in completing an urban rail project in the Vietnamese capital.
The joint venture with Italian infrastructure builder Ghella is the lead contractor in building the underground portion of the Hanoi Metro Line 3, a 12.5 km link connecting the capital and the western suburb of Nhon.
Construction was first slated for completion in 2018, but the date has been pushed back to December 2022, according to local media. The setback owes partly to delays in land acquisition.
Hyundai E&C’s joint venture put the work on hold in June. It said it is considering taking the complaint to international arbitration if damages are not paid.
Hanoi’s Metropolitan Railway Management Board said it is in talks with contractors to determine an accurate figure for losses.
Similar problems have occurred in another section of Line 3. South Korea’s Daelim Industrial, contracted to build the elevated portion, sought roughly $19 million in damages in 2020, owing to two years of delays.
Daelim eventually agreed to a $6.6 million payment from the Metropolitan Railway Management Board.
Vietnam has three ongoing metro railway projects, each of which has fallen far behind schedule.
Late payments to contractors have become chronic. Talks with officials continue over Ho Chi Minh City’s Line 1 project, in which Japanese companies including Hitachi are participating.
Source: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/Stalled-Vietnam-rail-project-pushes-Hyundai-Engineering-venture-to-seek-damages
