Hanoi Officials Hope First Metro Line Opens by October

The Cat Linh - Ha Dong metro line has been beset by years of financial and technical delays.

VnExpress reports that Vuong Dinh Hue, Party Secretary of Hanoi, has warned that the route needs to go into operation before October so that its staff can be retained.

Hue spoke to local news sources yesterday and said that while the city has been actively training personnel for the line, it will become increasingly harder to keep people on board the longer delays drag on.

It was previously reported that almost 300 out of 1,000 employees of the metro company quit last year since they couldn't work.

The physical infrastructure of Cat Linh - Ha Dong has been essentially complete for over a year, but personnel and financial problems persist. For example, 150 Chinese experts needed to finish preparatory work on the project have not been able to enter Vietnam due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The news source shares that 26 are expected to arrive in Hanoi on June 12, but there is no timeline for when the rest will be able to make the trip.

Additionally, a French firm called Apave-Certifer-Tricc will undertake a final safety evaluation before trains start running with public passengers, and experts from the company have also not been able to come to Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the main Chinese contractor for the project recently demanded a US$50 million payment in order to perform further test runs. Vietnamese officials have rejected this demand, saying that it is not part of their contract. 

[Top photo via Giao Thong Ha Noi]