Minister Thang: "Cut down" weak urban railway contractors

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang made a proposal to speed up the implementation of urban railway projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Minister Dinh La Thang proposed replacing weak urban railway construction contractors. Illustrative photo.

All projects have increased capital and are behind schedule.

After a working session with relevant ministries and local agencies, Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang said that urban railway projects all have very large investment capital, using mainly foreign loans and a part of domestic capital. However, regardless of the capital, it is all tax money contributed by the people and must be repaid, so it needs to be strictly managed and used effectively.

According to Minister Thang, all urban railway projects invested by the Ministry of Transport, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are currently behind schedule and must adjust their total investment.

Some of the main reasons pointed out by Minister Thang are that the urban railway model is being implemented for the first time, capacity is still limited, total investment is low due to incomplete survey data, route direction is not suitable, management apparatus is lacking and weak, the Ministry has not been proactive in urging and localities are not determined...

Proposing the Ministry of Public Security to intervene

To overcome shortcomings and ensure the progress of projects, Minister Thang proposed assigning the Department of Planning and Investment to synthesize the implementation status of projects. At the same time, he suggested that the two cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City propose to the Prime Minister to allow the establishment of a steering committee headed by the Minister of Transport and the establishment of a support team.

In addition, units also need to soon choose a unified ticket card technology that can be applied in general and oriented to be applicable to all types of public transport in the future.

Based on the adjusted total investment, Mr. Thang requested the Department of Planning and Investment to propose that the two cities balance counterpart funds for the projects, and at the same time compare the investment rate of urban railways in our country with other countries in the region and internationally based on the corresponding investment time and similar factors.

The Minister of Transport also requested the Hanoi People's Committee to soon establish a company to manage operations and exploitation and organize training for workers. Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong Truong must work with Hanoi every month to resolve land issues for the Cat Linh - Ha Dong urban railway.

“Investors and project management boards must review and replace contractors with poor capacity, review and update the detailed progress of projects, and direct supervision consultants and construction contractors to closely coordinate with localities during project implementation,” Minister Thang requested, along with a request for the Ministry of Public Security to monitor to avoid loss, waste, and corruption in projects.

According to Infonet