Chinese general contractor apologizes for Cat Linh - Ha Dong project's delay

Admitting that despite efforts, the Cat Linh - Ha Dong elevated railway project (Hanoi) is still behind schedule, the representative of the Chinese EPC General Contractor in Vietnam said the main reason is lack of money.

At the Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway project progress meeting on the afternoon of March 2, Mr. Du Giang (representative of the Chinese EPC General Contractor in Vietnam) admitted that the construction progress was slower than required. The Cat Linh, La Thanh, Thai Ha, Lang, Thanh Xuan 3 stations, and Ha Dong bus station were 9 to 22 days behind schedule.The girder launching work is also behind schedule. The girder casting work will be completed in March this year... However, the most critical issue now is that the General Contractor is lacking money to implement.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong repeatedly asked: "You committed to ensuring construction capacity and financial capacity for the project. Now you say the project is delayed due to lack of money, so how do you intend to solve the problem?"

The Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway is behind schedule. Illustration photo: Giang Huy

Mr. Du Giang apologized for the delay and said that the request to increase the total investment by 19 million USD has not been approved by the Chinese side, so there is no money to disburse, causing difficulties for project implementation. He also affirmed that the Chinese General Contractoris working to resolve the $19 million advance payment.

According to Mr. Du Giang, on March 6, Mr. Chu Hang Vu, Deputy General Director of the 6th Bureau Group, will come to Vietnam to work with the Ministry of Transport, and there will be clearer discussions about transferring money for the project. At the same time, the General Contractor will work with Chinese ministries and branches to have measures to support disbursement.

According to the Department of Construction Management and Traffic Works Quality, as of February 29, the General Contractor owed Vietnamese subcontractors about VND554 billion. This arrears have caused difficulties for subcontractors and are one of the main reasons for the project's delay.

According to Mr. Trieu Khac Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction Management and Transport Works Quality, the most important issue now is that the General Contractor lacks money, China is tightening the flow of money abroad, including the Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway project. For the contractors, currently, machinery and human resources are fully arranged on the construction site, but they only lack money to carry out the construction.

The deputy director suggested that the leaders of the Ministry of Transport work with the Chinese Embassy and Chinese banks to find a way to solve the cash flow to ensure construction and avoid the project falling behind schedule.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong Truong emphasized that the project must be completed and the railway line put into operation by the end of 2016.The General Contractor and subcontractors are required to finalize the progress and basically complete 10 stations by the end of April; Cat Linh and Van Khe stations by the end of July. The Depot areas will be completed in September; from June onwards, rails and sleepers will be made to complete the train track and electrical system; in parallel, there will be a plan to bring the train to Vietnam.

SAfter the meeting, the Ministry of Transport will send a document to the China Railway Bureau 6 requesting leaders to come to Vietnam to manage the project and hold a meeting to resolve the financial situation of the General Contractor that is causing difficulties for the project.

According to VNE