A section of Cát Linh-Hà Đông metro line. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Transport has asked the Chinese contractor of Cát Linh-Hà Đông metro line in Hà Nội to commit to a specific deadline when the project will be finished.

Although 99 per cent of the construction work is completed and equipment has been installed to get ready for trial run, the project’s commercial operation has experienced multiple setbacks.

Since its construction started in 2011, the official operation was delayed eight times. The latest promise made by the transport ministry pushed the deadline to April this year.

Responding to a recent question of National Assembly delegation of southern Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province on when the metro line will run, the transport ministry blamed the long delay on Chinese contractor failing to follow the ministry’s orders to accelerate the work.

The project’s difficulties have been reported to the Prime Minister, Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese Embassy in Việt Nam to seek support and possible solutions.

“The transport ministry has worked with Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy to hold meetings once every two week to review the work’s progress,” the ministry said in a document responding to the lawmakers.

“This aims to urge the contractor and relevant sides to accelerate the progress and soon put the metro line into commercial operation.”

The Cát Linh-Hà Đông metro line has used Official Development Assistance from China with appointed contractor and supervision consultant also from China.

The investor is railway project management board under Vietnamese Ministry of Transport with total investment of US$866 million (more than VNĐ20 trillion). — VNS