The test run of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project, the first of its kind in Hanoi, has been delayed until September 2, 2018, after it missed a test scheduled for October.

Construction site of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong Urban Railway project at Hoang Cau Lake in Dong Da district, Hanoi. (Credit: VNA)

The Railway Project Management Unit proposed that the Ministry of Transport ask for Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s approval for the rescheduling. The rescheduling means the project will be delayed for 11 months beyond the plan that was adjusted in February 2017.

The railway will operate on a trial basis for three to six months, starting from September 2, 2018, and is scheduled to be put into use in November 2018.

The project has been rescheduled three times so far.

In early 2016, the Transport Ministry asked the China Railway Sixth Group Co. Ltd, the engineering – procurement – construction contractor of the project, to test the railway in September 2016 and launch it by December 31, 2016. With the project lagging behind schedule in June 2016, the ministry ordered the construction be finished by December 31, 2016.

However, this target was missed, forcing the Transport Ministry to postpone the test run until October 2017 with the railway coming into operation in the late first quarter or early second quarter of 2018. The project also failed to meet this deadline.

The sluggish progress is attributable to various reasons, including the slow disbursement of capital and the contractor’s limited capacity./.

VNF/NDO