Duong Huu Hoa, deputy director of the Project Management Unit Metro Line 1 under the Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) said that, “we are speeding up the implementation of package 2 which covers the line along the Hanoi Highway. So far, we have completed more than half of the main construction work.”

In the near future, the construction will be carried out along the Van Thanh, Saigon, and Rach Chiec bridges, as well as the Hanoi Highway and Dien Bien Phu overpasses. “By the end of 2015, the elevated section of the railway along the Hanoi Highway will have taken shape,” he added.

Some changes in the implementation of the project have been made in the city centre with the construction unit handing over land at the junction of Nguyen Hue and Le Loi streets and one part of the Municipal Theatre Station. Nguyen Hue street will also be pedestrianised by April 30.

According to Hoa, the project contractors have continued work at the city’s Lam Son Park and a section of Le Loi street. The work on retaining walls is scheduled to be finished by the end of April.

Although the project has shown progress, there have been some delays, especially related to site clearance. Regarding delays involving a private company in the neighbouring province of Binh Duong’s Di An town, Hoa said that the provincial authorities were proposing measures to force the company to hand over land by the end of the month.

In the meantime, Japanese contractor Sumitomo Corporation has requested the city to pay compensation of up to $100,000 per day due to delays in the construction of the Metro Line 1. As the hand-over of the site has been delayed for over 20 months when compared to the deadline in the contract, the Japanese contractor has unsurprisingly submitted a written complaint.

“Apart from the reasonable additional costs,” Hoa said, “not all the expenses will be covered. Currently, MAUR and the contractor are negotiating to address the problem adequately.” In February, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai during his visit to the project site told Binh Duong to speed up the site hand-over for the construction of the Metro Line 1 by the end of March.

“Following guidance, MAUR is actively co-operating with the provincial authorities to provide cleared land for the contractor,” Hoa stressed. In addition, MAUR is showcasing a train carriage from March 16 to April 15 to draw comments from the public. The exhibition is aimed at collecting feedback on the design, colour, and interior design of the train. Based upon this, the city authorities will pass on these details to the train designer.

“The first train will be shipped to Vietnam in June next year. It will be inspected before the contractor builds the remaining 16 trains. MAUR will also differentiate various metro lines using different colours,” Hoa noted.