still stuck with a site clearance
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board (MAUR), the site clearance work for Metro Line 2 project has reached 99.83%, with 584/585 cases handed over.
There is also a case of public land, which is the headquarters of District 3 Police, still stuck in legal procedures for handover between the Ministry of Public Security and Ho Chi Minh City Police. It is expected that the handover will be completed in the first quarter of 2025.
MAUR has proposed that the People's Committee of District 3 and the District Compensation and Site Clearance Board continue to support the acceleration of land acquisition, compensation and site handover procedures to ensure project progress.
The relocation of technical infrastructure at 12/12 station locations and open excavation sections has been implemented simultaneously, including electricity, telecommunications, water supply and drainage, lighting, trees and traffic items.
However, MAUR said that the progress outside the construction site is still slower than planned due to many factors: Construction in urban areas is cramped, causing many underground works outside the design; some households have works within the project area that have not been completely resolved; mobilizing human resources and equipment from contractors that have not met requirements despite commitments.
MAUR said that it will focus on speeding up the construction progress to complete the relocation of infrastructure in the third quarter of 2025.
Major packages are suspended due to changes in capital sources
Regarding bidding, MAUR has signed a contract with the project management support consultancy (PMSC) to implement the contractor selection for the project control and construction supervision consultancy package (CS2B package). The bidding documents have been issued and extended until August 30, 2024.
However, up to now, all major packages of the project have had to be temporarily suspended due to changes in capital sources. Previously, the project was funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the German reconstruction Bank (KfW) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The arrangement of ODA loans for the project has changed compared to the original plan due to sponsors adjusting the conditions and funding process. After the working session with the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, sponsors (ADB, KfW, EIB) agreed not to continue sponsoring the CS2B package and the entire Metro No. 2 project.
At the end of 2024, Ho Chi Minh City agreed on the policy of using the city budget to implement the next tasks of Metro Line 2 project, instead of using ODA capital.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has reported to the Prime Minister about stopping the use of ODA capital and preferential loans for Metro Line 2 project.
MAUR said that it will cancel the CS2B package according to regulations after having an official decision on the financial plan.
Metro Line 2 was approved in 2010 with an initial total investment of VND26,000 billion. By 2019, the project capital was adjusted to increase to nearly VND47,900 billion.
The entire route is more than 11 km long, of which 9.2 km is underground, the rest is elevated and the road leading to Tham Luong depot (District 12). The project has 9 underground stations and 1 elevated station.
According to the previous plan, Metro Line 2 was expected to be operational in 2026. However, due to a series of problems, in October 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee adjusted the completion time to 2030.
With the current situation, the exact start date of the main package has not been determined.
