Metro project looks to get back on track

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The city’s authorities just made field surveys to check site clearance progress at the 19.7 kilometre metro line 1 project. Survey results show that only Binh Thanh district completed site clearance work while the remaining Districts 1, 2, 9 and Thu Duc are in the phase of site compensation.

Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee chairman Le Hoang Quan asked relevant districts to hand over project sites no later than September 30, 2011.

According to the city’s Transport Department deputy head Bui Xuan Cuong, Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) will carry out negotiations to select the metro project’s engineering procurement construction (EPC) contractor when relevant districts complete site clearance.

A MAUR representative said metro line 1 project’s three bidding packages on building an underground section, an elevated section and depots, and procurement of electro-mechanical equipment, rails and cars are open to select contractors.

Applicants to the full contractor position must be of Japanese origin. If applicants are investor consortiums, the consortium leaders must be of Japanese origin and other members of either Vietnamese or Japanese origin, according to a MAUR report.

In respect to technical requirements, contractors must have at least 10 years’ experience in implementing projects of this size.

Besides, contractors of the underground section must post average annual revenue of at least $100 million in the past five years, for the elevated section and depot construction the figure would be at least $170 million and for the equipment procurement section it would be at least $250 million, according to MAUR.

In regard to the 20km metro line 2 connecting Thu Thiem peninsula and District 12’s An Duong bus station in the city’s western gateway, the project’s construction affected 92 households with over 257,130sqm supposed to be taken back and cost more than VND225 billion ($10.8 million) in compensation.

The ‘survey and zoning’ package worth around VND4 billion ($193,000) relevant to site clearance is now open to tender and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2011.

The ‘design consultancy, bidding and supervision’ package worth EUR44 million is also open to tender. According to MAUR director Nguyen Do Luong, contractors must be of German origin, if contractors are consultant consortiums (no more than five consultants), the consortium leaders must be of German origin which must bear more than 25 per cent of contract consultant fees when taking part in bidding.

Besides, the German consultant or consortium leader must complete at least three urban railway or metro projects and report an annual revenue of more than EUR 50 million with half of which coming from German consultants.

MAUR supposes to host metro line 2’s pre-bidding meeting on July 4, 2011, Luong said.