Hitachi requests additional $157 million for Metro Line No.1

Hitachi is in charge of the CP3 contract package for Metro Line No.1, which includes the procurement of electromechanical equipment, train engines, rails, and maintenance.

According to the CP3 contract, the project was supposed to be completed by April 8, 2018, which is 244 weeks (1,708 days) after construction work started on August 5, 2013. Hitachi has asked for an extension of time (EoT) of 4,124 days if Metro Line No. 1 enters commercial operation on November 20.

The consulting unit of Ho Chi Minh City's first metro line project, NJPT, proposed that Hitachi was entitled to the EoT of 2,161 days.

Disagreeing with the consultant's assessment, Hitachi has filed a case at the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre.

Hitachi requested the EoT of at least 2,773 days and a compensation of VND527 billion ($20.7 million). The contractor also requests additional costs incurred for extending the completion time of Metro Line No.1. As of present, the additional costs amount to around $157.2 million.

The Management Authority for Urban Railways of Ho Chi Minh City, the project investor, said that there was not enough legal ground for the conditions and demands of Hitachi to be resolved.

Metro Line No.1 is slated to be completed and operational by the end of this year. But as the project nears completion, a few roadblocks pertaining to contract interpretation and the collaboration between the general consultant and the Japanese contractor are impeding several tasks.

Metro Line No.1 is nearly 20km long, from Ben Thanh Station in District 1 to Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc, and boasts three underground and 11 elevated stations. The project has a total investment of around $1.82 billion.

The line will have 17 trains, with a capacity of 930 passengers in each. The line has a maximum speed of 110km per hour on the elevated section and 80km per hour on the underground section.

Floor B1 of Ba Son underground station of Metro Line 1 completed Floor B1 of Ba Son Station of Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien) has basically been completed 31 days earlier than planned.

Two trains of Metro Line 1 in Thu Duc city The second and third train carriages of Metro Line 1 were imported successfully so that operations can begin on schedule.

Metro line 1 nears operation The first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City, linking Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Suoi Tien in Thu Duc, could be in operation by the end of the year.