The People's Council of Vietnam's Hanoi capital city has approved a cost overrun of Nhon-Hanoi station urban railway by over VND1.9 trillion ($91.89 million) to VND34.8 trillion.
The information was announced at the ninth meeting of the 16th-tenure Hanoi People's Council on September 12.
The council also agreed to extend the project's completion schedule until 2027, excluding 24 months for warranty, instead of 2022 as the initial plan.
The municipal People's Committee attributed difficulties in site clearance and technical infrastructure relocation, limited capacity of contractors, investors, and consultants, lax cooperation among agencies, the difference between international contract regulations and Vietnamese law, and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, to such delay.
The railway, spanning 12.5 kilometers through Bac Tu Liem, Nam Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Dong Da, and Hoan Kiem districts, is designed to have eight elevated stations and four underground ones.
The project receives funding from the official development assistance of the French government, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the country's state budget. (tapchigiaothong.vn [1], Vnews [2], Tuoi Tre [3])