"Lesson" metro line 1 will push line 2 to run faster
Yesterday (June 22), the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board (MAUR) held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the technical infrastructure of metro line No. 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong route). This package is divided into 2 implementation phases, including construction of water supply and drainage systems; installation of high voltage electricity; temporary relocation of electrical works (medium and low voltage), telecommunications works into the corridor and permanent relocation and underground re-establishment of electrical works (medium and low voltage), telecommunications works...
Ho Chi Minh City metro line 1 is on trial run.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hien, Deputy Head of MAUR, said that the metro line 2 construction project is one of two important national railway projects in the city with a total investment of more than 2 billion USD, equivalent to about 47,000 billion VND. Up to now, the districts have basically completed the procedures for issuing the Decision on compensation and site clearance for the project, reaching a rate of 99.6%. The site handover rate reached 86.69%. The commencement of construction and rearrangement of technical infrastructure, including electricity, drainage, water supply and telecommunications systems for the metro line 2 project is a premise for preparing a clean site for handover to the main contractors to construct the station and tunnel in early 2025.
"Preparing a "clean" site both above ground and underground with a depth of up to 10 m will create favorable conditions during the construction process, contributing to speeding up progress, aiming to put metro line 2 into operation in 2030 as directed by the Prime Minister," Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hien informed.
Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Bui Xuan Cuong affirmed that Metro Line 2 lays the foundation for the development phase of the city's underground space based on underground stations along the route. This is also a project that applies new methods based on the experience of Line 1. First, it is necessary to ensure "clean" site clearance and 100% "clean" technical infrastructure before constructing the main projects.
According to Mr. Cuong, this factor is very important for projects implemented with ODA capital, which have very strict requirements in contract management. The favorable location will help the project avoid complaints from foreign main contractors as happened with metro line 1. In addition, metro line 2 is the first project in the city to apply the project information model from survey, design to supervision and construction implementation; applying advanced technologies in the construction implementation process such as underground drilling, underground power system, underground water supply system...
The investor representative also emphasized the process more
10 years of implementing metro line 1 has helped this unit accumulate many lessons to apply to deploying metro line 2 as well as the following lines. Metro line 2 will be carefully prepared in terms of legal procedures as well as capital. The process of building metro line 1 has many changes in legal regulations, taking a lot of time to adjust the law. Therefore, metro line 2 will focus on carefully preparing these factors. Metro line 2 is divided into more bidding packages than line 1, so from the beginning, MAUR has built an interface coordination plan to minimize the stepping between contractors during the construction process, ensuring project progress.
220 km of railway is not enough for Ho Chi Minh City
According to Conclusion 49 of the Politburo recently issued on the orientation of Vietnam's railway transport development to 2030, with a vision to 2045, Ho Chi Minh City will have to complete the urban railway network according to the planning in the period from now to 2035. This network includes 8 metro lines, 3 tram lines or monorail. The total length of the entire urban railway system in the city is about 220 km with a total estimated investment capital of nearly 25 billion USD.
Metro Line 1 - if calculated from the official project establishment in 2006 to the expected "destination" of operation in 2024, Ho Chi Minh City will spend about 18 years for nearly 20 km of metro. With such progress, the remaining 12 years for the goal of forming more than 200 km of urban railway is almost an "impossible" task.
Admitting that this is a huge challenge for the Urban Railway Board in particular and Ho Chi Minh City in general, but answering Thanh Nien, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hien still expects Ho Chi Minh City to do more than planned. According to Mr. Hien, 220 km of railway is actually a very modest number compared to a megacity with a population of about 20 - 25 million people like the Ho Chi Minh City urban area. The total area of the inner city currently requires the railway network to be 2 - 3 times larger than the planning to meet the travel needs in the future about 10 - 20 years. Therefore, MAUR is coordinating with the Department of Planning - Architecture, Department of Transport to update the urban railway network, add new routes, and extend existing routes with the goal of making it easier for people to access the metro with the shortest distance.
The Government's policy is to delegate more authority to Ho Chi Minh City in implementing large projects. Steps in the investment preparation process as well as in the appraisal and approval process will be delegated to the City.
The City can also delegate some tasks to MAUR. Then the work will be more proactive, and projects will run faster.
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hien
To do this, the Deputy Head of MAUR identified that many changes and efforts are needed, from the approach to the implementation and construction process. In particular, the two most important factors are capital and procedures. Regarding capital, currently, metro lines 1 and 2 use ODA loans. ODA capital has many limitations due to complicated procedures from both Vietnam and donors, taking a lot of time to resolve. Therefore, the city determined that if it wants to build an urban railway, it must be self-sufficient in financial matters.
The Resolution replacing Resolution 54/2017, which is awaiting approval by the National Assembly, has many provisions creating new mechanisms for urban railways. First, Ho Chi Minh City is entitled to reclaim land around metro stations along the route for re-planning according to the TOD (urban development integrated with public transport) orientation. The city can turn the land into an independent project, including resettlement compensation, implementing the construction of urban areas, then conducting auctions to select investors to develop these urban areas. The land around the stations has a very high land rent value, which can support the construction as well as the operation and exploitation of metro lines.
Along with that, the new resolution allows the city to issue bonds for major infrastructure projects, including railways. Thus, the city can be more financially independent from exploiting land funds around the station and issuing bonds.
Source link
Comment (0)