Hundreds of employees have given up their jobs at Hanoi's Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line over the past year due to repeated delays of the completion of the project, local media quoted Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung as saying.

About 28% out of nearly one thousand trained employees have left the project, making it difficult for the city to proceed with it, Chung said.

The city has recruited and trained nearly thousands of people, of whom more than 200 were trained in China, to prepare for the project’s commercial operation,

Trains of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line are ready for a commercial test run. Photo: Giang Huy

Chung pointed out four major issues related to China Railway 6 Company, the metro line’s general contractor, that need to be solved.

Firstly, the safety evaluation and inspection of the state assessment council has been delayed due to the lack of the documents on the origin of the project equipment to verify their quality standards. So far, the contractor has not submitted these documents.

Secondly, the project has not been audited while audit is a compulsory procedure. Chung said the project contractor has failed to comply with Vietnamese laws concerning auditing.

Thirdly, the general contractor should work with the Ministry of Transport to supply the last batch of equipment as stipulated in the contract.

Finally, the general contractor must remedy the recommendations made by the auditors regarding the design, site clearance and the construction.

Regarding the railway's progress, the Hanoi mayor said if all goes well, the metro line should begin commercial operation by the end of next month.

The Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line, the first of its kind in Hanoi, on October 28 started a 20-day commercial test run for appraisal purposes, but the official start is still unknown.

Work on the railway line, which covers around 13 km, running between Cat Linh street in Dong Da district in Hanoi downtown and Yen Nghia bus station in Ha Dong district, began in October 2011 and was originally planned for completion in 2013.

The line serves 12 stations and a depot at Phu Luong ward in Ha Dong district and has a rolling stock of 13 trains at a frequency of two minutes. Each train, running at speeds of between 35 and 80 km per hour, consists of four carriages and can accommodate up to 1,000 passengers.

The railway construction has been financed by official development assistance from China with a total investment of US$868 million after several cost overruns.