The Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line project, the second of its kind in Hanoi, has just had its total investment revised up by VND1,916 billion (US$82 million) and its completion date delayed until 2027.

The prime minister passed a decision on Tuesday approving the cost increase and delay of the project, after considering a proposal from the municipal administration and the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

According to the Cabinet leader’s decision, the completion time of the project is now 2027, while its revised price tag is VND34,826 billion ($1.4 billion).

The prime minister asked the Ministry of Finance to work with the Hanoi administration and relevant agencies to complete procedures required for the capital adjustment.

The Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line will run 12.5 kilometers from Nhon in Nam Tu Liem District to the Hanoi Railway Station in the downtown area, with 8.5 kilometers on elevated tracks, four kilometers underground, and one depot.

Work on the metro line began on September 25, 2010 and its phase one was initially scheduled for completion in late 2015.

However, the project was delayed several times for various reasons.

The Hanoi administration was set to put the elevated sections into service in April 2021 and the entire route in late 2022 but failed to meet the deadlines.

The Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) said that the Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line was a major and complicated project which would apply novel, foreign technologies.

Despite huge efforts, the project still faced a number of obstacles, such as prolonged site clearance, ineffective cooperation between the project developer and relevant units, the limited capability of Hancorp, a contractor in charge of the depot construction, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to delays and cost overruns, the MRB explained.

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