Who could've seen this coming?
Tuoi Tre reports that the expected completion date for Saigon's Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line has been pushed back from this year to 2022.
The municipal Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) recently informed the city People's Committee that a full test of the line is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021, with the above-ground section from the Binh Thai intersection to the Long Binh depot in District 9 going first.
Late last year, cracks were detected on part of the elevated line, and further issues have been discovered since, and at the moment it is unclear how these faults will be corrected. Work on the underground part of the route below District 1 is progressing well, but the defects and delays elsewhere on the project have delayed expected completion once again.
Tuoi Tre adds that MAUR also provided updates on other planned metro lines in the city. Line 2, running from Ben Thanh Market to Tham Luong in District 12, will see site clearance completed within this year while bidding for the main construction work will begin so that contractors can be selected by 2022.
Furthermore, feasibility reports and project proposals for Line 5 (Bay Hien intersection to the Saigon Bridge) and line 3A (Ben Thanh Market to Tan Kien) will be compiled this year and submitted to the National Assembly for approval.
[Top photo via Nguoi Lao Dong.]
