TPO - On the afternoon of June 6, at a press conference providing information on socio -economic issues in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board (MAUR) - the investor of the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro project No. 1, issued a written response to issues related to the case of contractor Hitachi complaining about the additional costs of nearly 4,000 billion VND.
"Complaints are very common"
According to MAUR, the contracts for implementing the construction project of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Line No. 1 are contracts applying the FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) contract model.
MAUR said that according to the contract regulations, the contractor considers himself entitled to claim costs in the following cases: "The contractor finds that during the construction process there are differences compared to the initial survey information, or the contractor believes that their contract implementation plan has changed compared to the original plan, causing them disadvantages, the contractor will send a complaint to the investor to request costs".
The investor of the HCMC Metro Line 1 project said that complaints in projects applying the FIDIC contract model are very common in the world and the handling of complaints is always clearly stated in the contracts. For the HCMC Metro Line 1 project, complaints have occurred in all bidding packages of the project throughout the project implementation process up to now.
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Some trains of metro line 1 in Ho Chi Minh City at Long Binh depot (Thu Duc city). Photo: Duy Anh. |
“According to the procedures specified in the contract, the general consultant (representing the investor and engineer) will evaluate the contractor's complaints regarding the reasonableness and cost. Currently, most of the contractor's complaints have been rejected by the general consultant due to lack of legal basis. However, in case of dissatisfaction, according to the contract, the contractor has the right to request the establishment of a Dispute Resolution Board or request the Commercial Arbitration to consider the complaint in accordance with the terms signed in the Contract” - MAUR said.
Providing more information on this issue, the investor said that during the project implementation process up to now, for reasonable complaints and arising issues, after the general consultant evaluated, the investor proceeded to resolve payments to the contractors.
For complaints that have not been agreed upon, the parties are still resolving them according to the contract provisions through the arbitration center for consideration. Recently, MAUR and the contractor are discussing an additional solution through the dispute resolution board (DAB).
Regarding the handling process at the Arbitration Center, the entire implementation process and progress are fully reported by MAUR to the competent authority for monitoring and direction.
The project will be completed this year.
MAUR added that submitting complaints to the investor is the contractor's right during the project implementation process according to the signed FIDIC international contract. The settlement of complaints always takes place in parallel with the project implementation process, so the project construction work is still carried out according to the agreed schedule with the Japanese contractors and consultants.
Regarding the project completion time, MAUR cited the content of the diplomatic note dated May 2, 2024 of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Vietnam sent to the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee stating the views of the Japanese Government , the Japan International Cooperation Agency and contractors that the project construction will be completed this year.
Specifically, complete the interlocking integrated operational testing by the end of July, conduct training in August and September, organize train trials in October and November, and receive safety certification without delay.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/bi-nha-thau-nhat-kien-4000-ty-chu-dau-tu-metro-so-1-tphcm-noi-gi-post1643993.tpo
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