By The last portion of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) will be placed at the S9 underground station of Metro Line No 3, Nhon – Hanoi Train Station, on December 30 after two months of transport and installation.
This TBM, the first of its kind to be used in Hanoi, was planned especially for the building of the Nhon-Hanoi Metro Station. It is manufactured by the German manufacturer Herrenknecht and is over 100 m long and weighs approximately 850 tons.
According to the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board, it is capable of holding over 10 meters of tunnel per day in optimal conditions (MRD).
Furthermore, there is still another TBM being shipped to Vietnam. Thus, after the installation is complete, the machines will start boring from the S9 station on Kim Ma Street to the S12 station at Hanoi Train Station, located at the end of Tran Hung Dao Street, with a total length of 4km. The tunnel segments will be constructed on boring progress.
MRB Deputy Chief Le Trung Hieu concluded that local houses would not be impacted during the boring process because the TBMs have earth pressure balancing shields that mitigate the effect on geological features.
The MRB is working to make sure the progress is on schedule as requested by the Prime Minister so that the remaining 4.5km-long underground section will become operational in late 2022, he added.
It was announced that 67.77 per cent of the pilot metro line had been completed and 81.97 per cent of the elevated portion had been completed.
The first train, designed and manufactured in France, of this metro line delivered at the Nhon depot in October. Its four carriages have been mounted and checked in order to be ready for the trial operation.
The 8.5 km-long elevated part of Metro Line No 3 from Nhon to the S8 station at the University of Transport and Communications is expected to be placed into commercial operation at the end of 2021. The remaining 4km underground part will run at the end of 2022.
A total of EUR 1,176 million (over US$ 1,4 million) has been invested in the sector, including official development assistance loans from the French Government, the French Agency for Development (AFD), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
