Vietnam
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
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In late 2008 SNCF International signed a technical assistance contract to upgrade the railway line between Hanoi and Lao Cai on the Chinese border. The rail link is part of a wider programme to develop rail links between Kunming in China and the port of Haiphong. It involves renewing close to 300km of non-electrified single-line track, replacing over 100 turnouts, and remodelling and rehabilitating some 36 stations. The contract also covered the total or partial rebuilding of 80 bridges. Two SNCF International experts have been seconded to Hanoi since end-2008, one to cover track-related work, and the other for engineering structures. They are working in conjunction with a Taiwanese engineering company and a Vietnamese consultant.
The programme kicked off with a design phase. The next phase, scheduled for 2010, will involve the SNCF International experts in on-site supervision of the programme's general contracting work, scheduled for completion in December 2012.