As Tet nears, workers at the S12 underground station construction site, the last station of the Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line, are busy with work on Tran Hung Dao Street. Over 60 workers and engineers are still working normal hours through the week-long national holiday during Feb. 8-14 so the project can be on schedule.
Workers install steel frames for cementing at the underground station. The S12 station is now 30% completed.
"As scheduled, we should have been off work on Monday, but with the current progress, it looks like we will have to celebrate Tet at the construction site," said Luong Van Gam from Thanh Hoa, who has been working at the site for over a year.
"If we have to work through Tet, I hope there would be good benefits for us so we don't have to feel disheartened for not being able to reunite with our families."
The S12 Station has been the slowest to move towards completion of the projects 12 entry and exit points. So far, the construction site is the only one where workers are expected to work through Tet.
Contractors have called on workers to stay and work through Tet, adding an extra VND5 million ($204.71) to their daily wages. Workers are expected to work until Friday morning before returning home for Lunar New Year's Eve and then returning to work on Sunday.
The night shift at the S12 Station begins at 6 p.m. and ends at 6 a.m. the next morning.
On Thursday, Nguyen Van Tien from Thai Binh that borders Hanoi, along with his colleagues, used crane trucks to bring steel frames into place in the middle of the night.
"The night kept getting colder, and we encouraged each other to finish the job so we could go back to our hometowns for Tet," he said.
Hoang Ngoc Tung (in white helmet) inspects construction work at the site.
With temperatures at 14 degrees Celsius and light drizzles, over 40 workers labored through the elements.
After 45 minutes, the workers managed to place the final steel beam in place in preparation for its cementing.
About 1.6 km away from the site, construction of the S11 underground station on Luong Su Street was also having steel frames placed in preparation for cementing.
Compared to workers at the S12 Station, workers at the S11 Station got to go back to their hometowns as previously scheduled.
"I wanted to go back earlier so I could spend Tet with my family, but there was too much work, I had to wait until the right day to go back home," said Lo Van Cua from Dien Bien Province, 450 km from Hanoi.
The S10 underground station on Cat Linh Street is expected to have its bottom level completed in May, while the S11 underground station is expected to be completed in August. The construction of the bottom levels is necessary for the TBM drill to operate from the S9 Station on Kim Ma Street.
On the ground above the S11 Station, there has been barely any progress. In the coming times, the connective roads between the S11 and S12 stations will need houses to be cleared to make room for the project.
The Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line spans 12.5 km with eight elevated stations and four underground ones. It runs through six districts: Bac Tu Liem, Nam Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Dong Da, Hoan Kiem and Ba Dinh. Construction began in 2009 and is expected to be completed in 2015, but after several delays, the new completion date is in 2027.
Hanoi plans to have the elevated section of the Nhon-Hanoi Station begin operation in April 2024.
