Nation’s first subway to gather ahead of steam

July 30, 2012 | 10:37

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The southern economic hub is ready to start work on the country’s first metro line this month. Work is set to break ground on Metro Line 1 on August 28, with the $2.2 billion subway route scheduled for competition in 2017 and starting operational in 2018.

Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee chairman Le Hoang Quan last week called for a speeding up of site clearance for the construction of the 19.7-kilometre route between Ben Thanh downtown and Suoi Tien in District 9. The city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), was required to make sure all preparation work was finished before the groundbreaking ceremony.

Funding for the mammoth project comes from official development assistance (ODA) loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, which account for 88 per cent of project costs, and Vietnam’s counterpart funds.

The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro route will run through districts 1, 2, 9, Binh Thanh, Thu Duc in the city and part of Di An district in neighbouring Binh Duong province. Less than 3km of the subway line will run underground with three stations and the remaining sections will be constructed above the ground with 11 stations.

The most importance of the three project packages is for the elevated sections and Long Binh Depot in District 9, developed by a consortium between Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation and Vietnam’s Civil Engineering Construction Corp No. 6 (Cienco 6).

The other packages are for construction of the underground section between Ben Thanh Market and Ba Son Shipyard and for mechanical-electrical devices and maintenance.

The metro route is designed to transport 162,000 passengers a day in the initial period, 635,000 passengers by 2030 and 800,000 by 2040. The metro stations will open 20 hours a day with trains departing at six minute intervals.

The line is one of the six urban railway routes to be built in Ho Chi Minh City under MAUR management. The second city needs $39 billion for traffic infrastructure development until 2020 and the city’s subway routes would cost about $10 billion.

Construction of Metro Line No.2 for the length of 20km between Ben Thanh and An Suong will begin by the year’s end. It is also set for completion in 2017 and will cost $1.37 billion. Ho Chi Minh City is looking for capital sources for lines No.3 and No.4, but the MAUR has yet to announce the required investment costs.