EIB supports Vietnam’s first metro line project

Francisco de Paula Coelho, EIB director for Lending Operations in Asia, said: “Urban infrastructure and the improved quality of life of citizens is a key priority for the European Union and for the EIB.”

“The metro line will improve mobility, reduce daily commuting times and encourage residents to use public transport with positive consequences for their quality of life, as well as for the city’s environment,” he said.

Coehlho also stressed “the importance to the project of the cooperation between the three financial institutions: the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the EIB”.

The €73 million operation is designed to finance the construction of metro Line 3 in Hanoi, the capital and the second-largest city in Vietnam. The new metro line extends over 12.5 km and has 12 stations in the central area of the city.

The project also includes the construction and equipping of a new depot well as the acquisition of new rolling stock to operate the line. The new metro line will be used by 200,000 passengers per day.

The EIB is supporting the public transport system of Hanoi to facilitate a reduction in transport-related pollutant emissions and fuel consumption with the aim of providing a more reliable, fast and environmentally friendly rail-based service along corridors currently served only by road-based modes.

The project will make a significant contribution to improving the quality of life in Hanoi by increasing mobility for many people, alleviating traffic congestion and providing a cleaner and quicker alternative to mopeds and private cars.

The EIB is extending this loan under the current lending mandate for Asia and Latin America. The project meets the mandate’s priority objectives of supporting the EU’s presence in the region and contributes to climate change mitigation. This is the first EIB-financed metro line in Asia.

The European Investment Bank is the EU’s long-term financing institution promoting European objectives. Set up in 1958, the EIB operates in the 27 EU Member States and more than 130 other countries in Asia and Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Mediterranean region, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.