New cable car at Ba Den Mountain launched

The new cable car system that goes up to the top of Ba Den Moutain in Tay Ninh province. (Photo: VNA)

Developed by Sun Group, the cable car system, which is part of the Ba Den Mountain Sun World Tourism Area project, was designed by Austrian company Doppelmayr at an estimated cost of 2 trillion VND (86.5 million USD) for the first phase.

With a designed speed of eight metres per second, it can transport 4,400 passengers per hour. Each cabin can accommodate 10 people.

The two-way cable car line 1 extends from the foot of the mountain to the peak of Ba Den Mountain. It travels 986 metres above sea level with a length of 1,847 metres.

With its 113 cabins, the cable car takes only eight minutes to reach the mountain’s summit, compared to a dangerous four-hour trek.

From the foot of the mountain to Ba Den Pagoda, cable car line 2 has a length of 1,210 metres. It is designed to have 78 cabins, and takes five minutes each way.

The Guinness World Records Organisation has recognised the cable car station as the world's largest cable car station, covering an area of 10,959sq.metres.

An old cable car system that started at the foot of the Ba Den Pagoda was often overloaded with tourists and pilgrims who were headed for the pagoda and temple complex during the first lunar month of the year.

The new cable car system is expected to better serve tourists who want to ascend Ba Den Mountain, the highest mountain in the country's southeastern region.

About 986 metres above sea level, the mountain is famous for natural landscapes as well as sacred pagodas and temples.

Tay Ninh has seen a rise in the number of tourists in recent years, attracting about 4-4.5 million of domestic and foreign tourists every year.

The province’s tourism revenue has increased from 5-15 percent each year in recent years.

In 2018, it saw a year-on-year increase of 5.4 percent in the number of visitors. Tourism revenue that year was estimated at 935 billion VND (40.4 million USD), up 12.2 percent compared to the previous year.