HCM City to Starts US$1Bln Subway Project in 2008
Ho Chi Minh City authorities have okayed a US$1.09-billion project to construct a 19.7-km subway and railway link to facilitate the travel between its busy business hub and its bustling entrainment center, state media reported.
The project, set for start in October 2008 and to open to traffic in 2013, will include a 2.6km metro section, said a city’s senior official.
The metro route, linking Ben Thanh market with Suoi Tien park with 14 stations and employing Japan’s advanced technologies, will run across HCM City’s five urban districts of 1, 2, 9, Binh Thanh and Thu Duc and Binh Duong province’s Di An district.
The Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will finance US$905 million, or 83 per cent of the total capital to the first subway while city’s budget contributes the remainder.
The Vietnamese government will pump more investment into the metro infrastructure systems including railways, stations, communication and lighting networks, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung.
In addition to Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien underground metro, the city will develop five other metro and three tramcar routes, with combined investment of US$5.5 billion. (Investment, Young People)
Vietnamese
