Plans for Ho Chi Minh City subway network approved
HANOI - Plans for an underground metro system to serve Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City and neighbouring
provinces has been approved by the city's chief architect.
According to the master plan, the inner metro system will comprise the following routes: Northwest-Southeast (46.86km long
with 44 stops), Inner Belt (43.14km, 45 stops), Tan Son Nhat (9.3km, nine stops), Hoa Hung-Hanoi Highway-Thu Thiem
(21km, 18 stops), Ben Thanh-District 2-District 9-Thu Duc (27.5 km, 18 stops), and the Bien Hoa-Binh Chanh-Hoa Hung
(46 km, 42 stops). The network will comprise 13.7m-wide underground routes and 11.7m-wide elevated train routes.
The three metro routes given top priority are the Tan Son Nhat-Ben Thanh, Ben Thanh-Binh Tay and Binh Trieu-Sai Gon
Railway Station routes.
The 7km Tan Son Nhat-Ben Thanh route features a 3.4km elevated train line running from Tan Son Nhat Airport to Sai Gon
Railway Station and a 3.4 km underground route from Sai Gon Railway Station to Ben Thanh Market. This route is expected
to carry 1,000,000 passengers a day and will cost US$316.5 million.
The 6km Ben Thanh-Binh Tay Route, will run entirely underground and will link the commercial centres in Districts 1, 5 and 6.
It will cost $395 million and will service 900,000 passengers a day.
The 8.5km Binh Trieu-Sai Gon Railway Station elevated train route will parallel the existing railway and will cost US$220
million. This route will carry 800,000 passengers per day.
The cost of the Binh Trieu-Sai Gon Railway Station Route is much lower than the other two because it is an elevated train route
and will not affect the area's existing road network.
The master plan for the metro project also includes the development of the routes running outside HCM City.
These include the 43km Long Binh-Hoc Mon route, the Hoc Mon-Binh Chanh-Tien Giang route, the Thu Duc-Long
Binh-Long Thanh-Vung Tau route and the Thu Thiem-Long Binh Vung Tau route.
Construction of these underground and elevated train routes will cost a total of $2.65 billion.
Funds for the construction of these two metro networks is expected to come from official development assistance (ODA)
loans.
When completed, the metro network will make a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of HCM City and
neighbouring provinces. These public transport services will carry a large number of passengers and ease traffic congestion,
reduce traffic accidents and cut pollution.
Deputy Director of the Southern Centre for Transport Development Research, Dr. Trinh Van Chinh, said cooperation between
local and foreign companies and the use of domestically-made materials will help reduce construction costs by 40 per cent.
International organisations, including Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and some German and American
organisations, are considering funding the project.
Officials from HCM City People's Committee and the Transport Ministry expect work on the inner city metro network to be
underway by 2005. They also hope a feasibility study for construction of the first of these routes will be conducted later this
year.
Vietnam news Agency - february 26, 2001.
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