PM urges faster progress of Ho Chi Minh City’s metro project

During a meeting in Hanoi on April 13th, PM Phuc stressed the need to strictly and fully abide by legal regulations while preventing negative acts and corruption in the implementation of the project.

He asked the People’s Committee of HCM City to deal with troubles regarding the project, while making dossiers on the construction of the project and submit them to authorized agencies for verification.

The Ministry of Transport was assigned to complete a verification report after consultations with relevant ministries and is responsible for the verification of concerned aspects such as economics, technology and total investment.

The PM also requested other relevant ministries and sectors to prepare explanation for issues under their management if required by the National Assembly.

HCM City’s metro project was the first proposed in 2001 as part of a comprehensive public transport plan for HCM City and neighbouring provinces to mitigate traffic congestions.

It includes three monorail lines with a total length of 37km and six partly underground metro routes running a total of 107km from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien, Ben Thanh to Tham Luong, Ben Thanh to Binh Tan, Lang Cha Ca to Van Thanh, Thu Thiem to Can Giuoc, and Ba Queo – Phu Lam. Ben Thanh will be a hub connecting all the lines.

According to the initial estimates in 2007, total investment of the project was VND17 trillion (around USD749 million). However, a recent calculation of Japanese consultant joint venture, verified by a Singaporean independent consultant unit, showed that total cost must be VND47 trillion (USD2.07 billion). So far, 51 percent of the project’s workload has been completed and the project is scheduled to be finished in 2020./.