HANOI - Construction will start this year on the first two metro lines in Ho Chi Minh City, according to the municipal People's Committee.

The lines will be set up along the two axes carrying the heaviest traffic in the city. The first will be 10.2 kilometers in length, running from Ben Thanh market, along Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, to Tham Luong, the terminus on the outskirts of the city.

The second will be from Ben Thanh market, running through Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Tran Phu, Hung Vuong, Hong Bang, Kinh Duong Vuong Streets, to Mien Tay Bus Station, which will serve as the terminus.

Investment capital for the project is estimated at US$795 million (VND12.5 trillion). To accelerate the pace of constructing the two metro lines, the local authorities have decided to form a management board, which will be under the control of the municipal department for public works.

Besides the said metro project, Japanese survey team Houtrans has recently submitted a survey to the People's Committee for a project to build a metro line linking Ben Thanh market with Bien Hoa town in Dong Nai province.

This metro would be 29km long and cost $430 million. The Japanese team also submitted a project to build another beltway, which would be 67km long in order to reduce the pressure of traffic on the current beltway. This line will be built at an estimated cost of $379 million.

(Asia Pulse/VNA)

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