The total capital needed to extend Metro Line No. 1 from Ho Chi Minh City to Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces is about VND21.234 trillion ($943.7 million), according to figures from a Japanese research team.

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has approved the extension of Metro Line No. 1 from Suoi Tien Station to Bien Hoa city in Dong Nai and Di An commune in Binh Duong, in order to resolve traffic jams between Vung Tau and Suoi Tien.

The plan to extend the Metro Line No. 1 was also approved by the Dong Nai and Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committees in late November.

Metro Line No. 1 runs 19.7 km from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien and can be extended to Sac Market in Bien Hoa city and to Di An commune.

With total capital of $2.49 billion, construction got underway in August 2012, passing through Districts 1, 2, 9, Binh Thanh, and Thu Duc in Ho Chi Minh City and Di An district in Binh Duong.

The line is expected to open in 2020, including 2.6 km of underground line with three stations and over 17 km of elevated line with eleven stations. The project, however, is in danger of being delayed due to a lack of capital.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, the extension has been approved by Dong Nai and Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committees and is in line with the city’s transport development master plan to 2020 and after 2020, approved by the Prime Minister.

In late 2016, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) agreed to support Ho Chi Minh City in conducting research on lengthening Metro Line No. 1 from the city to neighboring Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces.

In related news, in mid-October 2016 the Ho Chi Minh City’s Management Board of Urban Railways (MBUR) submitted a proposal to the city’s People’s Committee on the construction and investment policy for the first stage of Metro Line No. 5, from Bay Hien intersection in Tan Binh district to Saigon Bridge in Binh Thanh district.

The project has received capital commitments from a number of investors, of around $1.87 billion. Capital is coming from the Spanish Government, with $328 million, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) $567 million, the European Investment Bank (EIB) $179 million, and the German Development Bank (KfW) $239 million. The remainder will be in reciprocal capital from the government.

VN Economic Times