VietNamNet Bridge - Of the two big projects worth $3 billion to build a metro line and a highway in HCM City, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will finance $1.1 billion.

The low-interest loans will help fund the $1.4 billion mass rapid transit line 2, an 11.3km link from Ben Thanh in HCM City’s center to Tham Luong near the Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

Specifically, the bank will provide $540 million for the line the subway from Ben Thanh to Tham Luong and $636 million for the mass rapid transit line 2.

The construction of the subway will begin next year and be put into operation in 2017. In the first year of operation, the line will serve around 213,000 passengers, 300,000 in 2020 and over 700,000 in 2035. Thanks to this line, the traveling time will be shortened by 20 percent and the number of traffic accidents will reduce by 30 percent.

The European Investment Bank also announced to lend 150 million euros ($201 million) and the German Reconstruction Bank (KfW) with $313 million for the same projects.

The Vietnamese government will cover the remaining capital of $326.5 million.

The ADB said without improvements in major public transport infrastructure, Ho Chi Minh City's economic growth will be constrained by high logistical costs and severe congestion.

The project will be built in coordination with other metro rail lines under development, the first of which has been significantly funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Vietnam also plans to build an urban rail system in Hanoi and held a ground breaking ceremony in September.

The second project is a 57km expressway between Ben Luc and Long Thanh that is intended to further alleviate traffic congestion in the centre and the carrying of goods between the major ports.

The Japan Government is expected to provide $635 million and the Vietnamese Government $337 million for the expressway.

The expressway would address the major gridlock in HCM City because vehicles now had to travel from east to west to pass through the city's heart, said the bank's Transport Division, Southeast Asia, James Lynch.

The gridlock increased logistics costs and hindered the city's economic growth, he said.

The expressway was expected to reduce east-west travel by 80 percent from it opened in 2017. It would be flood-proof with half consisting of bridges and viaducts.

The public projects had been introduced at a time when private vehicles dominated transport and infrastructure was reaching saturation point, he said.

PV