VietNamNet Bridge – Work on an eight-floor operation centre and related works for HCM City's second metro route from Ben Thanh Market to Tham Luong began yesterday (Jan 15) in District 12.

Ben Thanh Market – File photo

The building, being constructed by Hoa Binh Construction and Real Estate Joint Stock company for the Management Authority for Urban Railways, will cost VND173 billion (US$8.2 million) and take an estimated 480 days for completion.

Bui Xuan Cuong, director of the authority, said at the groundbreaking ceremony: "This is the first bidding package of the city's second metro line, and it has great significance with regard to speeding up other packages."

When operational by 2020, it can transport 80,000 passengers per hour at speeds of up to 80km/h.

The line's first stage will run nearly 12km through Districts 1, 3, 10, 12, Tan Binh, and Tan Phu with 10 stations below the ground and one above.

It is expected to cost US$1.4 billion, and will mostly be funded by loans from the Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and German development bank KfW.

In the second stage, it will be expanded to 19km by extending the route at either end to the Thu Thiem New Urban Town in the south and the An Suong Intersection in the north.

The line will then carry some 120,000 passengers an hour.

The city master plan comprises six metro routes with a combined length of around 109 kilometers.

VNS