VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City is planning to extend Metro Line No 2 Ben Thanh – Tham Luong to 9.3 km.

The outline of the Metro Line 2 Ben Thanh – Tham Luong. Photo from tuoitre.vn

An additional 5.9 km will link Ben Thanh in District 1 and Thu Thiem Urban Area in District 2, while a 3.4 km section will run from Tham Luong to An Suong Coach Station in District 12.

According to the HCM City Management Authority for Urban Railways, the European Commission intended to offer non-refundable aid of EUR6 million (US$7.17 million) for the project through KfW, the German Development Bank.

The Ben Thanh – Tham Luong Line 2 is 11.33 km long, including a 9.5-km underground section, running through Districts 1, 3, 10, 12, Tan Binh and Tan Phu.

Construction originally began in 2013 with a total cost of VND26.1 trillion ($1.3 billion).

This amount included $540 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), $313 million from the KfW, $195 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and over $326 million of Viet Nam’s reciprocal capital.

In 2015, the city decided to adjust the project, which made the cost rise to $2.19 billion.

Last week, the city People’s Committee recommended that the project be postponed to 2020.

The districts’ authorities said it would begin to reclaim land for the Line 2 project, a process that is expected to finish in June 2018.

The city People’s Committee also recommended the Ministries of Planning and Investment and Finance use Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the state budget in 2017 for the city’s urgent projects.

The Metro Line 1 Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien needs additional capital of VND3.3 trillion ($146 million), while capital of VND300 ($13 million) will be used for the second stage of the city’s environmental project. 

VNS