That is the affirmation of Mr. Phan Cong Bang, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board, about the plan to build 355km of urban railway in the next 10 years.
In order to clarify the solutions in capital mobilization, site clearance (GPMB), and the roadmap for implementing 7 urban railway lines in Ho Chi Minh City in the next 10 years, Giao thong Newspaper reporters talked with Mr. Phan Cong Bang, Head of Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board.
Mr. Phan Cong Bang, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board (MAUR). Photo: My Quynh.
Positive effects from metro line 1
Sir, after more than 2 months of putting metro line 1 Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien into operation, how do you evaluate the effectiveness of this line?
It can be affirmed that the operation of metro line No. 1 has achieved remarkable initial successes.
During the initial phase of conditional acceptance (actual operation but still needing to fix some minor issues), the system encountered problems such as trains stopping when it rained, the operating process was not completely smooth, the automatic ticket system had problems in the early days...
However, we have coordinated and gradually resolved all these difficulties, and now the system is basically operating stably.
Since its operation, metro line 1 has attracted millions of people to experience and use it as a daily means of transportation.
This not only affirms the practicality of the metro but also shows the great need of people for this type of public transport.
Thanks to that, Metro Line 1 has made an important contribution to reducing traffic pressure on major routes, especially Hanoi Highway and main roads leading to the city center.
Metro line No. 1 was put into operation with the support of the city's residents. Photo: My Quynh.
In particular, on February 22, Metro Line 1 was honored to welcome General Secretary To Lam and the Central working delegation and city leaders on the train from Ben Thanh station to Tan Cang station.
Metro line 2 construction may start in 2025
From the success of metro line 1, city residents are eagerly waiting for the next lines. What is the city's plan, sir?
Recently, the National Assembly approved and passed a Resolution to pilot a number of specific and special mechanisms and policies to develop the urban railway network system in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
This is an important milestone, opening up great opportunities to accelerate progress and expand the metro network in two key cities of the country.
For Ho Chi Minh City, we are working hard to deploy metro line 2 - the first line to operate under this special, unique mechanism.
Up to now, Line 2 has basically completed site clearance work; the relocation of technical infrastructure at the stations is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025.
The ground for metro line 2 has been basically handed over, and the technical infrastructure is being relocated. Photo: My Quynh.
With the mechanism applied in the form of designated bidding, the Urban Railway Management Board is urgently completing the procedures for selecting contractors.
First of all, we choose a consulting unit that ensures criteria of capacity and quality to speed up progress.
With metro line 2, we aim to complete it in about 4.5 to 5 years.
Accordingly, by 2030, if metro line 2 is put into operation, it will be an extremely meaningful event.
Currently, Cach Mang Thang Tam Street and Truong Chinh Street are overloaded, traffic jams occur constantly. To go from District 1 to District 12 and vice versa, people have to spend an hour.
If there is a metro , this route will only take about 20 minutes, be fast, safe and pollution-free... that's why this project needs to be implemented soon.
Metro line 2 is about 11km long, most of it underground. Photo: My Quynh.
By 2035, 7 routes with a total length of 355km will be completed.
How are other metro lines prepared, sir?
In parallel with the implementation of metro line 2, we will also prepare to build the remaining metro lines.
The city will carry out preparations, determine the land clearance boundary based on the approved planning; study the station location to have a boundary for land clearance, relocation of technical infrastructure, etc.
It is expected that in 2026, site clearance work will begin simultaneously on the remaining routes.
By the end of 2028, site clearance and technical infrastructure relocation will be basically completed.
At the same time, investment projects are being established. If we make great efforts, we can start construction of the routes by 2029 and complete them by 2035.
The total investment capital demand for the urban railway system of the two cities is about 3,065,100 billion VND, of which the central budget provides targeted support for the two cities with about 424,850 billion VND, the Hanoi city budget balances and allocates about 1,170,250 billion VND, and the Ho Chi Minh city budget balances and allocates about 1,470,000 billion VND.
Among the metro lines that will start construction, we especially prioritize line 2 (extension) connecting Ben Thanh station to Thu Thiem station and line 6 connecting Tan Son Nhat airport.
These routes will be implemented synchronously with the Long Thanh - Thu Thiem light rail route. When completed, these routes will connect Long Thanh airport with Tan Son Nhat airport by urban railway system.
It took 20 years to complete one metro line 1, so is it feasible to complete 7 lines with 335km in 10 years? What experience can be learned from metro line 1 to deploy the lines on schedule?
I think this is an extremely difficult task, so to complete the progress according to Resolution 188/2025/QH15, we need to make efforts, participate resolutely, and synchronously from all stages and agencies.
The appearance of Ho Chi Minh City will change when the metro is completed.
With metro line 2 and future projects, the city can be more proactive because it uses domestic capital, which helps with flexibility in implementation and reduces cumbersome administrative procedures, independent of the lender's terms.
In particular, from the experience of metro line 1, with the following lines we will completely resolve site clearance and relocate technical infrastructure before starting construction.
If this step is not done well, the construction will be delayed, take longer and incur large costs, and complaints and lawsuits from contractors will be very complicated.
The National Assembly's approval of the Resolution on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the metro is an important turning point, helping to remove previous obstacles.
It can be said that the Resolution passed almost comprehensive policies for metro implementation, and any major problems were resolved.
The mechanism of not having to establish an investment policy is a major breakthrough, helping to save time, reduce consulting costs and speed up the implementation of new metro lines. This step alone, if implemented according to normal procedures, would take 2-3 years.
Along with that, Ho Chi Minh City is decentralized to approve investment projects, adjust projects, carry out environmental procedures... to help simplify the process, avoiding the situation of waiting for approval from many levels.
One of the biggest bottlenecks of previous metro projects was site clearance. With the new mechanism, the city is allowed to separate site clearance into an independent project, implemented in parallel with other steps, instead of waiting for completion before starting construction. This is a key factor in speeding up the implementation progress.
Thank you!
7 metro lines with a total length of 355km to be deployed in the next 10 years
Line 1: 40.8km long
+ Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien (nearly 20km completed in December 2004)
+ Ben Thanh - An Ha (Binh Chanh district)
Route 2 : Cu Chi - QL22 - An Suong - Ben Thanh - Thu Thiem; 62.2km
Route 3 : Hiep Binh Phuoc - Binh Trieu - Cong Hoa 6-way intersection - Tan Kien - An Ha; 45.8km
Route 4 : Dong Thanh (Hoc Mon) - Tan Son Nhat airport - Ben Thanh - Nguyen Huu Tho - Hiep Phuoc new urban area; 47.3km
Route 5 : Long Truong - Hanoi Highway - Saigon Bridge - Bay Hien - Da Phuoc Depot; 53.9km
Line 6 : Inner belt; 53.8km
Line 7 : Tan Kien Station (Binh Chanh District) - Nguyen Van Linh Street - Thu Thiem - Thao Dien - Thanh Da - High-tech Park - Vinhome Grand Park; 51.2km
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/no-luc-trien-khai-7-tuyen-metro-trong-10-nam-toi-192250228174158968.htm
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