PM wants HCMC metro completed by Sept. 2

Chinh made the decision upon attending a trial run session of the metro line on Saturday, the second time he inspected the progress of the project.

The last time was in July last year when he inspected the progress on the construction of the Ben Thanh and Ba Son underground stations.

The trial run saw trains run on a 11-km section from Rach Chiec Station to the Suoi Tien bus station in Thu Duc City. The trial is part of a series of runs for HCMC’s first metro line, which have been conducted by the HCMC urban project management committee and the metro line’s contractor for months.

Chinh thanked Japanese ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio for assisting with Japan’s support with ODA loans for Vietnam.

He also requested that Japan continue assisting Vietnam with building strategic traffic infrastructure, including high-speed railways, which would make the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership more effective.

HCMC’s first metro line began construction 11 years ago, at a total investment cost of over VND43.7 trillion ($1.86 billion) using ODA loans from Japan and other loans from inside Vietnam.

The line spans 20 km, from Ben Thanh Station in District 1 to the Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc City. It would have three underground stations and 11 elevated stations.