Ben Thanh underground station on HCMC's first metro route is being built just next to the iconic namesake market. 

The four-story station, which will go 32 meters below ground and be 236 meters long, will be the most important of the three underground stations in metro line No.1, which will run 19.7 km from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Suoi Tien theme park in District 9. It will also serve as a transfer station linking with line No.2, 3 and 4 in future.

The first floor will include a concourse, ticket vending machine, automatic toll gate, a help desk, and the station office.

The highlight here is a circular opening 15 meters in diameter and rising six meters to the surface.

The circular area will be covered with glass to shield the station from rain but let sunlight in.

The station has six entrances, including one at the September 23rd Park in front of Ben Thanh Market and Phan Chu Trinh Street next to the market. The HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) said the work would be finished by April.

The first floor will have a shopping area of around 45,000 square meters.

A worker on the first floor. Around 1,000 people are now working to complete the station, all wearing masks and having their temperature checked three times a day to safeguard against Covid-19.

Workers on the floor below. This floor will have the platforms for trains, control office, and the fire safety equipment room.

The third floor will have the air circulation and power supply equipment rooms and staff lounge.

Workers in the fourth and lowest floor, which also has a platform.

An aerial view of the Ben Thanh station.

Being built at a cost of VND43.7 trillion ($1.89 billion), the line will include 14 stations, three underground and 11 on the surface, some elevated. In February completion of the line, which is now 83 percent complete, was pushed back to 2022 from the original deadline of end of this year.