Work on Ho Chi Minh City’s Metro Line No.2, connecting Ben Thanh Market and Tham Luong, will start in 2021, according to the city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).

Metro Line No 2’s planned stations and route map. (Photo courtesy
of the HCM City Management Authority of Urban Railways) 

The MAUR said it is taking all required steps for the bidding process to complete this year.

As the land acquisition process is underway, Vice Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Tran Luu Quang has urged relevant agencies to pay more attention to the project and complete land clearance in June.

The line’s construction is expected to finish in 2025 so that the project can be put into use in 2026, two years later than the initial 2024 goal.

The city’s Ben Thanh – Tham Luong Metro Line will have 10 stations and span more than 11 kilometres through districts 1, 2, 3, 10, 12, Tan Binh and Tan Phu. Trains will travel underground for about 9.2 kilometres.

When completed, the metro line will connect the Thu Thiem new urban area with downtown HCM City and neighbourhoods in the city’s northwestern section.

It is designed to be capable of carrying up to 140,000 passengers per day after the first phase completes and 400,000 passengers per day in the second phase.

The project cost has nearly doubled since its start, from 26 trillion VND (1.1 billion USD) to 47.89 trillion VND (2.05 billion USD).

HCM City authorities had previously announced they would speed up work on Metro Line No 1, connecting Ben Thanh in District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in Thu Duc District so that it could be completed by the end of 2021.