Attending the event were Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong, along with leaders of municipal departments and agencies, local authorities, and representatives of the project’s investor.
The Ben Thanh–Can Gio metro line is Ho Chi Minh City’s first high-speed rail project, stretching more than 54 kilometers and designed for a maximum speed of up to 350 kilometers per hour. The project will start in the Ben Thanh area of Saigon Ward and terminate at the Can Gio Vinhomes Green Paradise tourism and urban complex. According to the plan, the project is scheduled for completion and commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2028.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong stressed that the project plays a particularly important role in developing the city’s urban rail network, strengthening connectivity between central Ho Chi Minh City and the Can Gio area, and expanding linkages with the broader urban, service, and maritime economic space of Ba Ria–Vung Tau. The project is expected to serve as a powerful catalyst for socio-economic development in Ho Chi Minh City as well as the Southern Key Economic Region in a new phase of growth.
The city’s Vice Chairman noted that the implementation of the Ben Thanh–Can Gio railway carries strategic significance, aligned with efforts to reorganize urban space, develop new economic models, and improve residents’ quality of life. The project represents a concrete step in implementing Politburo Resolution No. 68 on private-sector economic development, creating a breakthrough in mobilizing social resources, particularly private capital, for investment in strategic transport infrastructure projects, he added.
To ensure the project is implemented on schedule and meets quality standards, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong called on departments and agencies to maximize the mobilization of resources and streamline procedures for construction investment. He urged local authorities along the route to treat compensation, support, and resettlement as a key political task aimed at securing public consensus throughout the implementation process.
At the same time, city leaders requested that the investor strictly adhere to commitments on project timelines, construction quality, and environmental protection, particularly ensuring that the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve is not adversely affected.
Also on the morning of December 19, Ho Chi Minh City simultaneously broke ground on several other key projects, including the construction of the Youth Cultural Center; the upgrading and expansion of the Hoi Bai–Phuoc Tan Road (DT992) section from National Highway 51 to the Bien Hoa–Vung Tau Expressway; the urban upgrading of Thuy Van Avenue in Vung Tau Ward; Subproject 2 of Phase 1 of the Ho Chi Minh City–Moc Bai Expressway project; Subprojects 1 and 2 of the Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 2 project; and the Nguyen Khoai Bridge and Road project.
In addition, the city conducted a technical opening to traffic of a 14.7-kilometer elevated mainline section under Subproject 1 of the Ring Road 3 project within the city’s boundaries. This milestone is expected to help complete the inter-regional transport network and provide fresh momentum for sustainable socio-economic development in the period ahead.
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