Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has agreed in principle to build a metro line from Bay Hien crossroad to the Saigon Bridge in Ho Chi Minh City, supported by Spain’s preferential official development assistance (ODA) loan.
The PM has asked the HCMC People’s Committee to instruct the project owner to prepare a feasible study report on the route and ensure provision to meet the population capacity in the project.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI) and relevant agencies were asked to pay attention to the organization and implementation of the project.
The MoPI was assigned to officially inform the Spanish side about the project in keeping with the agreement under the financial cooperation program between the two governments.
Earlier, Spain pledged to provide EUR500 million in ODA for the construction of the first phase of the metro line No.5.
The city’s urban railway system has six metro routes, of which metro line No. 1, which is 19. 7 kilometers long and runs from Ben Thanh Market in the city center to Suoi Tien, is financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the 19-kilometer long metro line No. 2 from Ben Thanh Market to An Suong Bus Station in Hoc Mon District, is funded by the German Reconstruction Credit Institute (KfW), the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank.