This week, the HCMC People’s Committee will convene with relevant departments and agencies to consider a proposal to extend Metro Line No. 1 to two neighboring provinces, Binh Duong and Dong Nai.
In 2022, Dong Nai and Binh Duong submitted a request to the prime minister seeking approval to extend the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien urban railway to Bien Hoa City in Dong Nai and Di An City in Binh Duong.
According to Binh Duong’s proposal, the metro line will run to Binh Thang Ward, Di An City. The first phase will include a 1.8-kilometer section from Suoi Tien Theme Park Station to Binh Thang Station, which will be invested in by Binh Duong and managed by the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways. Phases two and three of the project, totaling 25 kilometers, will start from Di An and connect to a station at the center of Binh Duong New City, which will also link up with the future Bau Bang-Thi Vai-Cai Mep railway.
Dong Nai has proposed extending the rail line only to Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park due to concerns over land clearance difficulties and little space for utility services’ construction. Dong Nai prefers building a transit depot in Di An City, which is two kilometers north of Suoi Tien Theme Park Station. From there, two metro lines will run, one to Binh Duong and the other to Dong Nai.
For the metro line to Dong Nai, one option would be to cross Tan Van Island to Vung Tau T-junction, while the other would run along the Cai River to the center of Bien Hoa City.
The government has included the policy of extending the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line in the planning scheme, as reported by the HCMC portal. Once operational, these metro lines will facilitate residents’ transit between HCMC and Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces, thereby reducing traffic congestion on the roads of northeastern HCMC.
The 19.7-kilometer metro line will connect the iconic Ben Thanh Market and the Suoi Tien Theme Park in Thu Duc City, under the jurisdiction of HCMC. There will be 11 elevated and three underground stations along the railway.