The Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh city has completed a pre-feasibility study for the first phase of the city’s fifth metro line project, reported Thanh Nien newspaper.
The municipal government in late April asked the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment to coordinate with the relevant agencies to consider the project’s pre-feasibility study in the first phase, according to MAUR.
The study will be submited to the prime minister for consideration this year before being sent to the National Assembly for approval.
Related: Real pictures of HCMC’s first metro line unveiled
The Metro Line No.5 in its first phase will run from Bay Hien Intersection in Tan Binh District to Saigon Bridge, stretching some 8.9 kilometers. It is projected to connect with the city’s other metro lines in the years to come, such as Metro Line No.1 at Saigon Bridge, Metro Line 3b at Hang Xanh Intersection, Metro Line No.4 at Phu Nhuan Intersection, Metro Line 4b at Hoang Van Thu Park and Metro Line No.2 at Bay Hien Intersection.
According to the latest data from Transport Engineering Design Inc. based on a study report from Spain-based ICOM consulting firm, the fifth metro line will include a 7.46-kilometer-long underground section and a 1.43-kilometer-long elevated one, with eight stations.
The project requires some US$1.66 billion in investment, equivalent to VND38.7 trillion, jointly backed by the Spanish Government, the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank and German development bank KfW.
Also read: First metro line in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh fully linked, expected to launch next year
It is scheduled for construction between 2025 and 2029 and is slated for operation in 2030.
Also, MAUR is working with the Korea Eximbank and some South Korean investors on the signing of a memorandum of understanding to begin the project’s second phase, under the public-private partnership format.
Reporting by the Saigon Times