Metro hopes to carry 50m people annually
HCM CITY — Two metro lines will be completed by 2007, in HCM City, municipal authorities have announced.
"The metro should help ease traffic jams, reduce accidents, and cut commuting time. Less exposure to noise, dust and fumes will also benefit riders accustomed to driving motorbikes," Le Thanh Hai, chairman of the municipal People’s Committee said.
The city has decided to move up the completion date from its originally scheduled 2010. The US$876 million project is expected to receive funds from Official Development Assistance (ODA). The State will contribute 30 per cent. The two lines will be 21km in length.
Line one will run from Ben Thanh Market to Tham Luong in Tan Binh District, with a length of 10.6km. The line will run mostly underground, but 600m will be at ground level, traversing the Tan Son Nhat airport area. The final 1.15km will be elevated.
Line two will extend from the Ben Thanh Market to the Mien Tay Bus Terminal in Binh Chanh District, with a length of 10.4km. It will run underground for the first 4.5km and be elevated for the remaining 5.9km.
Each train will be able to transport 700 to 1,000 passengers every five minutes at a maximum speed of 80km/h. Two metro depots will be built in the Tham Luong Commune in the Tan Binh District and in the Tan Kien Commune in Binh Chanh District.
Dr Trinh Van Chinh, of the Southern Transport Development Research Centre, said the metro system will be capable of providing 50 million passenger journeys in the first year of operation, with fares set at VND2,500 per trip. Within 10 years, that is expected to climb to 100 million passenger trips per year.
After that, four other metro lines will be set up.
The feasibility project has been submitted to the Government. Local authorities are preparing for ground clearance and the German-based Siemens group is ready to open training courses for Vietnamese staff on constructing and managing metro lines.
"Metro construction is complicated work and it requires a line of skilled workers. Viet Nam will receive a lot of assistance from other nations to build the metro," said Dr Chau Ngoc Bau, a senior expert of the Scientific & Technological Import- Export and Production company, of Viet Nam’s Science and Technology Institute.
"The most important work for the nation is to choose one general project manager, who is able to link foreign partners with local workers and has a far-sighted view for a master transportation system," Bau said.
"Construction should be done underground. Doing so may cost 40 per cent more in capital, but it will reduce traffic jams and environmental pollution during construction time," Dr Tran Luan Ngo, an expert from the city’s Transportation and Public Works Department, said.
"Because of the high demand for public transport among city residents, the city should build a high-capacity metro system, with 15,000 to 30,000 people per hour," Ngo said. — VNS
