Ho Chi Minh City sets start date for Ben Thanh - Tham Luong metro line in January 2026

According to the recently issued plan, Ho Chi Minh City will start construction of metro line 2 Ben Thanh - Tham Luong on January 15, 2026, soon completing the urban railway network.

Information from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on November 10, the City issued a Plan to implement the project to build metro line No. 2 Ben Thanh - Tham Luong.

According to the plan, from October to December 2025, the tasks to be completed include: submitting and issuing the project implementation plan; preparing and appraising the mid-term and final reports of the adjusted Feasibility Study Report; implementing the adjusted environmental impact assessment report, along with monitoring and evaluation reports before adjusting the project.

In November and December 2025, the investor will carry out preparatory work; construction of the entire route is expected to start on January 15, 2026, and construction will begin simultaneously on January 16, 2026.

Compensation, clearance and relocation of technical infrastructure of metro line 2 Ben Thanh-Tham Luong has been basically completed.

The city requires agencies and units to uphold their sense of responsibility, proactively coordinate, and flexibly handle issues arising during the investment preparation process; organize the apparatus and arrange personnel to implement on schedule.

The plan of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee requires departments, branches and wards and communes where metro line 2 passes through to proactively review and streamline administrative processes and procedures, increase the application of information technology and artificial intelligence in classifying records, determining priority levels for processing, in order to shorten the processing time as much as possible compared to current regulations.

The inspection and close monitoring of the progress of file processing, and consideration of the responsibility of groups and individuals causing delays are also required.

The Department of Construction is assigned to be the standing agency, monitoring and urging relevant units to implement the plan. Every two weeks, the Department of Construction will summarize the situation and report to the City People's Committee.

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has also issued a document approving the application of the provisions of Resolution No. 188 of the National Assembly on piloting a number of specific and special mechanisms and policies to develop the urban railway system in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, for the following activities of the project that have not been implemented; at the same time, it is not necessary to re-implement the investment policy approval procedure.

The city also agreed to update the operating costs of experts participating in the appraisal into the total investment.

The Urban Railway Management Board is assigned to organize the preparation and submit to competent authorities for appraisal and approval in accordance with regulations.

Mr. Tran Vo Anh Minh, Deputy Head of the Urban Railway Management Department - Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, said that the total construction time of this metro line is expected to be 57 months and it will officially come into operation in December 2030.

Before official operation, the train is expected to undergo a 3-month trial run, starting from September 2030.

Currently, the Ben Thanh - Tham Luong metro line 2 has completed site clearance work, and units are taking the final steps to relocate electrical and water infrastructure in the areas where underground stations will be built.

Phase 1 of metro line No. 2 Ben Thanh - Tham Luong is expected to start construction in January 2026 and operate in December 2030. (Source: Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction)

Metro line 2 has a total length of 62.17 km, with 42 stations.

Phase 1 Ben Thanh - Tham Luong is over 11.6km, including 9 underground stations and 1 elevated station, directly connected to metro line 1 at Ben Thanh station. The total investment capital of the project is 47,890 billion VND, transferred entirely from ODA capital to the Ho Chi Minh City budget according to the special mechanism of Resolution 188.

This metro line is designed with a maximum operating speed of 90/80 km/h, in the first phase will develop 14 trains, each train has 3 cars.

According to the investor's calculations, the expected daily passenger volume of metro line 2 Ben Thanh - Tham Luong in the first phase is 227,000 passengers during the initial operation period. During peak hours, the number of passengers passing through this line is about 11,856 passengers/hour.

The project was approved in principle in 2010, started in 2019, with the initial plan to operate in 2026 but the completion time was adjusted to the end of 2030.

When completed, metro line 2 Ben Thanh - Tham Luong will play an important role in connecting the central area with the Northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, reducing the load on line 1 and existing roads, contributing to building a modern, green and sustainable public transport system for the city.

Quang Huy

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/tp-hcm-chot-thoi-gian-khoi-cong-metro-ben-thanh-tham-luong-thang-1-2026-ar986416.html