Ho Chi Minh City uses budget capital to invest in metro line 2 (Ben Thanh)

Ho Chi Minh City will use budget capital to invest in building metro line No. 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong) which is more than 11 km long.

Ho Chi Minh City uses budget capital to invest in metro line 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong)

Ho Chi Minh City will use budget capital to invest in building metro line No. 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong) which is more than 11 km long.

On November 25, the Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee announced the conclusion of the Party Committee on the proposed implementation plan for the Metro Line 2 Project (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong), (abbreviated as Metro Line 2).

After reviewing Document No. 7253/TTr-UBND of the City People's Committee, the Party Committee of the City People's Committee agreed on the policy of using the City's budget to invest in Metro Project No. 2 and adding the project to synchronously connect Metro Lines No. 1 and No. 2 at Ben Thanh Station area to Metro Project No. 2.

Metro Line 2 started construction of the technical infrastructure in June 2023. However, the main contract package of the project has not yet determined the official commencement date - Photo: Le Toan

The Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee assigned the City People's Committee to direct, the Urban Railway Management Board to preside over, and coordinate with relevant departments and branches to urgently complete the plan, including a comprehensive impact assessment report on arising issues (legal, financial, diplomatic , etc.).

At the same time, research and add the EPC mechanism to the Urban Railway Development Project according to Conclusion No. 49-KL/TW of the Politburo .

The Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee determined that metro line 2 must be a pilot project with policy mechanisms from the Urban Railway Development Project according to Conclusion No. 49KL/TW of the Politburo , so the City People's Committee should study and supplement policies to complete the implementation plan and submit it to the Party Committee of the City People's Committee before November 28.

The Ho Chi Minh City State Financial Investment Company is assigned to preside over and coordinate with the Department of Finance and relevant units to research and advise the City People's Committee on appropriate capital mobilization methods to implement Metro Line 2 Project to submit to the City People's Committee before November 30, 2024.

Metro line No. 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong), over 11 km long, was approved in 2010 with a total initial investment of 1.3 billion USD (equivalent to 26,000 billion VND).

By 2019, the Project's total investment was adjusted to 2.1 billion USD (nearly 47,900 billion VND). Of which, ODA loans accounted for 37,487 billion VND from three main sponsors: the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the German Reconstruction Bank (KfW) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

A recent report by the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board (MAUR) shows that arranging finance for the project is facing many difficulties due to changes in loan conditions from international donors.

According to the plan, metro line 2 will be put into operation from 2026. However, due to many obstacles from the problem of borrowing capital, Ho Chi Minh City has requested to adjust the completion time to 2030.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tphcm-dung-von-ngan-sach-de-dau-tu-tuyen-metro-so-2-ben-thanh---tham-luong-d230910.html