HCMC Metro: line 1 U/C

[Yappofloyd]

Just another one of those rubbery VNA reports perhaps to remind the govt as much as the public.

I've been in HCM the last 4 days and there is no evidence that anything has happened but the bare minimum of preparation works in one location. Contrary to previous VNA releases.

[Yappofloyd]

Didn't realise that HCM will go from 7 million pop to 20 million by 2020!!!
City seeks Spanish loans for subways By Song Nguyen - The Saigon Times Daily 08/02/09
HCMC - HCMC will add three subways to the list of projects to use Spanish loans this year, said a source of the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways. In a statement issued by the Government Office last month, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved a HCMC proposal to put the fourth subway project on the list of top-priority projects to be financed by Spanish and Asian Development Bank (ADB) loans this year.

The fourth subway, also known as Route 4, will connect Ben Cat Bridge in Go Vap District in the north with Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard in District 7 in the south. The PM also allowed the city to hold negotiations with Spain over financing for two other subways, Saigon-Can Giuoc and Ba Queo-Phu Lam.

An official of the railway authority told the Daily on Thursday that the city wanted to raise funds from Spain’s official development assistance and ADB loans for the rail line linking Go Vap District and District 2.

This is also the outcome of a meeting between leading Spanish companies and the city’s vice chairman Nguyen Thanh Tai in HCMC last July. At the meeting, these companies showed strong interest in working with HCMC over metro development. The Spanish companies said they developed many metro projects around the world so they would be able to find appropriate solutions to financing the projects in the city, the source said.

The fourth subway, with a length of around 14 km for the main line and 2.3 km for the feeder-line, will require around US$1.04 billion. Meanwhile, Route 5 will have a total length of 15 km, starting form Can Giuoc Coach Station in District 8 and ending at the Saigon Bridge. The 6-km Route 6 will connect Ba Queo in Tan Binh District and Phu Lam in District 6.

HCMC will need around US$900 million for developing the Saigon-Can Giuoc and US$320 million for the latter. The city also plans to seek aid from Spain to carry out surveys of the two routes. The city’s relevant agencies are making preparations and complete the formulation of detailed development plans for two other urban railroads, routes 2 and 3a. They will have a total length of 27 kilometers. Ben Thanh-Tham Luong line will require US$1.25 billion and Ben Thanh-Mien Tay Coach Station US$880 million.

Under the city’s development master plan to 2020, there will be seven subway lines – 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4, 5 and 6, with a combined length of 107 km. US$5-6 billion will be needed for them. The city’s fast population growth requires the city to develop mass rapid transport. A survey shows the population of HCMC would reach 20 to 22 million by 2020, compared to about seven million by the end of 2008.

[Yappofloyd]

Ceremony launches work on Ho Chin Minh City metro Line 2, 25 August 2010 IRG

VIETNAM: Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai attended a ceremony on August 24 at which the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee formally marked the start of work on metro Line 2. Opening is scheduled for 2016.

The first phase of Line 2 will be 11·2 km long, linking Tham Luong in the northwestern District 12 to Ben Thanh in the central District 1, following the Duong Truong Chinh, Duong Cash Mang Thang Tam, Pham Hong Thai and Dai Lo Ham Nghi roads. There will be a 1 km spur to the depot at Tham Luong, and the line will have one elevated station at Tham Luong and 10 underground stations. It will initially require 12 three-car trains, a study by MVA recommending 750 V DC third rail electrification.

A planned second phase would extend Line 2 northwest from Tham Luong to An Suong and east from Ben Thanh, under the Saigon River to Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2.

The cost of Phase 1 is estimated at 23 691bn dong, which the city expects to secure through development loans and the state budget. Asian Development Bank is expected to approve a US$540m financing facility in November, the German government announced plans to provide €86m in 2008 and EIB has allocated up to €150m.

Hoang Ngoc Tuan of project promoter HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways told VietNamNet that the city is 'prudently calculating the budget' for Line 2, 'having gained experiences relating to the swelling investment of the first metro line', the 19·7 km Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien line under construction for opening in 2015.

The metro forms part of a Transport Master Plan which aims to increase public transport modal share in the city from 5% to more than 40%. According to ADB the city's population is expected to grow from 9 million to 13·8 million by 2025, and road infrastructure is already reaching saturation.
http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/s...ro-line-2.html

[Yappofloyd]

EIB supports Ho Chi Minh metro Line 2, IRG, 07 December 2010

VIETNAM: Magdalena Álvarez Arza, Vice President of the European Investment Bank, signed a finance contract worth €150m with Vietnamese Deputy Finance Minister Tran Xuan Ha on December 6. The loan is part of a funding package for the first phase of metro Line 2 in Ho Chi Minh City. The Asian Development Bank will lend US$540m while German Development Bank KfW has pledged €240m, including €85·75m in official development assistance from the German government.

Work on the 11·3 km line from Ben Thanh to Tham Luong, with 11 stations, started in August and is due for completion in 2016. The project also includes a depot at Tham Luong and the acquisition of 12 three-car trains. The line is expected to carry 140 000 passengers per day.

Nguyen Do Luong, head of the Management Authority for Urban Railways, told reporters that completion of a 100 km network in Ho Chi Minh City, comprising seven metro lines, two monorails and a light rail line, is envisaged by 2022.

[Yappofloyd]

City urges speedy land clearance, VNS, 24/06/11
HCM CITY — The HCM City People's Committee chairman Le Hoang Quan has ordered districts through which the city's first metro line will pass to acquire and clear the required land by September 30. Of the five districts through which the 19.7km metro line No 1 –from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Suoi Tien Park in District 9 – passes, only Binh Thanh has completed land clearance while Thu Duc, 1, 2 , and 9 are in the progress of relocating affected households and making plans for land clearance and compensation.

District 2 has only moved 185 of 329 households so far while District 9 has yet to relocate some families. The plan envisaged them finishing land clearance by the end of last year. Bui Xuan Cuong, deputy director of the city Department of Transport, said after all the districts complete the task, the People's Committee would ratify a plan to adjust the project investment.

The Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), the agency in charge of it, would carry out negotiations to choose contractors for the project which would be in the form of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), Cuong told Dau Tu newspaper. MAUR was inviting tenders for the metro's three main bidding packages for building the underground and elevated sections and the depot, supply of railway-related electrical and mechanical equipment, and rolling stock, a MAUR spokesperson said.

For metro line No 2, to link the Thu Thiem new urban area in District 2 and An Suong bus station in Hoc Mon District, MAUR is now inviting tenders for consultancy for design, procurement, and supervision of the work. Land clearance for it is expected to be finished in the third quarter of this year. Nguyen Do Luong, MAUR's director, said his agency would organise a pre-bid seminar on July 4.

The city's plan for transport networks envisages building six metro routes at a cost of VND20-30 trillion ($1-1.5 billion) each. — VNS


A couple of somewhat tacky promo videos for Line 1. The first at least gives a clear overview of the route.



And this older consultants video

[Yappofloyd]

Metro line 2 is progressing very slowly with some further land acquisition. It is now said to be 2 years behind schedule.

A recent transport seminar (7-10 Oct) in HCM proposals were made for a 8-10 line BRT network of some 126km in the city as being a cheaper and quicker mass transit substitute for some of the metro lines. A tram line has also been proposed.

[Yappofloyd]

Sometimes in a centrally planned, one party state with corruption in civil works projects you need to state the obvious. Not sure that I believe the sentence which says that Line 2 is also under construction.

Construction ministry to ban cheap bidding, VNS, 27 Oct 2011
HCM CITY — Cheap bid packages would be limited to ensure the quality of public transportation projects, Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung has said. The minister said in recent years many public transport projects had not been completed on schedule because of unqualified contractors. These contractors were hired because they had placed the lowest bids, Dung told a meeting with HCM City's Management Authority for Urban Railways last week.

The construction ministry and several ministries are working on measures that would prevent this practice from continuing. A circular will be issued to enable agencies and localities to hire the best qualified contractors for transport infrastructure construction projects. Dung also said that the Government, several ministries and branches would allocate more capital sources to transport infrastructure projects with the aim to prevent traffic congestion. In addition, he said that projects using funds from ODA (Official Development Assistance from foreign donors) must adhere to technical standards, and that technology, management and supervision processes should be carefully monitored.

All metro railway construction projects should also be managed closely in every stage, from the drawing up of projects to developing, managing and operating. Dung asked investors to study metro projects in other countries and hire experts as consultants or managers for Viet Nam's metro projects. The city is stepping up development of two major urban railway construction projects, the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien section and Thu Thiem-Tay Ninh Bus Station.

The first project, which began in 2007 and is expected to open in 2018, is a 19.7-km long metro line that links Ben Thanh Market to the amusement park of Suoi Tien. The line includes a 2.6-km long underground section and a 17-km elevated section with 14 stations. Its total investment capital is US$2.49 billion, with 88.4 per cent coming from ODA sources and the remainder from the state budget.

The construction of the 19-km long metro line No 2 from Thu Thiem Peninsula in District 2 to Tay Ninh Coach Station is also under construction. The 11.32-km section of the second line, stretching from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Tham Luong in District 12, requires an investment capital of $1.375 billion.

The Asian Development Bank, German Development Bank and European Investment Bank will likely fund $540 million, $313 million, and $ 313 million, respectively. The project also requires $326.5 million of reciprocal capital sources from the city. The city is also making preparations for other railway construction projects and cable car systems. They include Sai Gon Bridge, a new Can Giuoc Bus Station, Ben Thanh – Tan Kien route; and Cong Hoa –Hiep Binh Phuoc route. — VNS

[Yappofloyd]

A start on construction finally inches closer to reality....

Ho Chin Minh City metro line 1 construction contract signed, International Railway Gazette, 29 May 2012
VIETNAM: A contract for the construction of the first stage of Ho Chi Minh City metro line 1 was signed on May 16, paving the way for main works to begin in September. The 17·1 km elevated section between Ben Thanh Market and Suoi Tien Park with 11 stations is to be designed and built by a consortium of state-owned Civil Engineering Construction Corp No 6 and Japanese firm Sumitomo Corp at a cost of 15·3tr dong.

A separate contract is to be let for the 2·6 km underground section between Ben Thanh Market and Bason Shipyard with three stations, while a third contract will cover railway systems for the line. The total cost of Line 1 is estimated at 47tr dong, of which 88% will come from Japanese official development assistance funds. Completion is planned for 2018.

On May 17 Asian Development Bank and the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee signed a memorandum of understanding for a US$500m loan to fund metro Line 2. Work on the US$1·4bn line began in 2010 and is scheduled for completion in 2016.

[Yappofloyd]

Work starts on Ho Chin Minh City metro Line 1, 31 August 2012, IRG

VIETNAM: Transport Minister Dinh La Thang and representatives from the Japanese embassy attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the future Ho Chi Minh City metro Line 1 on August 28. Completion is planned for late 2017, with six months of testing and commissioning to be followed by regular services in 2018.

The first 17·1 km elevated section of Line 1 between Ben Thanh Market and Suoi Tien Park with 11 stations is to be designed and built by a consortium of state-owned Civil Engineering Construction Corp No 6 and Japanese firm Sumitomo Corp, under a 15·3tr dong contract signed on May 16. Separate contracts are to be awarded for a 2·6 km underground section from Ben Thanh Market to Bason Shipyard with three station. A third contract will cover railway systems.

Initial daily ridership is predicted at 186 000 passengers, rising to 620 000 by 2020 and 1 million a day by 2040. Trains will run at up to 110 km/h on the elevated sections and 80 km/h underground, with headways of around 5 to 6 min. The total cost of Line 1 is estimated at 47tr dong, of which 88% will come from Japanese official development assistance funds. A total of six metro lines are planned for Ho Chi Minh City. Line 2 is already under construction, and basic designs have been approved for 3A and 3B.

[Yappofloyd]

Not sure that work has started yet on Line 2 as this states - need to check that. I did a check of the Line 1 route back in Dec during my annual trip to HCM and little work was underway at that time apart from the Depot site and demolition of private dwellings along the right of way.

Funding agreed for Ho Chi Minh City Line 5, by Keith Barrow, IRJ, 18 March 2013
THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have agreed to provide a $US 260m loan to support the construction of Ho Chi Minh City metro Line 5. Representatives of the bank signed a memorandum of understanding with Mr Nguyen Huu Tin, vice-chairman of the municipal's people's committee in the city on March 13.

The $US 857m initial phase involves construction of the 8.8km section from an interchange with Line 1 at Cua Sai Gon to Bay Hien on Line 2 in Tan Binh district. In the longer-term the line will be extended 8.2km south to Ben xe Can Guoc. With the completion of this phase, Line 5 will have capacity for around 526,000 passengers per day.

Construction is already underway on Lines 1 and 2, which are both due to be completed in 2017, with the ADB and EIB providing finance for Line 2.