After years of funding shortages, rising costs, and bureaucratic delays, Ho Chi Minh City is set to open its first metro line to service its 10 million residents.
Due to years of intermittent construction, the new ticket vending machines are somewhat outdated as they accept coins that are no longer in use; however, passengers have the option to pay with paper money and credit cards.
The 19.7-kilometer metro line was approved in 2007 with an initial cost estimate of approximately 17.4 trillion dong (23 billion baht), a figure that ballooned to 43.7 trillion dong, with a planned opening in 2018. Construction commenced in 2012, supported significantly by financing from the Japanese government. The project faced hurdles, including a lack of funding from the Vietnamese government, which led to complaints from Japanese contractors through the Japanese embassy in Vietnam, according to local media and government reports.
The escalating costs required continual re-approval from Vietnam’s parliament, a lengthy process.
The metro line extends from the historic Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to the suburban area of Thu Duc City and Suoi Tien Amusement Park in District 9. Fares for individual trips range from 6,000 dong to 20,000 dong, but rides will be free for the first 30 days of operation, which began on Sunday. The line is scheduled to operate 200 trips each day.
Residents weary of traffic congestion in the nation’s financial hub expressed excitement about the opening. Hundreds queued outside the Ben Thanh underground station on Thursday for a free test ride.
With 8.4 million motorbikes congesting narrow streets and an increasing number of cars and trucks contributing to road chaos, the need for a mass rapid transit line is urgent.
“It’s so beautiful,” commented one reader on the VnExpress news website regarding the metro. “I can’t wait to try it.”
The sound of the metro cars also elicited humorous responses on social media. “The world has gone to the moon, but in Vietnam we now just have MRT to travel on,” joked one Facebook user.
Ho Chi Minh City is ambitiously planning to add six more metro lines, according to the city’s government. At a conference last year, Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung urged the central government to address the city’s financing needs for future lines.
