Ho Chi Minh City has launched its first metro line after 17 years of planning and delays, with thousands of excited residents flocking to ride the metro.
The $1.7bn, 20km project, mostly funded by Japanese loans, was initially approved in 2007 with a budget of $668m but faced major hurdles over the years. The metro aims to ease traffic congestion and pollution in the city of 9 million people.
The city was one of Asia’s last major urban centres not to have a metro, according to Nikkei Asia.
The opening of Ho Chi Minh City’s (HCMC) first metro line generated a lot of excitement among the residents, with hundreds queuing at the Ben Thanh station for a free test ride.
The city, burdened by 8.4 million motorbikes and increasing road congestion from automobiles and trucks, urgently needed a mass rapid transit solution to alleviate its traffic chaos, local residents said.
The project faced numerous challenges, including a funding shortage from the Vietnamese government, which prompted Japanese contractors to escalate their concerns through the Japanese embassy in Vietnam, The Bangkok Post reported, citing government reports.
The escalating costs required repeated approvals from Vietnam’s parliament, the outlet reported – a process that proved to be excruciatingly slow.
The metro line stretches from the historic Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to suburban Thu Duc City, ending at Suoi Tien Amusement Park in District 9 in HCMC. Ticket prices range from 6,000 to 20,000 Vietnamese Dong (£0.19 to £0.63), though rides are free for the first 30 days of official operation, which began on Sunday.
The service will run 200 trips daily.
Reactions to Ho Chi Minh City’s new metro ranged from enthusiasm to sarcasm. A VnExpress reader praised its beauty – “it is so beautiful. I can’t wait to try it” – while a Facebook user humorously noted that while the world has reached the moon, HCMC is just getting its first metro.
The city plans six additional lines, but funding remains a challenge.
“I know it (the project) is late, but I still feel so very honoured and proud to be among the first on this metro,” office worker Nguyen Nhu Huyen said.
“Our city is now on par with the other big cities of the world,” she added.
Last year, Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung urged the central government to address financing for future projects.
While celebrated as a milestone, experts say its short-term impact on traffic may be limited due to only 14 station stops. Professor Vu Minh Hoang at Fulbright University Vietnam told AFP that the metro line’s “impact in alleviating traffic will be limited in the short run”. However, he said that it was still a “historic achievement for the city’s urban development”.
The metro “meets the growing travel needs of residents and contributes to reducing traffic congestion and environmental pollution”, the city’s deputy mayor Bui Xuan Cuong said, but added that the authorities had to overcome “countless hurdles” to get the project over the line.
Japanese ambassador to Vietnam, Naoki Ito, said: “We hope this will set a good precedent for urban development in Vietnam and lead to further development of the country.”
Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, director of Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Tourism, said the metro line would boost tourism by offering “convenient connections” to cultural, historical, and entertainment sites, creating “a complete journey for both local residents and international visitors”.
Additional reporting by agencies.
