HCMC – Dong Nai Province has proposed extending HCMC’s Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line to the Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park in the province’s Bien Hoa City.
The provincial Department of Transport on August 24 sent the proposal to the Dong Nai government, prompting the latter to propose the prime minister approve of a plan to lengthen the metro line to the industrial park in An Binh Ward.
Under a decision signed on April 8, 2013, by the prime minister, HCMC’s first metro line will be lengthened from the Suoi Tien Theme Park station to the Sat Market intersection in Tan Bien Ward, Bien Hoa City, along National Highway 1.
If the proposal is approved, the link between the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line and the Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park will facilitate traffic in the province, according to the Dong Nai Department of Transport.
The industrial park, which covers over 300 hectares, is being converted into a commerce-service-urban complex, the local media reported.
After the functional conversion, the industrial park will be divided into two areas, an administrative and political center and a commercial and service hub.
It is essential to build a station and relevant components at the Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park, while Dong Nai Province has planned to develop a road along the Cai River to connect the heart of Bien Hoa City with the park, said the provincial department.
HCMC’s first metro line project, nearly 90% complete, is expected to be put into commercial operation in the last quarter of next year. The 20-kilometer urban rail line includes three underground stations and 11 elevated stations and requires an estimated investment of over VND43.7 trillion.