HCMC – HCMC will begin work on some packages of a green traffic or a first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line project in the last quarter of this year, according to the HCMC Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority.
Luong Minh Phuc, director of the authority, said work on pedestrian bridges and stops along the first BRT line would begin first. In addition, the operation center in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area and the terminal in the Rach Chiec National Sports Complex will be built, the local media reported.
Procedures to adjust the investment plan and extend a contract to borrow loans for the project from the World Bank until December 31, 2023, have been completed.
Accordingly, the HCMC Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority will be the investor of the project, which requires an estimated US$143 million, with US$123 million of it to be borrowed from the World Bank’s International Development Association and over US$20 million coming from the city’s reciprocal capital.
In late November last year, the HCMC government approved adjustments to the project, extending the deadline to complete the project to 2023.
The city’s first BRT line, which will be 26 kilometers long, will run along Vo Van Kiet and Mai Chi Tho roads and pass through districts 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, Binh Tan and Binh Chanh.
The BRT route will start at the An Lac Roundabout and end at the Rach Chiec National Sports Complex. Once the new Ben Tay Coach Station is completed, the starting point will be at the station.
There will be 28 stops, two transit stations—Hai Thuong Lan Ong and Ham Nghi—and eight parking lots along the route.
In the first phase, investment will be poured into 42 buses with a capacity of 60-72 passengers each. Once in place, the route with an overall designed speed of 60 kilometers per hour will help shorten the travel time and improve the efficiency and safety of the public passenger transport system.
The World Bank has approved the tender plan to choose investors for the project to support techniques for the BRT project.
On September 24 last year, the HCMC government passed the plan to choose contractors for the project. The HCMC Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority is completing procedures to choose contractors for priority packages of the project.
