HCMC – The Government has proposed that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) offer a new loan of US$1 billion for the second metro line project, linking Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Tham Luong Depot in District 12, in HCMC, which is set to be approved in 2021.
The loan of US$1 billion, or VND23 trillion, will replace the US$390-million loan, which was cancelled a few days ago, according to the Management Authority for Urban Railway (MAUR) of HCMC.
The municipal government is working with the Ministry of Finance on procedures and conditions for the loan before reporting the steps to the prime minister.
MAUR said the cancellation of the previous loan had been carefully considered by the HCMC government while passing the revised investment of VND47.8 trillion, up from VND26 trillion, for the second metro line in late 2019. As such, the loan cancellation will not affect the implementation of the project, MAUR added.
As for other funds for the project, the entire loan from the European Investment Bank has been cancelled while the municipal government is planning to adjust up the loan from the German KfW Development Bank, VnExpress news site reported.
The Ben Thanh-Tham Luong metro line was rolled out in 2010, with an initial approved investment of some US$1.3 billion. The project was slated for completion in 2020, but has fallen far behind schedule.
MAUR is speeding up the site clearance work to begin construction on the 11-kilometer metro urban railway in the third quarter of 2021 and put it into operation in late 2026.
By Le Anh
