Preparations have been completed and railway authorities are getting ready to start construction of Saigon’s longest metro route.
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Metro Line No. 4 is not only the city's longest at 35.7km, but also the most expensive with a US$4.45 billion price tag (metro lines 1 and 2 are projected to cost US$2.4 billion and US$1.4 billion, respectively), according to Vietnam News.
The route will run through Districts 1, 3, 4, 7, 12, Go Vap, Phu Nhuan and Nha Be, with terminus at Ben Cat Bridge in Go Vap District and Nguyen Van Linh Street in District 7.
According to the HCM City Management Authority for Urban Railways, the line will consist of a 0.73 km above ground section, 18.2km of elevated railway, 13.1 km of underground railway and Metro Line No. 4b, a 3.4km underground extension that runs though Go Vap, Tan Binh and Phu Nhuan Districts.
Under the city’s master development plan, eight metro lines and three monorail lines will be built in the coming years.
The city has already begun construction on its first three metro lines: Metro Line No 1 (linking Ben Thanh Market in District 1 with Suoi Tien Tourist Park in District 9); Metro Line No 2 (connecting Ben Thanh Market with Tham Luong Bus Station in District 12) and Metro Line No 5 (linking Can Giuoc Bus Station in Binh Chanh District with Tham Luong in District 12).
However, if the sloth-like construction speed of the first line is any indication, it will be a long time before the complete system comes to fruition.
[Photo (for illustrative purposes) via Wikicommons]