Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong) was approved in 2010 with an initial total investment of 1.3 billion USD (equivalent to 26,000 billion VND). By 2019, the investment was adjusted to 2.1 billion USD (nearly 47,900 billion VND). Of which, ODA loans accounted for the majority, with 37,487 billion VND from three main sponsors: Asian Development Bank (ADB), German Reconstruction Bank (KfW) and European Investment Bank (EIB).
Initially, Metro Line 2 was expected to be operational from 2026. However, due to many obstacles, Ho Chi Minh City has adjusted the completion time to 2030.
A recent report from the Management Board of Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railways (MAUR) shows that many issues continue to cause delays. Financial arrangements for the project have encountered many difficulties due to changes in loan conditions from international donors. In particular, the addition of a loan from KfW for the CS2B consulting package has been delayed due to incomplete procedures. This affects the progress as it has to wait for relevant departments to report and approve the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee before submitting the financial plan to the Ministry of Finance for approval.
The CS2B consulting package, which plays a key role in construction supervision, design updates and main contractor selection, is currently on hold due to financial issues from KfW.
This package is worth about 55.26 million EURO (equivalent to 63 million USD), expected to be implemented from 2025-2032 but has not been able to be implemented due to not securing the necessary capital.
According to MAUR, to achieve the goal of completing the construction of Metro Line 2 by 2030, construction work must be implemented in 2025. Updating bidding documents and organizing contractor selection for the main packages of the project must be completed in 2025, which means that CS2B consultants must be mobilized as soon as possible.
The relocation of technical infrastructure (including electricity, water supply, drainage, trees, telecommunications) began in March 2024, but progress is still slow. The progress has only reached 27% of the plan, although construction has been carried out at 12 station locations and open-cut sections.
MAUR said that the construction progress outside the construction site was affected due to the nature of construction in a narrow urban area, with many complex intersections and many coordinating parties.
Besides, site clearance work is still stuck in the districts.
Metro Line 2 project passes through districts 1, 3, 10, 12, Tan Binh and Tan Phu with a clearance area of more than 251,000 m2, affecting 585 households and organizations.
The site handover rate has reached 98.46% (576/585 cases), but there are 9 remaining cases in District 3 and Tan Binh that have not been completed.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has directed districts to carry out enforcement procedures to ensure progress, expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024.
The entire Metro Line 2 is more than 11 km long, of which 9.2 km is underground, the rest is elevated and the road leading to Tham Luong depot (District 12). The project has 9 underground stations and one elevated station.
According to plan, Metro Line 2 will be constructed in 5 years and put into operation at the end of 2030.
When completed, the project will connect Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) at Ben Thanh Station (District 1) and many other routes in the future, making it convenient for people to travel along the East-West axis to the center of Ho Chi Minh City.
