On the night of January 24, Mr. Phan Cong Bang - Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Authority (MAUR) - and representatives of the contractor had a field inspection of the construction site of Metro Line No. 2 project (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong). Immediately after the project started, the units started surveying and preparing for the overall construction campaign lasting 57 months with the goal of reaching the finish line in 2030.
Underground station construction started in March, traffic diversion to avoid congestion
At the inspection, Mr. Phan Cong Bang said that to meet the project completion requirements in 2030, from the beginning, the project has been built with detailed progress. On that basis, from March 1st, the units will officially deploy simultaneous construction at the site. In the immediate future, the project focuses on two main stations, S5 station (Le Thi Rieng) and S10 station (Pham Van Bach). Geological survey work is carried out in advance and is expected to be completed in a short time for specialized units to deploy design. According to the plan, by March, the technical dossiers of these two stations will be completed.
Referring to the technical construction plan for the underground station, Mr. Bang informed that from March 1, the project entered the stage of excavation and structure construction. It is expected that after about 1 year of focusing on constructing the station structure, the ground will be technically sufficient to lower the TBM excavator (tunnel robot) into the ground.
Specifically at Le Thi Rieng station, it is expected to arrange 3 excavators, including 2 machines heading towards Ben Thanh station and 1 machine heading towards Bay Hien station. After completing this phase, excavators from Bay Hien station will return to continue construction. Leaders of the Management Board emphasized that this is a key project to celebrate the 14th National Party Congress, creating motivation for units to be determined to accelerate progress.
Assessing the traffic impact, Mr. Bang admitted that because 11 stations are mainly located on the Cach Mang Thang Tam road, construction will certainly affect travel. In the S5 station area, the project will ban a part of the road and organize a replacement route through the park area. During the Lunar New Year, the project is expected to be temporarily closed for about 1 week and from the 6th day of Tet, construction will resume, including organizing a replacement road in the Pham Van Bach station area.
Metro Line 2 will use unmanned automatic trains. To clarify further about technology and safety assurance plans, Mr. Vu Van Vinh - Director of Metro Line 2 Project Management Board - said that immediately after the groundbreaking ceremony (January 15), the unit immediately drilled for geological exploration to serve the design.
Previously, the project drilled more than 200 holes along the line, and now it will drill more than 500 more holes to "scan" the ground thoroughly. Mr. Vinh said that the soil foundation in this area is relatively stable, mainly clay mixed with sand, very similar to the geology of Metro Line No. 1, so the engineers are completely in control of the situation.
Regarding the type of train used for the project, Mr. Vinh affirmed that Metro Line 2 will use the most modern technology in the world today. The train will run completely automatically (without direct drivers), helping to reduce labor and operate more accurately. Although the train runs automatically, the city will still train personnel before 18 months, including sending people to study abroad to be ready for operation in 2030.
To ensure the project is not delayed, the investor has divided the route into 12 important milestones to check the contractor's capacity. In particular, Mr. Vinh emphasized that the underground excavation process will be equipped with specialized measurement equipment for continuous monitoring, ensuring absolute safety for houses located next to the project.
