A delegation of senior Ho Chi Minh City officials landed in Tokyo on Monday for a working visit to boost cooperation on Japan-sponsored metro projects in the city.

Deputy Party Chief of Ho Chi Minh City Tat Thanh Cang led the delegation to the Japanese capital city for a working agenda centered around promoting metropolitan projects backed by Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The municipal delegation was welcomed by JICA Vice President Shigeru Kiyama, who discussed metro projects with Vietnamese officials and Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) fund for the city.

The Vietnamese delegation was taken on a field trip to survey Japan’s metro system, before paying a visit to Tokyo Metro’s Comprehensive Learning and Training Center to study the operations of a metropolitan train system.

The officials also attended a meeting with top Japanese businesses and investors including Tokyu Co., Toshin-kaihatsu, and Mitsubishi Real Estate, who are members of the Japanese Conference on Overseas Development of Eco-Cities (J-CODE) and on Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).

Tat Thanh Cang praised the cooperation projects developed by JICA and Ho Chi Minh City in his speech during the visit, stressing the important role they have played in the socioeconomic development of the city.

Cang said he hoped JICA would continue to work with Ho Chi Minh City in accelerating ongoing construction projects, which are part of the city’s future metro system.

The deputy Party chief also suggested potential fields for future cooperation between the parties, such as the expansion of the metro system, water pollution problems in the city’s rivers and canals, and the construction of the second Cho Ray Hospital.

Japan is Vietnam’s single biggest donor of ODA, having offered some 2.6 trillion Japanese yen (US$22.22 billion) in such assistance to Vietnam since it resumed funding in 1992, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Ho Chi Minh City Deputy Party Chief Tat Thanh Cang tests the dashboard of a model metro train at Tokyo Metro’s Comprehensive Learning and Training Center in Tokyo, Japan, on September 5, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The meeting between senior officials of Ho Chi Minh City and Japan’s International Cooperation Agency in Tokyo, Japan, on September 5, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Ho Chi Minh City Deputy Party Chief Tat Thanh Cang visits Tokyo Metro’s Comprehensive Learning and Training Center in Tokyo, Japan, on September 5, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The meeting between senior officials of Ho Chi Minh City and Japan’s International Cooperation Agency in Tokyo, Japan, on September 5, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Ho Chi Minh City senior officials visit Tokyo Metro’s Comprehensive Learning and Training Center in Tokyo, Japan, on September 5, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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