The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) has promised to provide US$233.3 million in official development assistance (ODA) for Ho Chi Minh City to build a metro line connecting to Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

Metro line 4 b-1 will run over two kilometers from the Lang Cha Ca Intersection to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Construction of the metro line has been approved by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh on the proposal of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The administration of Ho Chi Minh City is tasked with consulting relevant ministries and government bodies in drafting the feasibility report for the project.

Metro line 4 b-1 must fit into the rest of the city’s future metro network and employ the same technologies to allow smooth operation, the Vietnamese government said.

According to Ho Chi Minh City’s Management Authority for Urban Railways, KEXIM has agreed to provide $233.3 million in ODA for the southern metropolis to develop its airport metro line.

The loan is part of an ODA package made available by the government-run Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of South Korea.

KEXIM has also pledged to provide a further $297 million in ODA and $200 million to the export credit agency (ECA) for the second phase of the city’s metro line 5.

The line will run from Can Giuoc Station in District 8 to Bay Hien Intersection in Tan Binh District, the plan for which has been submitted to the city’s administration for approval.