The longest metro system in Ho Chi Minh City, linking District 2 and the Cu Chi District, will be constructed in years to come for an estimated US$2 billion. On Thursday, the HCMC Urban Railway Management Board reported that it has completed the drafting of a project to build an aboveground metro line in the city. The line will run from the Northwestern Cu Chi Urban Area along National Highway 22 to An Suong Coach Station and through such streets as Truong Chinh, Cach Mang Thang Tam, Pham Hong Thai, and Le Lai before reaching the Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and ending at the Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2. The line is designed to have a total length of 48 km, with 26 terminals located along National Highway 22 and a fleet of 22 trams.  Upon completion, the line will help improve the traffic in many areas in the city, thus contributing to the city’s social and economic development. “This is the longest of the seven metro systems that have been planned for the city so far,” the HCMC Urban Railway Management Board said. On August 28, construction began on the first metro line of the city, the US$2.4 billion Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro project. The metro system is expected to be 19.7 km long, 2.6 km of which will be underground with 3 terminals in District 1. The remaining 17.1 km will be aboveground with 11 terminals in other locations around the city. The metro line will run through District 1, Binh Thanh District, District 2, District 9, and Thu Duc District in HCMC before reaching Di An Town in Binh Duong Province. The project’s investment capital is estimated at VND48 trillion (US$2.4 billion), most of which is sourced from Japanese ODA, the rest from the State budget. The metro system is expected to be complete in 2017 and put into operation one year later.