The railway of Ho Chi Minh City’s first-ever metro line is scheduled to be installed later this month.

Duong Huu Hoa, director of Project Management Unit 1 under Ho Chi Minh City’s Management Authority of Urban Railways, has confirmed that the next important phase of the metro construction will be carried out on October 23.

A 19.7 kilometer railway will be added to the city’s metro route No.1, which connects Ben Thanh Terminal in District 1 with Suoi Tien Terminal in District 9.

The first part of the railroad construction will be implemented from the Binh Thai intersection in District 9 to the flyover on Hanoi Highway, located in District 2.

The construction and maintenance of the tracks will be taken care of by the Japanese developer, Hitachi.

The track installation was originally scheduled for the beginning of October but has been postponed due to several new changes to tax regulations.

The metro line, breaking ground in August 2012, is designed to be 19.7 km long, running from District 1 through Binh Thanh District, District 2, District 9.      

The pilot operational phase of the metro system is expected to begin in 2019, while its inauguration will be in 2020 as per the plan.

The implementation of the structure has undergone several delays, with slow disbursement of official development assistance (ODA) provided by Japan being one of the main reasons.

According to the Management Authority of Urban Railways, several parts of the metro project have been executed with positive progress, including the construction of the 17.1 kilometer elevated sections and maintaining stations, whose 70 percent has been finished.

Over 50 percent of its underground section, which runs from the Municipal Theater to Ba Son Station in District 1, has also been completed.

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