The Hanoi administration is seeking the go-ahead from the prime minister to develop a 38-kilometer-long metro line worth around VND65.4 trillion (US$2.8 billion).

In a recent pre-feasibility report, the local government urged Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to submit the investment plan for the capital city’s fifth metro line, called Van Cao-Hoa Lac, to the lawmaking National Assembly.

The line is envisaged to link Van Cao Street in downtown Ba Dinh District with the outlying district of Quoc Oai, which is home to the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park.

It will span a total of seven districts – Ba Dinh, Dong Da, Cau Giay, Nam Tu Liem, Hoai Duc, Thach That, and Quoc Oai – all in Hanoi.

The route will accommodate 21 stations, comprising six underground stops and 15 elevated ones, as well as two depots, with one covering around 18 hectares in Hoai Duc District and the other occupying seven hectares in Thach That District.

Hanoi authorities want to allocate part of the city’s state budget worth around VND15 trillion ($648 million) for the development of the metro line between 2022 and 2026.

The remainder will come from privatization and divestment deals worth VND18-20 trillion ($778-864 million), bond issuance totaling VND10 trillion ($432), and loans from local and international credit institutions.

The line’s construction costs are estimated at VND24.8 trillion ($1.07 billion) while machinery will cost VND16.6 trillion ($717 million).

The city government expects to operate from 25 to 40 trains of four to six carriages each on the route, which could travel at about 120 kilometers per hour and 90 kilometers per hour on the underground sections.

The municipal authorities suggested the prime minister establish a national appraisal council to review the pre-feasibility report before submitting it to the legislative body late this year.

The Van Cao-Hoa Lac metro line is among the eight metro systems Hanoi plans to develop until 2030 to improve the city’s public transportation and reduce traffic congestion in the capital, which now accommodates around 7.5 million people.

So far, only the Cat Linh-Ha Dong and Nhon-Hanoi Station lines have been almost complete.

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