The Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) has introduced an integrated circuit card for the use of the first metro line in the city.

MAUR and Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway No. 1 Co. Ltd., which will operate the metro line, had designed the card, equipping it with the near-field communication technology.

There are two kinds of IC cards: high- and medium security cards.

They will be used as stored fare cards and single journey tickets, which have red and blue colors, respectively.

The front of the card features typical symbols of the city, such as the building of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, Ben Thanh Market, Municipal Theater, Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, Bitexco Financial Tower, and the Landmark 81 skyscraper.

The back of the card includes instructions to use it.

The metro line No. 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, which is 19.7 kilometers long, runs from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Suoi Tien Theme Park in Thu Duc City and carries an estimated price tag of VND43.7 trillion (US$1.9 billion).

The project with three underground stations and 11 above-ground stops is over 95 percent complete and is expected to be put into operation at the end of this year.

Besides the first metro line, work on the first items of the second metro line in the city, linking Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Tham Luong Depot in District 12, started on Thursday.

MAUR is relocating technical infrastructure facilities, such as water and power supply, wastewater drainage, and telecom systems, to make room for the project.

The second metro line in the southern metropolis was designed to stretch 11.2 kilometers, passing through six districts: 1, 3, 10, 12, Tan Binh, and Tan Phu.

It will include a 9.2-kilometer underground section and two-kilometer elevated section, with 10 stations, upon completion.

The project will require an estimated cost of over VND47.89 trillion ($2 billion) and a total space of more than 251,100 square meters and affect 603 households.

The metro line was initially expected to be put into commercial operation in 2016 but the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee later proposed extending the deadline for the completion of the project to 2030.

An office building and ancillary works at the Tham Luong Depot in District 12 have been finished.

The authorities of District 1, District 10, Tan Binh District, and Tan Phu District have completed the compensation for affected entities.

Meanwhile, 66 affected households and units in District 3 have yet to reach a consensus on the compensation with the local administration.

The district and the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment are working to complete the site clearance for the project this year.

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