Thach Ban Park JSC has proposed developing a nearly-30-kilometer-long automated guideway transit linking Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City and Dam Sen Cultural Park in District 11 at a total cost of VND20 trillion (US$779 million), according to a recent report the municipal Department of Transport sent to the Department of Planning and Architecture.

The proposal is aimed at easing traffic congestion in the airport area and backing the city’s metro line network development.

As per the Vietnamese firm's proposition, the automated guideway transit system will start at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, run across the heart of the city, and end at Dam Sen Cultural Park.

The transit system will run above Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe, Ben Nghe, Doi and Tan Hoa Canals and Lac Long Quan Street, so site clearance will not face much difficulty, said the firm.

The guideway transit, designed to be four meters wide, will be completed within five years.

The company also explained that a transit has a more flexible track switch than a monorail. Moreover, the cost of an automated guideway transit is cheaper than that of a monorail.

The firm proposed carrying out the project in three phases, with the first including work on a section stretching from the airport to the Nguyen Kieu headland in District 4.

The 12.7-kilometer-long stretch will run along Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe Canal.

The second phase will go to the second section from the Nguyen Kieu headland to the Ba Tang Bridge in District 8, with a total length of 5.7 kilometers.

In the third phase, the final section will span 11.5 kilometers from the bridge to Dam Sen Park. The link will run along Tan Hoa Canal and Lac Long Quan Street.

The firm also recommended that the authorities include the transit in the city's general traffic infrastructure plan to facilitate the project's deployment.

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