Spanish Bank to Lend EUR100M for Vietnam Metro Project

Spain’s BBVT Bank will provide a EUR100 million in loan for the first phase of $1.85 billion metro route 5, Head of Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways, Le Khac Huynh said.  Earlier, the Spanish government pledged EUR500 million for the first phase of route which will link Can Giuoc station and Saigon bridge, Huynh added.  The Spanish government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are considering providing funds for the second phase of the metro project which will connect Bay Hien intersection and Can Giuoc coach station. Ho Chi Minh City expects to start building the route in April, 2011 and put it into operations in 2015, aiming to develop a public transport network and a modern metropolis. Under the transport development program by 2020 of the city approved by the prime minister, the metro route 5 is one of the seven projects that cost $6 billion and have a combined length of 107 kilometers. The southern metropolis needs $7.5 billion to develop six urban railway projects and five metro routes between now and 2020. Of the sum, $6.3 billion is expected to come from foreign loans. (Tuoi tre – Youth Nov 03 p2)