The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Vietnamese government have signed a loan agreement worth $540 million, to build metro route No.2 in the biggest city of Ho Chi Minh to ease its traffic jams.
The loan contract was signed in Hanoi by Nguyen Van Giau, Governor of Vietnam State Bank and Ayumi Konishi, ADB Country Director in Vietnam, state media reported Mar 14. The 11.3 km long road, is one of the three metro routes being constructed in the city, running from a station near Ben Thanh Market through Tan Son Nhat International Airport to Tham Luong. Konishi hoped that public transport will help ease traffic jams, traffic accidents and especially reduce the greenhouse effect and improve living quality for the locals. HCM City is now home of more than 9 million people and the figure is forecasted to reach nearly 14 million by 2025. Private vehicles are dominating the traffic system in the city while the deteriorating infrastructure needs much improvement. Earlier, the German Reconstruction Credit Institute (KfW) and Vietnamese Ministry of Finance signed a deal to provide EUR10 million to build the metro route No. 2. (Dau tu – Investment Mar 14 p2, Dai bieu Nhan dan – People’s Deputies Mar 14 p2, vir.com.vn Mar 12, cpv.org.vn Mar 11)
