Authorities of Vietnam’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City have decided to approve a total investment of VND47.32 trillion ($2.27 billion) for Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro route. Of the sum, VND41.83 billion was lent from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Tuoi tre newspaper reported. Accordingly, the total investment for the metro route No. 1 rose by VND30 trillion compared to the initial figure approved in 2007. The 19.7-km metro route, which is designed to run through five districts of 1, 2, 9, Binh Thanh and Thu Duc, is scheduled to become operational in 2018 as the decision of the local authorities. 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 Sept 28 p4)
