The Japanese Shimizu – Maeda joint venture contractors on July 25 broke ground to begin construction of an underground section of the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien urban railway line in Ho Chi Minh City.
Work starts on the Saigon Opera House station (photo: Huu Khoa)
The metro line has a length of 1.8 km, connecting the Saigon Opera House and the Ba Son Shipyard with two stations. A bidding package for the construction of the section worth JPY23.17 billion (US$227.5 million) was signed between authorised agencies of Ho Chi Minh City and the Shimizu – Maeda joint venture on July 21. This is the second package of the 19.7km long Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien route to begin construction. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railway, the first phase of the construction package was to build Saigon Opera House station at the Nguyen Hue - Le Loi intersection. The four-storey underground station will be 190 metres long, 26 metres wide and 40 metres deep, and is scheduled for completion in March 2015. Later, the contractors will begin construction of the 1.8 km underground section from the Saigon Opera House to the Ba Son Shipyard, which is expected to be finished within 56 months. The Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien railway route is planned to be completed in 2019 and put into operation in 2020. Nhan Dan Online
