JICA sign $290 million ODA agreement for Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Urban Railway

Planned for completion in 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Construction project (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien section – Line 1) will alleviate traffic congestion and air pollution while encouraging regional economic development.

This project will contribute to the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, including those for industry, innovation, and infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, and climate action.

Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP) will apply to the loan for this project. Japanese technology will be applied, including underground civil engineering, rolling stock, the electricity, communication, and signalling system, and maintenance.

STEP refers to special assistance terms for promoting the visibility of Japanese aid through the transfer of outstanding Japanese technology and expertise to developing nations.

The main contract is tied to Japan, but the subcontracting is generally untied. The main agreement partner must be a Japanese company, an overseas subsidiary of a Japanese company, or a joint venture between a Japanese company and the borrowing nation where the Japanese company is the lead partner – although under certain conditions a joint venture between a Japanese company (which is the lead partner of the joint venture) and an affiliated company (as accounted for under the equity method) of a Japanese company may be the main agreement partner.

The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien section is one of eight metro lines that will form a mass public transport system for the largest urban area in the country.

The project has four main packages using ODA loans from the Japanese government, including three construction packages and one mechanical and electrical package.

The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien project has a total investment of more than $1.82 billion and a length of nearly 20km from Ben Thanh market in District 1 to Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc city.

This is the first urban railway project in the city. Construction began in 2012, and currently test runs are being launched alongside the completion of some final items. The goal is to have it operating by July 2024.

The joint venture of Toshin Development Co., Ltd., JOIN, Nikken Sekkei, and Osaka Chikagai was put forward by Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to become the developer of Ben Thanh underground trade centre.

Work on Ho Chi Minh City’s Metro Line No.2, connecting Ben Thanh Market and Tham Luong, will start in 2021, according to the city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).

The construction of Ben Thanh underground shopping centre has been delayed due to a lack of investors.

The opening of the first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City, which runs between Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9, will be delayed until 2022, city authorities have said.