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Ho Chi Minh Metropolis launched its first metro line after 17 years of planning and delays, with 1000’s of excited residents flocking to journey the metro.
The $1.7bn, 20km-project, largely funded by Japanese loans, was initially accepted in 2007 with a finances of $668m however confronted main hurdles over time. The metro goals to ease site visitors congestion and air pollution within the nine-million-strong metropolis.
Town was certainly one of Asia’s final main city centres to not have a metro, in accordance with Nikkei Asia.
The opening of Ho Chi Minh Metropolis’s (HCMC) first metro line generated quite a lot of pleasure among the many residents, with lots of queuing on the Ben Thanh station for a free take a look at journey.
Town, burdened by 8.4 million motorbikes and rising highway congestion from vehicles and vehicles, urgently wanted a mass speedy transit resolution to alleviate its site visitors chaos, native residents stated.
The challenge confronted quite a few challenges, together with a funding scarcity from the Vietnamese authorities, which prompted Japanese contractors to escalate their issues by the Japanese embassy in Vietnam, The Bangkok Submit reported, citing authorities experiences.
The escalating prices required repeated approvals from Vietnam’s parliament, the outlet reported – a course of that proved to be excruciatingly gradual.
The metro line stretches from the historic Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to suburban Thu Duc Metropolis, ending at Suoi Tien Amusement Park in District 9 in HCMC. Ticket costs vary from 6,000 to twenty,000 Vietnamese Dong (£0.19 to £0.63), although rides are free for the primary 30 days of official operation, which started on Sunday.
The service will run 200 journeys each day.
Reactions to Ho Chi Minh Metropolis’s new metro ranged from enthusiasm to sarcasm. A VnExpress reader praised its magnificence – “it’s so stunning. I can’t wait to strive it” – whereas a Fb consumer humorously famous that whereas the world has reached the moon, HCMC is simply getting its first metro.
Town plans six further strains, however funding stays a problem.
“I do know it (the challenge) is late, however I nonetheless really feel so very honoured and proud to be among the many first on this metro,” workplace employee Nguyen Nhu Huyen stated.
“Our metropolis is now on par with the opposite huge cities of the world,” she added.
Final 12 months, Planning and Funding Minister Nguyen Chi Dung urged the central authorities to deal with financing for future initiatives.
Whereas celebrated as a milestone, specialists say its short-term impression on site visitors could also be restricted as a result of solely 14 station stops. Professor Vu Minh Hoang at Fulbright College Vietnam advised AFP that the metro line’s “impression in assuaging site visitors might be restricted within the quick run”. Nevertheless, he stated that it was nonetheless a “historic achievement for the town’s city growth”.
The metro “meets the rising journey wants of residents and contributes to lowering site visitors congestion and environmental air pollution”, the town’s deputy mayor Bui Xuan Cuong stated, however added that the authorities needed to overcome “numerous hurdles” to get the challenge over the road.
Japanese ambassador to Vietnam, Naoki Ito, stated: “We hope this can set a very good precedent for city growth in Vietnam and result in additional growth of the nation.”
Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, director of Ho Chi Minh Metropolis’s Division of Tourism, stated the metro line would enhance tourism by providing “handy connections” to cultural, historic, and leisure websites, creating “a whole journey for each native residents and worldwide guests”.
Extra reporting by businesses.
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The Impartial
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Maroosha Muzaffar , 2024-12-23 11:20:00
