HCM City's Metro Line No. 1 is expected to officially operate commercially at the end of this year. VNA Photo

HCM CITY – State-run HCM City Urban Railway Company No. 1 (HURC1) proposed to spend nearly VNĐ110 billion (US$4.4 million) for a full-line trial run of Metro Line No. 1 from Bến Thành Market in District 1 to Suối Tiên Theme Park in Thủ Đức City for two months.

The cost of electricity would be more than VNĐ71 billion, salaries for workers more than VNĐ12.5 billion, the cost of operating the route during the test run VNĐ10.7 billion, while insurance and fire costs would be more than VNĐ8.1 billion.

HURC1 proposed to use funds from HCM City's budget to assign its Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) to pay costs.

If the City cannot make a timely allocation, HURC1 will receive an advance from its charter capital to conduct the trial run.

Participating in the trial operation will create favourable conditions for HURC1 to receive the official handover and operation of the metro line and at the same time for the line to be put into operation on schedule.

The metro line is now about 98 per cent ready for operation.

According to the plan, testing will be completed by the end of May 2024 while safety and fire prevention audit work is expected to be completed in July 2024.

Safety certification results as well as the approval process of authorities are among the important factors to complete the project, according to the MAUR.

If everything goes smoothly, it is possible to put the project into a ticket-free trial phase from July to October 2024 and commercial use in the fourth quarter of 2024. – VNS