Metro Line No 2’s planned stations and route map. Photo courtesy of the HCM City Urban Railway Management Board

HCM CITY — District authorities in HCM City will speed up site clearance compensation and resettlement for households affected by construction of the city's Metro Line No 2 project by June.

Speaking at a conference on Friday, Trần Lưu Quang, deputy secretary of the city Party Committee, said that districts must ensure compensation and resettlement by June so that the project can continue. 

If the work is delayed until October, capital earmarked for the project cannot be disbursed, which could affect not only the prestige of the project but also future funding for many projects in the city, he said.

Quang urged the steering committee for compensation and resettlement to meet every month to speed up implementation. He said the Department of Natural Resources and Environment would approve the compensation and resettlement policy for affected households by the end of this month. 

Bùi Xuân Cường, head of the HCM City Urban Railway Management Board, said that a total area of 251,136 square metres is needed to make way for the project, affecting 602 households. Of that number, 121 households will have to move. 

Tân Bình District has the largest number of affected households (356 households), followed by District 3 (113 households), he said. To date, 108 households have received compensation. Some 53 households have already handed over their land for the project.

In addition, the management board is ready to relocate technical infrastructure such as telecommunications, electricity and water supply, and drainage works to make way for the project, according to Cường.

Metro stations

The city’s Bến Thành - Tham Lương metro line will have 10 stations and span more than 11 kilometres through districts 1, 2, 3, 10, 12, Tân Bình and Tân Phú. Trains will travel underground for about 9.2 kilometres. 

When completed, the metro line will connect the Thủ Thiêm new urban area with downtown HCM City and neighbourhoods in the city’s northwestern section.

The line is expected to open in 2026, two years later than the initial 2024 goal. 

The project cost has nearly doubled since its start, from VNĐ26 trillion (US$1.1 billion) to VNĐ47.89 trillion ($2.05 billion).

HCM City authorities had previously announced they would speed up work on Metro Line No 1, connecting Bến Thành in District 1 and Suối Tiên Theme Park in Thủ Đức District so that it could be completed by the end of 2021.

The cost of the first metro line was cut by VNĐ3.4 trillion ($146.8 million) after a review of all its related costs. Construction on the first line began in 2012, but the project has faced many problems, including slow disbursement of funds and a personnel crisis. 

Metro Line No 1 will run 20 kilometres through districts 1, 2, 9, Bình Thạnh and Thủ Đức and the neighbouring province of Bình Dương. — VNS