Train runs on part of the Nhổn-Hà Nội Railway Station urban railway line early this month during its dynamic testing phase. —VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Planning and Investment is seeking government approval to build the urban railway line No.3 project, running from Hà Nội Railway Station to Hoàng Mai district, at a cost of VNĐ40.5 trillion (US$1.75 billion).

The 8.7 kilometres stretch will be mostly underground, from downtown Đống Đa District to southern Hoang Mai District, along the streets Trần Hưng Đạo – Trần Thánh Tông – Kim Ngưu – Nguyễn Tam Trinh.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2023 and completed in 2028.

In total, $274.1 million will come from Hà Nội’s budget and nearly $1.5 billion from foreign loans - $940.8 million from Asian Development Bank, $305.08 million from German's KfW Development Bank and $232.8 million from the French Development Agency (AFD).

Metro Line No.3 is on the corridor connecting the western area with the city centre and the southern area of ​​the city and will take 488,000 passengers a day when fully operational.

Once completed, it will connect major residential areas in Hà Nội such as Từ Liêm, Cầu Giấy, Ba Đình, Đống Đa, Hoàn Kiếm, Hai Bà Trưng and new urban areas in Hoàng Mai District.

The metro line will help solve mass public passenger transport problems in the central urban areas, solve traffic congestion, ensure traffic safety and curb the environmental pollution in Hà Nội’s inner districts.

Hà Nội plans to have nine metro lines by 2030 but construction has so far only began on two, and neither are operational.

The first metro line runs from Cát Linh Station in Đống Đa District to the Yên Nghĩa Station in the south-west Hà Đông District. The 13.5-km line will cost approximately US$868 million, two-thirds in loans from China.

Construction began in October 2011 but the project has suffered numerous setbacks and delays. The trial run was completed in December 2020, with more than 70,000 km of tests on thousands of trips. In the latest development, the line was planned to go commercial operation in late April this year but has still not starting taking passengers.

The second line is 12.5km from Nhổn in Tây Tựu Ward, the western district of Nam Từ Liêm, via Kim Mã Street to Hà Nội Railway Station.

Early this month, the Hà Nội Urban Railway Management Board recently carried out the testing phase of the metro line. The test route, which runs from Nhổn to the S8 Station in Cầu Giấy District, is 8.5 km long. The trains will go through another testing phase before putting into operation.

According to the Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board, by the end of June, the project was 72.8 per cent complete, with the elevated section at 87.85 per cent. — VNS