Ho Chi Minh City finally opened its first metro line after years of delays, marking a significant milestone for the traffic-congested metropolis. Thousands of residents flocked to stations, eager to experience the new transportation option.
Thousands of selfie-taking Ho Chi Minh City residents crammed into train carriages Sunday as the traffic-clogged business hub celebrated the opening of its first-ever metro line after years of delays. Huge queues spilled out of every station along the US$1.7bil line that runs almost 20 kilometres from the city centre -- with women in traditional'ao dai' dress, soldiers in uniform and couples clutching young children waiting excitedly to board.
'I know it (the project) is late, but I still feel so very honoured and proud to be among the first on this metro,' said office worker Nguyen Nhu Huyen after snatching a selfie in her jam-packed train car.It took 17 years for Vietnam's commercial capital to reach this point. The project, funded largely by Japanese government loans, was first approved in 2007 and slated to cost just $668 million. When construction began in 2012, authorities promised the line would be up and running in just five years. But as delays mounted, cars and motorbikes multiplied in the city of nine million people, making the metropolis hugely congested, increasingly polluted and time-consuming to navigate. The metro'meets the growing travel needs of residents and contributes to reducing traffic congestion and environmental pollution', the city's deputy mayor Bui Xuan Cuong said.According to state media reports, the metro was late because of'slow capital disbursement, unexpected technical problems, personnel difficulties and the Covid-19 pandemic'. 'The delays and cost overruns have been frustrating,' said professor Vu Minh Hoang at Fulbright University Vietnam, who warned that with just 14 station stops, the line's'impact in alleviating traffic will be limited in the short run'.With lessons learnt,'the construction of future lines will be increasingly easier, faster, and more cost-efficient', Hoang told AF
METRO TRANSPORTATION VIETNAM HO CHI MINH CITY TRAFFIC CONGESTION
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