HCM City (VNA) – The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line – the first of its kind in Ho Chi Minh Cityis expected to start commercial operation in the fourth quarter of this year instead of July asplanned previously, according to the metro line project investor - the Ho Chi MinhCity’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).
In its report sent to the municipal People's Committee, theinvestor said that this year, it plans to complete procedures for adjusting the project’s progress,complete the installation of the electromechanical system, continue to inspectand fix shortcomings and correct equipment and machinery during test runs toserve the system safety assessment and official operation.
The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tienmetro line runs 19.7 km between District 1's Ben Thanh Market and Thu DucCity's Long Thanh Depot with three underground stations and 11 elevatedstations. Work on the metro project started in 2012and has gone through various delays. Its costs have risen to over 43.7 trillionVND (1.77 billion USD)./.