Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on August 6 inspected the progress of some urban railway lines in Ho Chi Minh City and requested more efforts from the southern hub to carry out the projects.

At the working session with municipal officials, the Deputy PM said the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien section is the first metro line to be built in Vietnam, yet its progress has fallen behind schedule.

The slow disbursement of Official Development Assistance capital and partnership capital were the main reasons for the delay of some big projects, he noted.

Hai also ordered officials of neighbouring Binh Duong province to clear land for the building of the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien underground line, which partly traverses its Di An district, by this October at the latest.

The HCM City Management Authority for Urban Railway reported that it has drawn up a plan to establish a State-owned limited liability company which will be in charge of operating the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien and Ben Thanh – Tham Luong urban railway lines.

The plan will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval in near future, representatives from the authority said.

The construction of the 19.7km-long Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien line was started in August 2012, and it will begin operation on a trial basis in 2019.

Meanwhile, the 11.3km-long Ben Thanh – Tham Luong line has been built since August 2010 and is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

They are two out of the seven urban railway lines to be opened in HCM City.-VNA