Although being kicked off construction after metro No1 route, metro No2 route has less underground construction and ground clearance therefore it is expected to be completed sooner.

The information was given by Nguyen Van Quoc, management board’s director of metro No 2 route under HCM City Urban Railway Management Board as saying at the signing ceremony of memorandum of understanding (MoU) on verification results to prepare for the loan in second tranche of metro No2 route between HCM City People’s Committee and Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently.

ADB’s loan in second tranche is worth $500 million for installation and construction of underground tunnels and stations. The loan in second tranche will be performed from April 1, 2013. It is expected that in June 2013, major sections will start construction.

Presently, districts of 1, 3, 10, 12, Tan Binh and Tan Phu are carrying out procedures for compensation, ground clearance and resettlement in 2012 with an estimated budget of more than 2.3 trillion dong.

Regarding investment capital for metro route projects, loan agreements with ADB in first tranche, German Development Bank KfW in first tranche and second tranche and European Investment Bank (EIB) have completed with a total loans of $548 million.

The nearly 20km metro No2 route has starting point at Thu Thiem new urban zone, district 2 and ending point at An Suong coach station, in district 12.

In the first stage, HCM City will build the route from Ben Thanh to Tham Luong with a length of 11 km, starting from Ben Thanh railway station, in district 1 with underground passage of about 9.3 km before running onto the ground in Tan Phu district, through an underground door of 0.2km, to railway station No 11 and then passing a nearly 1km linking road to the transfer station area in district 12.