Ho Chi Minh City has decided to convert all investment capital for Metro Line 2 from ODA loans to state budget capital, opening a new chapter for this key transport project.

According to the conclusion of the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, this decision was made based on the report and proposal of the Party Committee of the City People’s Committee, in order to speed up the project implementation progress, removing the obstacles that have lasted for many years. At the same time, the project was also supplemented in scale, including a project connecting synchronously with metro line No. 1 at Ben Thanh central station, creating a modern and synchronous public transport network.

Metro Line 2, with a total investment of about VND47,890 billion, was initially planned to be implemented with ODA loans. However, after many years of delayed implementation, many loans have expired, causing difficulties for the project’s progress. The switch to public investment capital will help Ho Chi Minh City be more proactive in managing and implementing the project, while shortening the completion time.

According to the plan, this railway line will be a pilot project applying specific mechanisms and policies from Resolution 188 of the National Assembly, allowing Ho Chi Minh City to invest and develop a breakthrough Metro system. It is expected that the project will select a contractor in October 2025 and start construction in December 2025, completing in 2030.

Metro Line 2 is 11km long, passing through 6 districts: 1, 3, 10, 12, Tan Binh, Tan Phu of Ho Chi Minh City. Up to now, the site clearance work has been basically completed (reaching 99.83%), the relocation of technical infrastructure is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025, creating favorable conditions for construction.

Localities with Metro Line 2 passing through are also actively implementing urban development plans according to the TOD (Transit Oriented Development) model around stations. Tan Phu District has chosen the I/82 A land plot in Tay Thanh Ward (over 26 hectares) to implement this model, promising to bring a new look to the area.

The decision to convert capital sources and accelerate the progress of Metro Line 2 is an important step in realizing the goal of building a modern and synchronous metro system in Ho Chi Minh City. With Resolution 188, Ho Chi Minh City is developing a plan to simultaneously deploy 7 Metro lines with a total length of 355km in the next 10 years (from now until 2035), contributing to solving the problem of traffic congestion and promoting the city’s socio-economic development.