Investors consider HCM City metro


Investors expressed interest in proposed metro projects in HCM City at a seminar on urban underground systems held in the city on Wednesday.

Among the projects that caught their attention were those passing beneath major intersections facing chronic traffic jams like Nam Ky Khoi Nghia-Ly Chinh Thang, Dien Bien Phu-Hai Ba Trung, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai-Cach Mang Thang 8, and Dan Chu Square.

According to the Department of Transport, there are some 1,200 intersections, including 320 major ones, in the city.

HCM City's zoning plans envisage building four metro lines linking Ben Thanh Market with Tan Son Nhat, An Lac, Thu Thiem, and Sai Gon South.

The seminar, titled "International Lessons from International and Viet Nam Urban Underground Works "held by the Association of Vietnamese Constructors and the city Construction Department, was an indication that Viet Nam is now ready for underground systems.

Underground parking spaces too are urgently required in HCM City because of the premium on space. The city has 370,000 automobiles and gets some 40,000 vehicles of all varieties from other provinces every day.

To accommodate them, authorities plan to build eight parking lots under Lam Son Square, Chi Lang Park, Le Van Tam Park, Bach Tung Diep Park, Hoa Lu Stadium, Tao Dan Football Stadium, Nguyen Hue Street, and Nguyen Du Street.

Le Khac Hiep, chairman of the Vincom joint stock property company, said the urban underground space would include not only infrastructure (transmission and pipeline systems, metro lines, parking lots, and tunnels for automobiles) but also business complexes, public spaces, and entertainment and other facilities.

The Thu Thiem Tunnel under the Sai Gon River is currently the only underground work being undertaken in HCM City. But its implementation is facing difficulties due to geological issues.

A feasibility study is being conducted for the first metro route.

But the general director of Apave Viet Nam & Southeast Asia, Nguyen Cong Phu, said so far Viet Nam has no "true" underground work.

The city has been soliciting investment in the eight underground parking lots since 2004, but none of them has made progress.

The project to build one under Lam Son Square has been pursued by a local investor for several years. But the city authorities have not given the nod for it, saying they are unsure about the risk to surrounding structures. They are set to refund the money the investor spent on the feasibility study.

But this lack of underground construction means the city's zoning plan does not contain data about facilities existing underground, such as pipelines, resulting in delays to proposed projects.

It also means there has never been a need to do extensive geological studies beneath the city, and the city administration cannot give the go-ahead for metro or other underground projects.

At the seminar, researchers and experts on underground works from France, China, Malaysia, and Singapore spoke about their experiences in building metro lines, stations, parking lots, and pedestrian crossings. Existing zoning plans for underground works in HCM City should be restructured so that they could be used in the future, they said. But poor archival services mean documents on the design and construction of many underground works are no longer available.

Source: Viet Nam News

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