Of all the megacities in Southeast Asia, Saigon is the only one without any form of metro transport.
Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s most crowded with 13 million people, has been struggling to deal with worsening traffic congestion in recent years.
As of May, the city estimated that there were 7.6 million motorbikes and 700,000 cars in the city, with another 850 motorbikes and 180 cars hitting the roads every day.
The business hub is Southeast Asia’s ninth most congested city, according to Numbeo, a crowdsourced online database of social trends.
The city has invested heavily in the metro network in the hope of easing congestion. When complete it will have six metro lines and two light-rail lines. Of all the megacities in Southeast Asia, Saigon is the only one without any form of metro transport.
However, much to everyone’s expectation, the city’s first line has been delayed several times since construction started in 2012. The latest completion date has been set for 2020.
The Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line 1 will stretch about 20km to connect Ben Thanh Market in the center of the city to the amusement park at Suoi Tien to the northeast.
Work will start soon on lines 2 and 5, authorities say.
Below is the map of the future Saigon Metro including the light rail and monorail lines.
Source: Ha Phuong, James Clark