Up to 85% of HCM City’s first metro line is scheduled for being finished by the end of this year, said head of HCM City Management Board of Urban Railway Bui Xuan Cuong.

A government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh on Monday visited Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro project.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh (middle in the first row) leads the government delegation to visit the project on June 29.

According to Cuong, at present, roughly 73.5% of the project has been finished and the rate is expected to rise to 85% by late this year.

Until now, up to work of 10 out of 11 elevated stations have been mostly done.

Initially, trains were planned to be imported from abroad for the trial operation of some sections of the project. But because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the work has not yet been carried out.

Cuong noted that 87 foreign experts have not yet returned to Vietnam due to Covid-19.

The 20-km Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line which had an initial investment capital of VND17.38 trillion was passed in 2009 by the prime minister. At that time, the project did not belong to the list approved by the National Assembly. However, after that, its investment capital was raised to VND47.32 trillion, so it had to seek the National Assembly’s consideration. This was among the main reasons for the slow pace.