A model of a BRT station in HCM City. Investment for the city’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route has been cut by 13 million USD to 143 million USD. (Photo courtesy of the HCM City Department of Transport)HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - Investment for Ho Chi MinhCity’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route extending 25km between the city’s eastern and western sectionshas been cut by 13 million USD to 143 million USD by the municipal People’sCommittee.
Thedecision was made after the city reviewed all of the project’srelated costs. The People’s Committee has also asked the PrimeMinister to extend project implementation until 2023 instead of 2019 asplanned.
Approvedby the PM in 2013, the initial project costs were set at nearly 156million USD, to be sourced from Official Development Assistancefunds from the World Bank. The project implementation period was initiallyscheduled from 2014 to 2019.
TheBRT route is expected to have 30 modern CNG (compressed natural gas) busesthat will go through Binh Chanh and Binh Tan districts, and districts 6, 5, 1and 2. The buses would interchange with the proposed metro lines 1,2, 3A and 5.
Traveltime for the whole 25km BRT route would be some 45 minutes. This isone of six BRT routes planned by the city government.
Theroute, including one depot in Thu Thiem new urban area in District 2, fourstations, two transfer stations, and 31 stops, will provide reliablemobility services between the city centre and its southeast and northwestareas.
Agreen corridor that will use solar energy and have trees planted at allstations is also part of the project.
Publicbuses are the only means of public transport in the city, but they are notpopular with locals as the system is not well connected and the buses haveto share space with motorbikes and cars, resulting in traffic gridlock.
TheBRT system is expected to improve the quality and efficiency of the city’spublic transport. The system will also provide special benefits forlow-income residents, especially manual workers and students, according to theWorld Bank.
Itis considered a feasible solution for traffic congestion because it is fast,carries large numbers of passengers, and has much lower investment costs thanother means of transport such as metros and tramways, according to the HCM CityDepartment of Transport./.
VNA
