VietNamNet Bridge – The first bus rapid transit (BRT) line in HCMC along Vo Van Kiet Highway and through different districts would be put into service by the end of 2018, according to the management board for construction and investment of urban traffic works in HCMC.

An artist’s impression of a stop of the first BRT line in HCM City

The board told a recent seminar on green transport projects in the city that BRT line No.1 would stretch 23.5 kilometers from An Lac Roundabout in Binh Chanh District through districts Binh Tan, 6, 5 and 1 before ending at Cat Lai Intersection in District 2.

Buses of 80 seats are planned to run on the BRT line, which requires investment capital of VND3.25 trillion (over US$155 million) with official development assistance (ODA) loans making up US$142.2 million.

The consulting firm of the project projected that each BRT service would depart every five to ten minutes and 31,600 passengers could use this line a day based on the daily number of passengers on commuter buses of Route No. 39 from the central bus station in front of Ben Thanh Market to Mien Tay Coach Station.

Stops along the BRT route would be built with much greenery to provide shades for bus passengers.

Luong Minh Phuc, head of the management board, said a feasibility study is being completed for the project and work is scheduled to start early next year and completion in 2018.

Many experts at the seminar suggested that pedestrian bridges and parking lots be built for the BRT route to make things convenient for passengers using this line.

The city is studying five other BRT lines. They are 24-kilometer-long line No.2 from the new Mien Tay Coach Station in Binh Chanh District to Phu My Bridge which passes through district 2 and 7, 19-kilometer line No. 3 from An Suong Intersection to the new Mien Tay Coach Station, and line No. 4 of 14.5 kilometers long from Kha Van Can Street in Thu Duc Street to Hoang Van Thu Park in Tan Binh District.

The two remaining routes are 8.7-kilometer line No. 5 from Thoai Ngoc Hau Street in Tan Phu District to Nguyen Van Linh Parkway and 8.5-kilometer line No. 6 from Go Vap Intersection to Tan Thoi Hiep Station in District 12.

SGT/VNN