At the signing ceremony, the Government was represented by Mr. Nguyen Van Binh, Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam and ADB was represented by Mr. Tomoyuki Kimura, Country Director for Viet Nam.
The tranche 2 of the MRT2 Investment Program provides ADB funding for construction of the main line of 11.3 kilometer MTR2 stretching from Ben Thanh in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) center, out passing the Tan Son Nhat International Airport to Tham Luong, including depot facilities.
“ADB has strong commitment to support the Government’s efforts to develop adequate transport infrastructure to the continued growth and sustainable development of the country as the whole and Ho Chi Minh City in particular,” said Mr. Kimura.
The MRT2 project will not only reduce significantly traffic congestion and accidents but also promote low carbon mass rapid transport usage and substantially improve air quality and livability of the rapidly growing HCMC.
Private vehicles dominate the country’s transportation while road infrastructure is reaching the saturation point. In HCMC, with explosive growth in number of private vehicles, congestion and traffic accident remain main concerns. Increasing numbers of vehicles also lead to air quality degradation that will intensify with increasing congestion.
The People’s Committee in HCMC is aware of these challenges and has adopted a proactive approach to make substantial investment for the public transport system to cater for a much larger share of passenger traffic, from about 5 percent today to over 40% in 2030, and substantially resolve the long-standing transport concern.
“The MRT project will make Viet Nam one of the leading countries in the region to pro-actively address climate change through adaptation of low carbon transport modes,” added Mr. Kimura. “More importantly, people, especially women, students and children, in HCMC will benefit the most from improved and cheaper transportation that will create more business opportunities, reduce congestion and improve the quality of life.”
Source: chinhphu.vn