Site clearance for HCMC’s metro line 2 expected to be completed by June

The adjustment to the investment in the project, linking Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Tham Luong Depot in District 12, was approved in November last year, while a plan to choose the main contractors was passed a month later, Thanh Nien Online newspaper reported.

At present, MAUR is facing multiple difficulties with site clearance and compensation for the affected households.

The route, which will be more than 11 kilometers long, will pass through Districts 1, 3, 10, 12, Tan Binh and Tan Phu and affect 602 households. Tan Binh District has the most number of households affected by the project at 356, followed by District 3 with 113 households.

To date, 111 households have received compensation but only 55 of them have handed over their land lots.

According to MAUR, the municipal government will approve the land price adjustment coefficient this quarter so that the district governments can take back the land lots and issue compensation and resettlement plans.

The authorities of the districts that the metro line will pass through must complete site clearance, compensation and resettlement by June 30. They have the authority to coerce households refusing to cooperate with the competent agencies into handing over their land lots.

In addition to site clearance, the relocation of technical infrastructure hindering the execution of the metro line No. 2 project has faced obstacles. According to MAUR, the job will affect 28 units, including water and lighting suppliers and those taking care of trees in the area.

MAUR is working with these units to build relocation plans.

The second metro line project was initially planned to kick off in 2014 and be completed in four years. In 2018, the HCMC government proposed extending the time to start work on the project to 2020.

Under the new plan, the project was expected to be constructed in 2020-2023 and put into trial operation in 2024. However, the approval of the investment adjustment has been time-consuming, so MAUR has once again postponed the deadline for the project completion until 2026.