Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has approved an investment plan for the technical assistance project - a preparation step for Hanoi Station-Hoang Mai urban railway project in the capital city.

The technical assistance project will be donated nearly US$13 million by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and European Union (EU), according to Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB).

The fund includes $12.6 million of non-refundable aid from ADB and EU, and the remaining  VND49 billion ($2.1 million) sourced from Vietnamese counterpart capital, the MRB said.

The technical assistance project will allow Hanoi to complete a pre-feasibility report for a new metro section that will run 8.7 kilometers underground to connect the downtown Hanoi Railway Station with the southern Hoang Mai District.

The Hanoi Railway Station-Hoang Mai section is one of three components of Hanoi’s 26-kilometer Metro Line 3. The other parts are the long-delayed Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station stretch, which is under construction, and Troi-Nhon, where work is yet to begin.

Hanoi plans to have nine metro lines by 2030. Work on the Hanoi Railway Station-Hoang Mai section, estimated to cost VND40 trillion ($1.75 billion), is set to kick off in 2023.

After more than four months in operation, the Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line has become a regular means of transport for many local residents. Photo: Pham Cong/The Hanoi Times

Earlier, Hanoi’s first metro line, the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway, running from Cat Linh Station in downtown Dong Da District to Yen Nghia Station in   Ha Dong District, was opened to traffic last November after more than ten years of construction and several delays.

The second stretch, the Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station section, is now 74% complete and expected to start operation within this year. It runs 12.5 kilometers from Nhon in Tay Tuu Ward, the western district of Nam Tu Liem, via Kim Ma Street to Hanoi Railway Station.

Green transport is being promoted in Vietnam's big cities like Hanoi in accordance with the roadmap.

Talking to The Hanoi Times via phone, General Director of Hanoi Urban Railway Company Limited (Metro Hanoi) Vu Hong Truong said that after more than four months of official commercial operation, the ridership Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway has been on a steady rise.

“This type of transportation is highly appreciated by experts and people because of modern technology, convenience, and environmental friendliness,” Truong said, adding that Hanoi will have ten urban railway lines and ring roads by 2030.

“Shortly, the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban route will be extended to the Xuan Mai satellite urban area. Hanoi is making effort to complete the elevated section from Nhon to Cau Giay District to put the city's second metro line into operation by the end of 2022,” Truong stressed.

Besides, the authorities have focused on opening more pedestrian streets and encouraging people to walk or use bicycles, electric vehicles and mass transit transport using clean energy, such as electric trains and electric buses to promote a green transport system.

The Hanoi People's Committee recently assigned the Hanoi Department of Transport to build a project on developing public bicycle services in several downtown districts.