Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway – Line No.1
Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway – Line No.1 runs from Ben Thanh in District 1 in the city center, to Suoi Tien in the north-eastern part of the city, and will extend for a total distance of 19.7km, including a 2.5km underground section and a 17.2km elevated section. The construction project for Line No.1 is funded by Japan Official Development Assistance (ODA) and is divided into two underground packages and an elevated package. The 1.74 km-long CP1B package-one of two underground sections is undertaken by Shimizu-Maeda joint venture, comprising Opera House and Ba Son Stations, and related tunnels. On 31th Oct, the HCM Urban Railway Management Unit and Shimizu - Maeda contractor (Japanese) held a ceremony to welcome TBM tunneling machine (300t robot) to the Opera House station after completing of the Bason East bored tunnel one month early than scheduled. By this event, the Vietnam express has articles about this ceremony. “Expressing the joy for tunneling progress of the East Tunnel of Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line, the Japanese contractors also reminded that Vietnam should prioritize the allocation of capital. In the morning of 31st October, the HCM Urban Railway Management Unit and Shimizu - Maeda contractor (Japanese) held a ceremony to welcome TBM tunneling machine (300t robot) to the Opera House station, after completing the Bason East bored tunnel of metro line No.1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien). Mr. Le Nguyen Quang Minh, Chief of HCM Urban Railway Management Unit, said that after more than five months of construction, TBM has completed 781 m (from Ton Duc Thang to Opera House), assembling 3,900 lining segments of the East tunnel. This tunnel goes from Ba Son Station through Ton Duc Thang, Ngo Van Nam, 3A Ton Duc Thang, Nguyen Sieu, Hai Ba Trung Street, between the Opera House and Caravels Hotel, crossing Dong Khoi Street to the Opera House station. According to Mr. Akito Takahashi, Deputy Chief of Representative Office of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam, it’s the first time Japanese advanced shielding technology using TBM for construction work in urban is applied in Vietnam. It has little impact on traffic and people's life.