A metro rail line in Vietnam's congested business hub of Ho Chi Minh City came a step closer Tuesday with financing of 540 million dollars from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The low-interest loans will help fund the 1.4-billion-dollar Mass Rapid Transit Line 2, an 11.3-kilometre (seven-mile) link from Ben Thanh in the centre of Vietnam's largest city, to Tham Luong near the Tan Son Nhat International Airport, ADB said.
The European Investment Bank last week said it was lending 150 million euros (201 million dollars) for the same project in a city whose population is expected to rise from nine million to almost 14 million by 2025.
The ADB said without improvements in major public transport infrastructure, Ho Chi Minh City's economic growth would be constrained by high logistics costs and severe congestion.
Work on the line is to begin next year with operation expected by 2017.
The ADB said Line 2 will be built in coordination with other metro rail lines under development, the first of which has been significantly funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.