The JICA’s chief representative said that after the signing ceremony today, the tasks related to the project to build the first metro route in Hanoi will be immediately carried out to prepare for the construction in mid-2011.

This 11.5km route will run from Nam Thang Long residential area to Tran Hung Dao street. 3.5km will be overhead and 8km underground rails.

This project has a total capital of JPY14.688 billion from the Japanese government’s soft loan (interest rate of 0.2% per year), for 40 years, with a grace period of 10 years.

Tsuno Motonori said if everything goes smoothly, especially site clearance, construction will be kicked off in mid-2011 and finish in late 2014. The route will be tested for over one year and will be put into operation in January 2016.

JICA will also fund three other projects: the second phase of the project to improve the environment of Hanoi, worth JPY29.289 billion, the project to improve the environment of Hai Phong worth JPY21.306 billion; and the project to improve the national road system worth JPY17.918 billion.

According to the current plan, Hanoi will have four metro systems: Nam Thang Long – Tran Hung Dao, Nho – Hanoi Railway Station, Cat Linh – Ha Dong and Yen Vien – Ngoc Hoi.

The Nho – Hanoi Railway Station, Cat Linh – Ha Dong and Yen Vien – Ngoc Hoi projects are in the research phase.