The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro route is expected to ease traffic congestions in the southern economic hub and contribute to promoting its socio-economic and tourism development.

The metro route will be jointly built at an estimated cost of around 2.4 billion USD by Japanese contractor Sumitomo and its Vietnamese counterpart, Cienco 6.

The 19.7km route will run through districts 1, 2, 9, Binh Thanh and Thu Duc in HCM City and parts of Di An district in the neighboring province of Binh Duong .

2.6 km of the route will run underground with three stations and the remaining sections will be constructed above the ground with 11 stations.

The city is planned to have six metro routes, including the 19.7km Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien segment.