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Ho Chi Minh City gives priority to Monorails - Transit News.
A $US 2.1 billion project to ease chronic congestion in Vietnam's biggest agglomeration, Ho Chi Minh City, with a mix of heavy and light rail and monorail systems, has attracted interest from eight major international groups from Germany, United States, China, France, and Japan. The city's bus system satisfies only a tiny proportion of current transport needs.
Last month, according to the city's Transport and Public Works Department, the groups submitted their plans to the People's Committee. The groups include Siemens, and Lahmeyer, Germany; Georgia Monorail Consortium, and Louis Berger/Pricewaterhouse Coopers, United States; Hong Kong Chiaphua Group, China; Openasia, France; and JICA and Itochu/CHBUHSST, Japan.
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The project focuses on high-capacity rail systems that could handle 60% of local public transport demand, compared with only 3% at present.
The People's Committee believes that the greatest investment priority should be given to the installation of monorails. Experts have emphasised that initial construction costs for monorails are often considerably less than for other rail systems, and they take less time to build--about 18 months for a typical system
Sitting in a Saigon streetside cafe you can enjoy steaming noodles, while just down the road, cyclo drivers -- relics of yesteryear -- badger and bark at each other over a game of checkers, only to look up, catch your eye, and break out into that amazing Vietnamese smile.
Open to foreign tourists for well over a decade, Vietnam has rapidly developed a well-trodden trail of tourist attractions. In the north, hanoi charms, while the vistas of Ha Long Bay and the hilltribes of Sapa draw tourists in their thousands. In the centre of Vietnam the remnants of the war can still be seen around the DMZ, the Imperial capital of Hue offers a glimpse into yesteryear and the incredibly popular Hoi An attracts shoppers in their droves. South again to the beach strips of Nha Trang and Mui Ne offering the opportunity of a bit of sun and sand, before reaching the country's southern capital Saigon. Below Saigon the Mekong Delta offers much to the independent and intrepid traveller -- be sure to palm of the organized tours and do it yourself -- you won't regret it. |
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