HCMC–Binh Duong metro: two lines, ~$10 billion investment confirmed

After years of study and planning, Ho Chi Minh City is steadily turning its goal of building a modern urban transport network into reality. The metro lines that will weave across the city are now being pushed forward in earnest.

The HCMC Urban Railway Management Authority (MAUR) has recently proposed building two metro lines connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong, with a total investment of roughly KRW 10 trillion (about VND 100 trillion).

According to Dang Tran, a technical expert at the metro-focused platform 'Tau Metro,' this is more than an infrastructure project — it is a strategic initiative to promote balanced regional development. At the same time, it is seen as a crucial turning point opening a future in which millions of residents can move between the two key regions faster, more conveniently and more smartly.

Two metro lines linking Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong

🚇 Development plan: HCMC–Binh Duong metro connection

🔹 Metro Line 1 extension
(New Binh Duong city center → Suoi Tien, Thu Duc city)

Line length: about 29 km

Number of stations: 17

Depot: Long Binh Depot (shared with the existing Metro Line 1)

Total investment: about VND 46,725 billion

🔹 New Line 2
(Thu Dau Mot → Vinh Phu, Thuan An → connecting to HCMC Metro Line 3)

Line length: about 21.9 km

Number of stations: 13

Depot: Hiep Binh Phuoc Depot (shared with Metro Line 3)

Total investment: approximately VND 5,000 – 5,300 billion

🚇 HCMC – Binh Duong metro lines at a glance

📑 Legal basis and progress

🔹 The Metro Line 1 extension has completed review by the National Appraisal Council, and Ho Chi Minh City is now preparing for Government and National Assembly approvals.

🔹 Metro Line 2 in the Binh Duong section

Pre-feasibility study report was completed as of end-June 2025. In particular, with the new Investment Law and Urban Railway Law granting provincial governments (provincial People's Committees) decision-making authority on investment policy, project preparation time is expected to be significantly shortened.

Ho Chi Minh City has already allocated an initial budget of at least VND 10 billion for each line, kicking off project-preparation work within the 2021–2025 medium-term public-investment plan.

🌆 Regional connectivity — a catalyst for new-town growth

Developing these two metro lines goes beyond investing in transport infrastructure — it is a symbolic project declaring a regional-development strategy built on connectivity.

These lines will become a core axis of the TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) model — that is, they will form an urban structure in which residential, commercial, service and cultural functions grow together, anchored on public-transport infrastructure.

At a time when urban expansion and integration between Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong Province are accelerating, these two metro lines will be more than a physical link — they will form a strategic connector driving sustainable, smart urban development.

With total investment of about KRW 10 trillion, this project — building an elevated metro between Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong — sends a clear message about the city's future, far beyond simply improving transit.

👉 The future of regional connectivity
👉 The foundation for green-city growth
👉 Realizing a new lifestyle of 'a city where everything you need is close by'

This project, in short, is a powerful commitment from the city to that very future.