The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has allocated a 1.7 million U.S. dollar technical assistance (TA) grant to prepare a project to develop two urban mass rapid transit (MRT) rail lines in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam, said ADB in a news release Tuesday.

Hubert Jenny, an ADB Senior Urban Development Specialist said MRTs can provide convenient, comfortable, safe, affordable, and clean urban travel, thus reducing reliance on private modes of travel and improving the quality of urban living for Ho Chi Minh residents.

The projected MRT lines are two of six lines to be developed in the city from now till 2020, requiring a total investment of more than 5 billion U.S. dollars and planning a two-line system to cover 20.6 kilometers with 22 stations to traverse Ho Chi Minh City's central business district.

ADB grant will finance the preparation of a consolidated MRT network master plan and land use strategy that maximizes MRT use and reflects anticipated demand. It is also aimed to help draw up preliminary engineering designs and technical and operational standards with supporting social, environmental, technical, economic and financial appraisals.

Source: Xinhua