If you’ve zipped along the North-South Highway in recent days, you’ve probably noticed a girder-laying machine doing its thing just off of Thao Dien Street.
Related Articles:
- A Look At The Progress Of HCMC's First Metro Line
- Construction Begins On HCMC's Second Metro Line
- A Sneak Peek Into Saigon’s New Metro Cars
On June 4, workers successfully installed the first concrete girders on the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro line using the mammoth contraption.
4,536 prefabricated u-shaped girders are being produced at a plant in District 9 and will be used to build 372 spans that will make up the 17km above ground section of the city’s first metro line, reports VnExpress.
Designed by French contractor Systra and prefabricated by FVR joint ventures, each girder is about 2 meters high, 11 meters wide and weighs in at 500 tons. The process of making and installing all the girders is expected to be completed in 2017.
The girders represent an important element of the US$2.49 billion line that runs 20km through Districts 1, 2, 9, Binh Thanh, Thu Duc and Dong Nai Province’s Di An District.
The full route is due to be finished in 2019 and operational in 2020 - 2021. However, the metro’s management panel said that the 17km above ground section might go into operation in 2018, three years before the full line is completed.
