Company proposes $780M self-driving tram to ease congestion near HCMC airport

Hanoi-based Thach Ban Park JSC said it would be an automated guideway transit system, a type of fully automated, driverless, and usually elevated transportation system that operates on a dedicated guideway.

The route will run nearly 30 km with a detour through the city center, and cost an estimated VND20 trillion (US$780 million).

Dam Sen Cultural Park is in District 11.

The work will be done in three phases.

In the first, a 13-km stretch will be built from the airport in Tan Binh District to Nguyen Kieu Islet in District 4 mostly along the Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Canal.

In the second phase, it will be extended from the islet to Ba Tang Bridge in District 8, a distance of 5.7 km, along the Doi Canal.

The final 11.5-km segment to the park will run along the Tan Hoa Canal and Lac Long Quan Street.

According to the company, the work is expected to proceed smoothly since it will run along canals, reducing the land acquisition and clearance challenges.

It would mainly be built of steel, allowing mass production in factories to speed up progress, it said.

Self-driving trams have the advantage of switching lanes easily compared to monorails, and the cost is also lower, it said.

It would address congestion near the airport while also helping develop the city's urban rail network, it said.

The Department of Transport has sought assessments of its feasibility and rationale from the Departments of Planning and Architecture and the Urban Railway Management Board.

The city plans to build eight metro routes and three tram lines with a total length of 220 km and an estimated cost of $25 billion.

The first metro line between Ben Thanh and Suoi Tien is almost complete, with the latest plan saying it would enter operation within this year, and work has started on the second, and they are funded by official development aid loans and the government.

The remaining lines are in the planning stage. There have been no specific plans for the tram lines.

Tan Son Nhat airport and Dam Sen Park as seen on GoogleMaps.