They are on Le Lai, Truong Dinh, Pham Hong Thai, Cach Mang Thang Tam, and Truong Chinh streets.
Of the 453 to be cut down, 49 would be relocated, the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board (MAUR), which manages all metro projects in the city, announced Thursday.
Removing the trees would cost more than VND1.4 billion (US$55,150), it said.
From now through July trees in areas where contractors are relocating underground electricity and water systems will be cut down first.
The remaining trees will be removed later.
The Ben Thanh – Tham Luong metro line will run over 11 km, including nine kilometers underground, through the five districts that will lose the trees -- 1, 3, 10, Tan Binh and Tan Phu – and a sixth, District 12.
In April last year the government approved a delay in the project schedule to hire a new consultant after MAUR failed to renew an earlier contract.
MAUR also failed to pay compensation for lands acquired for the project, citing disagreements with district authorities, which also contributed to the delay.
The line is scheduled to be "basically completed" in 2030 instead of 2026, with the official opening planned in 2032. Originally, it was planned to be up and running by 2016.
The original $1.3-billion price tag had ballooned to $2.1 billion by 2019.
So far 90% of the land needed for the line has been acquired, with the remaining sites being in District 3.
The city's first metro line from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien, after long and multiple delays, is expected to begin commercial operation this July.
